SAVORY SEE PAGES 4-5

■ Spice Blends Bring the Fun to Yellow Door Creamery

■ CHEVOO: Convenience and Flavor in a Cube

www.snackingnews.com

Sneak Peek

BY LORRIE BAUMANNHungry Americans are snacking more thanever before, but for many, the between-meal food is a guilt-ridden, sometimesfurtive attempt to stave off hunger andboost energy long enough to get themthrough the day to their next meal. Snackfood manufacturers are making a wealthof products to meet precisely these needs.

These are trends found by market re-

search firm Canadean, which conductsthree consumer surveys annually of morethan 50,000 consumers in 47 countries.The research was presented in Chicago byCanadean Innovation Insights DirectorTom Vierhile at last year’s Sweets &Snacks Expo. The surveys found thatsnacking behavior is nearly universal in the

KeHE CEO Expresses Optimism About Future of Grocery RetailBY LORRIE BAUMANNGrocers should be prepared to see their cen-ter stores disappear within their lifetimes asthe business of retail sales of consumerpackaged goods moves online, warnedBrandon Barnholt, President and CEO ofKeHE, as he spoke in early February to anaudience of his customers and vendors at the

annual KeHE Summer Selling Show. Thatonline migration of sales for consumerpackaged goods was one of the trends thatBarnholt believes will be most important tothe grocery business this year. Overall,though grocers are facing challenges from arapidly evolving market, Barnholt is opti-mistic about the future of American grocery

retail and its ability to adapt. While economists are pre-

dicting that retail sales willincrease by about 3.9 per-cent this year over last year,there’s a question in the airabout how much of that in-crease will be seen by brickand mortar grocery retailers and how muchwill be bitten off by Amazon, Barnholt said.

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Specialty Chocolate Getting Better from Bean to BarBY GREG GONZALESThe father of modern taxonomy, Carl Lin-naeus, named the plant from which choco-late is derived Theobroma cacao, Sanskritfor “food of the gods.” Hernando Cortezsaid cocoa could allow a person to go allday without food or exhaustion. Now, sci-ence has put cocoa under a microscope toconfirm those long-held beliefs, and farm-ing practices and conditions have im-

proved globally, along with the market.Cocoa products are also set to boom likecoffee and tea, with a dynamic and blos-soming specialty market. From no-sugar-added and mission-based brands tosingle-origin bars that showcase the re-gional flavors of cacao, there’s a chocolatebar for everyone from functional foodies

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There is a clear demand for multiculturalinfluence in the lives of American adults,according to a Harris Poll conducted lastspring. More than three quarters of Ameri-cans (78 percent) agree they love tryingnew things outside of their own culture.This desire for novelty and variety is evenhigher among Millennials, of which 84 per-cent love the exposure to different cultures.

One place where people look to fulfilltheir desire for multicultural influence is inwhat they eat. About one quarter of all U.S.adults (26 percent) say it is at least very im-portant that the foods they buy and con-sume contain multicultural flavors.Millennials place more importance on buy-ing and consuming multicultural flavorsthan any other generation, with 32 percentsaying it is at least very important. Amongthose ages 35-44 and 45-54, 27 percenteach find it important, while only 20 per-cent of those age 55-64 and 21 percent ofadults ages 65 and over feel the same.

However, multicultural flavor is still notas important as other factors when purchas-ing and consuming food. Locally sourcedingredients are at least very important for36 percent of American adults, followed byorganic or natural ingredients (32 percent).Buying foods with multicultural flavor isseen as equally important as purchasingfrom a company with a strong social pur-pose (26 percent).

Adults are also seeking multicultural in-fluence in the brands they buy. When itcomes to shelling out extra money, aboutone third of adults (32 percent) say theywould pay more for a brand that under-stands multicultural needs. Among Millen-nials, however, the proportion jumps to

Consumers SeekingMulticultural Influences

New Snacks Appeal to Nutrition-Hungry Americans

SWEET SEE PAGES 6-7

■ Chocolate Companies Do Good Deliciously

■ Inspired Handcrafted Chocolates from the “Soon to be Famous”

2 SNACKINGNEWS Sneak Peek

U.S., with 96 percent of Americans sayingthat they snack at least occasionally.Among people between the ages of 18 and44, almost everyone is snacking betweenmain meals, with 97 percent of 18-24-year-olds, 98 percent of those aged 25 to34 and 97 percent of those between 35 and44 saying that they snack. Snacking tendsto skew towards young and male con-sumers, with young and middle-aged menmuch more likely to snack regularly thanany other group, according to the surveys.

