NATURALLY HEALTHY:
UPDATE:
HOT PRODUCTS:
Riverside Natural Foods
Deliciously New
Bone Suckin’ Mustard
SEE PAGE 18
SEE PAGE 21
SEE PAGE 28
GOURMET NEWS
®
T H E
B U S I N E S S
VOLUME 85, NUMBER 6 JUNE 2020 n $7.00
NEWS & NOTES n
Mintel and The Hatchery Chicago Form New Partnership to Support Start-ups PAGE 6
RETAILER NEWS n
2020 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle Goes Virtual PAGE 10
SUPPLIER NEWS n
Cheese in a Shelf-Stable Snack Bar PAGE 14
NATURALLY HEALTHY n
Granola Snacks for a Greater Good PAGE 18
N E W S P A P E R
n
Living the Keto Life PAGE 26
News..............................................6 Ad Index .......................................30
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T H E
G O U R M E T
I N D U S T R Y
Leaning Hard into Lessons from the School of the COVID-19 Pandemic BY LORRIE BAUMANN
This was supposed to be a year of celebration for Graeter’s Ice Cream, which is marking its 150th year in business in 2020. “We had big plans,” said Richard Graeter, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company founded by his greatgrandfather, Louis Charles Graeter, who sold ice cream out of two carts on the streets of Cincinnati, Ohio, after handcrafting it in French pots. After he died in 1920, his widow, Regina, took over the business and carried on.
Like everyone else in the United States now, Regina’s greatgrandson finds himself and the ice cream company enmeshed in the tribulations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, and
the promise of a vaccine in 12 to 18 months, but still, they carried on,” Graeter said. “We were a comfort food then, and we’re a comfort food now. We’re still here.”
Continued on PAGE 8
Continued on PAGE 8
In addition to wholesaling its hand-crafted ice cream, still made in French pots the way Graeter’s great-grandmother Continued on PAGE 12
Experience Culinary Richness Without the Jet Lag Verve Culture offers consumers the opportunity to participate in a foreign culture with a rich culinary tradition without the necessity of a passport, the discomforts of international air travel, the disorientation of culture shock or even the danger of being trapped overseas by a pandemic. The items offered for sale in each of three collections – one for Mexico, one for Thailand and one for Morocco – aren’t just things; they’re artifacts invested with cultural values and history.
They’ll appeal to consumers looking for an experience of connection with a specific place and its people. Verve Culture was founded by a mother and daughter duo, Jules Vertrees, the daughter, and Jacquie Lewis, who started the company four years ago after selling their previous company. The two decided that, for their
BY LORRIE BAUMANN
next endeavor, they wanted to offer goods that were more than just commodities – they were looking for meaning and for products that would appeal to consumers who’d moved beyond conspicuous consumption. “We’re not a company that’s
—RICHARD GRAETER, GRAETER’S ICE CREAM
he’s found himself thinking about his great-grandmother, who dealt with the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. “I take a little inspiration from thinking of Spanish flu.... They never had
Cookies to Feed the Homeless and Hungry Mystery novelist Charlotte MacLeod knew that all she had to say to describe a character that she wanted her readers to love was that she looked like a woman who made good cookies and would give you some. Angela Pepe, Owner of CurlyTop Baker, is a woman who makes good cookies and, if you just needed a cookie, she’s also a woman who would give you some. If you can afford to buy your cookies, though, she’d rather sell them to you, especially if you’re buying for a specialty grocery store. “Twenty percent of our proceeds go back to feeding the homeless. That’s our big why,” said Mark Pepe, her husband and CurlyTop Baker’s Managing Director. “We also delivered trays of cookies to hospitals last week. We’re always looking for ways to make an impact in our community.” Angela and Mark Pepe found a
“We were a comfort food then, and we’re a comfort food now. We’re still here.”
BY LORRIE BAUMANN
SPECIAL FEATURE
F O R
Traditional Spirit for a Sophisticated Palate BY LORRIE BAUMANN
For Gaston Martinez, a sip of IZO Mezcal is a form of communion with the spirits of his an-
cestors in the Mexican state of Durango, where he was born and raised. An American resident for the past 15 years, Martinez is the
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of IZO Mezcal, which imports the spirit from Durango into the U.S., where it’s distributed in southern California, southern Arizona and in Texas from Houston to San Antonio and Dallas. “Slowly but steadily, we are reaching the bigger markets in the U.S.,” he said. “Our next target is the East Coast, but we’re putting that on hold until everything gets back to normal.” Another next step for the company is the launch of a new line of agave spirits that will be reaching the market over the next year, including a Mezcal Añejo aged 12
months in oak barrels and targeted for release to the market in 2021. “It is actually in the barrels as we speak. The magic is happening,” he said. “We’re looking forward to tasting it after 12 months of waiting, and I think it’s going to be spectacular. We’re expecting a seductively rich, smooth and lightly smoked product.” Mezcal has been gaining popularity in the U.S. over the past few years along with the rise in the craft cocktail movement. It’s been championed by bartenders who Continued on PAGE 17