Oser Communications Group

SNACKING NEWS 4 SNACKING NEWS April 2018 WWW.SNACKINGNEWS.COM PUBLISHER Kimberly Oser SENIOR ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jules Denton-Card jules_d@oser.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann EDITOR Robin Mather ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jeanie Catron Micah Cheek Greg Gonzales JoEllen Lowry Karrie Welborn ART DIRECTOR Yasmine Brown GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jonathan Schieffer CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGERS Caitlyn McGrath Susan Stein DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Tara Neal tara_n@oser.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green subscriptions@oser.com PUBLISHING OFFICE 1877 N. Kolb Road Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 Fax 520.721.6300 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Snacking News P.O. Box 30520 Tucson, AZ 85751 520.721.1300 OSER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP FOUNDER Lee M. Oser Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ, and additional mailing office. Snacking News is published bi-monthly by Oser Communications Group, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715; 520.721.1300. Publisher as- sumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of proprietary classified information. ©2018 by Oser Communications Group. All rights re- served. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher, is expressly pro- hibited. Back issues, when available, cost $7 each within the past 12 months, $12 each prior to the past 12 months. Back orders must be paid in advance either by check or charged to American Express, Visa, or Master Card. Snacking News is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and distribution channels of the chain drug, convenience, grocery, and specialty foods trade; paid subscriptions cost $65 annually to the U.S. and Canada. All foreign subscriptions cost $150 annually to cover air delivery. All payments must be made in U.S. funds and drawn on a U.S. bank. For subscriber services, including subscription information, call 520.721.1300. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Snacking News, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715. There's lots of chatter in the snacking industry — and many others, of course — about new val- ues driving makers, retail- ers and their customers. Transparency in ingredi- ents, sourcing and production, Fair Trade, environmental responsibility and better- for-you ingredients have leapfrogged past price and flavor in consumers' priorities. Makers have responded quickly, as I saw when I walked the aisles of the Winter Fancy Food Show in January in San Fran- cisco, California. We have been reporting and writing a lot about these topics and values in our sister publication, Gourmet News, and are now planning the editorial content for a special issue later this year around these ideas. We want to share some of these stories with you, even though they're not specifically about snacks. You know you must stay abreast of new ways of looking at your customers and the world in which they move if you want your business to suc- ceed. You're smart and savvy, in ways be- yond those specifically connected to the snacks you stock and sell. You want to stay informed about what's driving your cus- tomers' buying decisions. To that end, we're adding a new depart- ment to the magazine called "Good Reads." The pieces appearing in the de- partment are good in two ways: They tell the stories of makers and retailers who em- brace the values that consumers say they want, and they're carefully and accurately reported by journalists who are passionate about these issues themselves. You'll be able to tell us what you think about these stories, or anything else you'd like to share, because we're also introduc- ing a letters to the editor column. It will appear on Page 6 in every issue. Our goal is to make the magazine more interactive. You can send us emails or physical let- ters through the mail. The contact informa- tion at the end of this note will give you the details about contacting us, and it will appear in every issue. We'd like to enable you to talk to us, and to provide a platform for you to talk to each other. A couple of things you should know: Self-promotion doesn't belong in the let- ters to the editor column. Send your pub- lic relations material to us at editor@oser.com. We don't guarantee publication of every letter we receive, and your letters may be edited for length and clarity. We're protective of our readers, so we will not publish letters that attack other readers, letters that promote hate, or letters discussing politics. Limit your let- ter's content to issues discussed within these pages. Our own skin is thicker, and you can criticize us freely or disagree with us if you're fair. The snack retail community is a big one, but I think we can agree on some shared principles. We are honest and hard-work- ing, and we want our businesses to thrive — which means that we must want our suppliers and customers to thrive, too. We have come to understand that we're all connected in ways that transcend distance and cultures. We're all in this together. Let's begin to talk to each other about some important stuff. Send your letters to the editor via email to snletters@oser.com, or by regular mail to Editor, Snacking News, Oser Communica- tions Group, 1877 N. Kolb Rd., Tucson, Arizona 85715. n FROM THE EDITOR

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