Most of this snacking takes place afterlunch, with 55 percent of U.S. consumerssaying that they snack between lunch anddinner and 39 percent saying that they snackbetween dinner and bedtime, and most of ithappens at home. While hunger is the obvi-ous motivation for snacking, treating or re-warding oneself, boosting energy andrelieving boredom are also top drivers.

This snacking isn’t necessarily guilt-free; younger consumers in particular,those between 25 and 34, say that they’rejudgy about people who eat junk foods. Afair number of Americans are gettingaround that by eating snacks that contain“a healthy ingredient.” About a third of all

New SnacksContinued from Page 1

Americans and more than half of 25-34-year-olds say that they feel less guiltyabout consuming unhealthy foods ordrinks if they contain a healthy ingredient.

The market is seeing a proliferation ofsnack foods that offer protein rather thanadded sugar for that between-meal energyboost, and many of them are offeringfront-of-the-package claims of some kindof nutritional benefit, even if it’s just anoffset for a product that might otherwisebe considered an indulgent treat ratherthan a component of a nutrition plan.

Stoneridge Orchards’ line of all-naturaldried fruits is Non-GMO Project Verified,gluten-free, free of preservatives and sul-fites and contain no hydrogenated oils, ar-tificial flavors or colors. They’re high inVitamin C and free of common allergens.The fruit is grown in family-owned or-chards in central Washington by third-gen-eration family farmers. Country PrimeMeats’ Country Bites Naturals are meatsnacks available in four flavors, includingHamalyan Inspired, flavored with tandoorispice, and Tuscan Inspired, flavored withtomato and pepper, cooked, smoked anddried turkey sausages. They’re gluten freeand lactose free, with no added nitrites andno lactose. Turkey for the snacks wasraised without antibiotics, and the snacks

are bite-sized to aid in portion control.Simply Smart and Smart Kids snack

bars are targeted directly at the nutrition-conscious, with Smart Kids bars formu-lated to meet U.S. Department ofAgriculture requirements for school lunchprograms. Simply Smart is the adult ver-sion, targeted at the consumer aged 16 andolder who wants a healthy snack bar. Sim-ply Smart bars contain no added refinedsugar and contain 190 to 200 calories and10 grams of protein per bar. “Everythingwe do is all-natural, Non-GMO ProjectVerified and certified gluten free,” saidChief Operating Officer Rob Zelickman.Simply Smart bars are packaged for indi-vidual sale at retail. AWAKE Energy Gra-nola Bars offer caffeine along with Bvitamins and some added sugar for thatlate afternoon energy boost. Each bar con-tains as much caffeine as half a cup of cof-fee plus B vitamins. Each bar contains 5grams of protein and 150 calories or less.They come in four flavors: Dark Choco-late Peanut Butter, Dark ChocolateCaramel, Coconut Apricot and CinnamonBun. They contain no artificial flavors orcolors and are gluten free.

Peeled Snacks are designed to appeal tothe consumer who looks for a clean ingre-dient deck with no added sugar. Peas

Please are the newest item in the productline, which also includes Gently DriedFruit and Apple Clusters. Made with 70percent peas, brown rice, sunflower oiland salt, these crunchy snacks are all or-ganic, Non-GMO Project Verified, andgluten free. They come in four flavors,with White Cheddar the newest. Other fla-vors are Sea Salt, Garden Herb and South-west Spice. Peas Please are made by acertified B Corporation started in 2005.

Snack pastries from Bakerly are for thosewho start their snacking with breakfast.Four product lines of bakery products in-clude authentic French crepes filled withstrawberry or chocolate, mini brioche, anda chocolate croissant. They’re made withreal eggs and real butter, individuallywrapped and delivered frozen to stores fora 30-day shelf life after thawing. “We arethe only brioche to go available in the mar-ket,” said Damien Callery, the company’sVice President of Sales. The products aremade in France with clean recipes and nogenetically modified ingredients. Thenewest in the line is a chocolate filled petitcake – something like a standard American-style snack cake but without all the artificialingredients, Callery said. “We want Amer-ica to go back to an American tradition, butwith clean ingredients and better quality.” ■

Baby Boomers Still Driving the American EconomyBY LORRIE BAUMANNIf you're a retailer looking for more dough,you should follow the Baby Boomers, be-cause they've got the bread. Welcome tothe longevity economy, in which BabyBoomers may be outnumbered by Millen-nials, but they're living longer than theirparents, and they've still got most of theU.S.'s wealth to spend, according to mar-ket researcher Marsha Everton, a Principalin AIMSights, an international marketingcompany studying the intergenerationaldynamics of the Baby Boomer and Millen-nial generations.

