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Produce Show Daily Wednesday, June 27, 2018 1 8 Ozark River Turns Up the Heat Ozark River Portable Sinks, the manu- facturer of more than 55 models of self- contained portable sinks, sets the outdoor portable sink standard with its Nature Series™ line of NSF certified outdoor portable hot-water handwashing sinks. "There is an immense demand for self-contained hot water hand sinks for the outdoors and we took it personally to be the company to provide a reliable product to those people that need them," says Martin Watts, Chief Executive Officer at Ozark River Portable Sinks. While Ozark River has been known for manufacturing the most recognized indoor NSF certified hot-water hand- washing sinks, this innovative sink model has combined the best of both worlds. By harnessing the advantages of UV protective HDPE and combining it with the durability of stainless steel, the Nature Series is the ideal solution for placing hot-water handwashing at the point of contact. Its elegant design is suit- ed well for indoor use, and durable con- struction makes it a perfect fit for outdoor use. The Nature Series is ideal for the foodservice professional, as well as the casual chef. Caterers, event planners, rental companies, foodservice profes- sionals, chefs and restau- rants are just some of the professionals who need this self-contained hot- water sink for handwash- ing code compliance. Easy-to-use Ozark River Portable Sinks are self-contained portable handwashing stations that offer hot-water handwash- ing right where you want it. The Nature Series line of portable sinks is designed with handwashing code com- pliance, by offering instant hot water handwashing at an affordable price. Equipped with heavy duty, front locking swivel casters, these sinks can be moved with ease and placed any- where 110V 20A electrical service is available. Customers will buy with confidence knowing that the Nature Series by Ozark River Portable Sinks are covered under a one-year manufacturer warranty. Each portable sink made by Ozark River is elegantly crafted for beauty, durability and safety and has been certified by NSF for sanitation com- pliance. For more information, call 866.663.1982 or go to www.ozarkriver.com. Shared Values Create Customer Loyalty By Lorrie Baumann There's a dollars and cents case to be made in favor of talking to your cus- tomers about issues of social justice, food safety, animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Grocers who know how to do that well are in better position to build relationships with shoppers that they want to meet at the checkstands. Consumers are no longer asking just the simple questions about price, taste and convenience to preface their grocery purchasing decisions, according to David Fikes, Food Marketing Institute Vice President for Communications and Consumer/Community Affairs. They're now often bringing more complicated questions with them on their shopping trips, including broad concerns about where a food product was produced, whether the animal was humanely treat- ed, whether workers were treated fairly and had safe working conditions and where the ingredients came from. Not every consumer asks all of these ques- tions, but most of them are asking at least one or two."What's interesting is that, if you look at animal welfare, some of them are coming at it from health and well- ness, and some of them are coming from concern for the animals," Fikes said. "When over half of your shoppers are coming with these questions, if you're going to establish trust, if you're going to expect loyalty from them, you need to meet them at the point of shared values." Understanding this and acting on it is key to establishing customer loyalty, according to Fikes. FMI has concluded, in a 2017 report on "U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends" co-authored by the Institute and the Hartman Group, experts on demand-side trends in the food and beverage industry, that retailers who communicate with shoppers about safety, health and wellness and ethics are well positioned to build trust and loyalty. Shoppers want retailers to do more than just make them feel informed – they want to shop at a store that seems open and honest and that shares their values. They believe that the foods they eat influence their health and wellness, and today's shoppers "increasingly see being more closely connected to their food as an antidote to the ills caused by a food system that seems out of bal- ance," according to FMI. They know they can shop wherever they want, and they believe that their decisions about where and how to spend their money are meaningful. "There's research out that is pointing at the point that consumers feel they have more power in how they spend their money than in how they vote," Fikes said. "That's why we urge our grocers to be clear and to communi- cate about their values, about where they stand on these issues, so that when consumers are doing their research, they can espouse what the company values are." Retailers can demonstrate that they're open, honest and trustworthy by helping customers find out what's in a product and where it came from. They can show that they impose strict food safety standards on suppliers, follow Fair Trade practices and earn their reputation for selling high-quality goods. Shoppers also like product guarantees and reason- able return policies, and they expect to know about it from their grocer when a food safety issue results in a recall, according to the FMI research. Shoppers don't necessarily want all this information about their grocer's val- ues force-fed to them, but they want their grocers to be open in their answers to these questions as they're asked, accord- ing to Fikes. "Transparency is not simply a business negotiation; it is also about relationship building," he said. "You are sharing openly and honestly and, this is key, you are answering the questions they have, that they are able to find answers they want. That doesn't mean telling them everything you want them to know. It means paying attention to what they want to know and answering those ques- tions." Shoppers also expect their grocers to be proactive and accountable. Those qualities can be demonstrated by quick action when there's a product recall and accepting responsibility for making it right when there's a problem with a prod- uct. Consumers also want to see fair treatment for employees up and down the supply chain, according to Fikes. "There's a great halo of accountability and loyalty that can be had if your store has the reputation of treating employees fairly," he said. "They [shoppers] sense whether or not an employee enjoys work- ing there and whether they're being treat- ed fairly." He has some advice for all grocery retailers: "In the age of skepticism, where people are skeptical of big busi- ness and their motives, we have to break that down and let people know that our business is comprised of people who share the values that they share," he said. "The only people that folks seem to trust are family and friends and peo- ple who share their values. You've got to lead with the shared values to estab- lish the rapport." Gluten-Free Products from Western Foods The gluten-free trend is here and here to stay. The gluten-free "trend" was worth about $14+ billion in 2017 and is expected to continue to grow in 2018 and beyond. However, the interesting thing and common misconception is that "gluten-free," in truth, is not a trend, and it never will be. Sure, con- sumers today are going gluten-free to avoid heavy, over refined wheat based flours. Many have redirected their inter- ests towards rice, legume and ancient grain flours which provide much more nutritional value, texture and flavor. The increased use of these ingredients is certainly what sparked the idea of a "gluten-free trend." However, for the three million Americans with Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder where gluten causes the immune system to destroy healthy intestinal tissue, "gluten-free" is a necessity, not a trend. According to the Gluten-Free Agency, Celiac disease is the most common autoimmune disorder in the world. In America, diagnosis rates have quadru- pled since the 1950s. The reasons are unclear, but the disease is no fabrica- tion. That being said, individuals with Celiac disease could not be more grate- ful and excited about this trend known as "gluten-free." New technology allows producers to puff, pop, roast and toast different ancient grains resulting in a variety of different flavors, textures and aromas. The major challenge for food producers now is to make these ingredients and end products more accessible, continue to inform con- sumers of the nutritional benefits of a gluten-free diet and utilize today's tech- nology to consistently develop innova- tive ingredients and products. Western Foods (WF) is located in Woodland, California, which is in the heart of the California rice growing dis- trict, renowned for its high quality non- GMO medium grain japonica rice. WF is a dedicated gluten- free rice and ancient grain mill. Its parent company, Western Milling, based in Goshen, California, is one of the largest privately held feed companies in the world with multiple facilities through- out the Western United States. WF start- ed business in 2010 and has grown exponentially, riding the wave of the gluten-free trend. Its dedicated gluten- free rice and ancient grain mill and blending facility have all the necessary quality certifications in order to provide safe products with less than 10 parts per million of gluten. WF's dedicated gluten-free facility conforms to the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and WF is proud to announce it has recently attained SQF Level 2 and Halal certifications. In addition, WF is a member of the Whole Grains Council and a member of Non-GMO Project Verified. WF is dedicated to milling hypo-aller- genic rice flours, long, medium and sweet, together with ancient grains focusing, but not all-encompassing, sorghum, millet, quinoa, amaranth and teff, creating turn-key custom ready for- mulations in the gluten-free snacks and baked goods arena. Its latest product offerings are reduced micro flours, low- ering micro counts on both rice and ancient grain flours together with pre- gelatinized (which is pre-cooked rice flour). In addition, WF is now offering puffed, popped, flaked, toasted, roasted and coated rice and ancient grain prod- ucts. WF has the necessary equipment to offer retailers both branded or private label flexible package options for gluten-free bakery mixes and other related products. For more information, go to www .westernfoodsco.com.