She and AIMSights Millennial Associ-ate Whitney Ryan made her point duringan address during this year's InternationalHome + Housewares Show, held inChicago in March.

The number of adults between ages 20and 49 – the Millennial Generation – is now56 percent of the American population andit's still growing due to immigration intothis country, which is precisely why thisgeneration is of such deep interest to mar-keters, who are spending about 90 percentof their advertising dollars courting Millen-nials' purchases, according to Everton.

It's the generation that's been all butabandoned by the marketers, though – theBaby Boomers – that still has a dispropor-tionate share of the nation's purchasingpower. While the Millennials now out-number their parents, the Baby Boomers

still have 70 percent of the nation's dispos-able income and 83 percent of total wealth,according to Everton. “That presents a bigopportunity,” she said.

Adults over 50 currently make up a thirdof the American work force, and this per-centage is increasing. “This group is theonly one with a rising labor force partici-pation,” Ryan said, adding that 40 percentof the workers who are more than 65 yearsold are holding down full-time positions.

It's a myth that workers who are morethan 50 years old who become unemployedfor one reason or another are never comingback into the workforce, and the reality isthat 40 percent of people who take a breakare back in the workforce within two years– 60 percent of them in a new career, ac-cording to Ryan. They're certainly notmoving into retirement homes – they'resimplifying their lives and they're kicking

off their uncomfortable high heels, butthey're not necessarily downsizing.“They're tidying up and decluttering,”Ryan said. “Boomers really are getting ridof everything that's not serving them.”They're looking for products that bringthem joy and that earn their space.

Baby Boomers are also focused onhealth and wellness, and they're drivingthis trend, according to Ryan. “They areleading the trend toward natural foods and

'healthy-ish' eating,” she said.“They eat to live and live to eat.Food must taste good in additionto being good for you.” It's theBaby Boomers who are drivingthe demand for ingredients withrecognizable names, minimallyprocessed and locally sourcedfood and for tools to prepare thefood at home, she said.

For retailers, what this means isthat they should be smart about theBaby Boomers and budget mar-

keting dollars to appeal to the consumerswho are still outspending every other gen-eration. They should make sure that they'respending some of those dollars on onlinemedia, since most shoppers who access awebsite while they're in a store are actuallylooking at that store's website becausethey're seeking more information about theproducts in front of them, Everton said.“Baby Boomers are looking for products

that will work in a simplified space – theirfilters are different, and that's what's defin-ing their decisions,” she said. ■

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While conventional grocers are scramblingto form digital relationships with their con-sumer customers, Amazon already has thatrelationship, he pointed out. “They’ve got$20B of food that they’re shipping in mid-dle-of-store products. That would be theequivalent of replacing 800 center stores oftraditional grocery,” he said. “I think we’d allagree that Amazon is just getting started.”

“Whatever you know about Amazon, youneed to know that they’re three steps ahead ofyou,” he added. “However we’re thinkingabout Amazon, they’re further ahead of that.”

Other factors affecting the retail grocerymarket include America’s changing demo-graphics, with Baby Boomers aging andyounger Millennial shoppers who are shop-ping very differently from their elders andwith increasing ethnic diversity amongAmerican consumers. “Diversity factorshave impacted the way we eat. The flavorprofiles, the numbers of products we have tohave in the stores and the way we curatethose products have changed,” he said. Henoted that those changing demographics arealso reflected in greater demand for freshproducts in the grocery store.

Consumers are also expressing greater de-mands for knowledge about the foodsthey’re buying, and they’ve gone from want-ing to know everything about the food itselfto wanting to know everything about thecompany that’s producing the food. “Theyare literally willing to put their money wheretheir mouth is,” he said. “There are peoplewho think it’s all about the environment, andthey’re going to buy for that. They want toknow about the footprint and what that’sdoing to the society around it. More andmore are coming in this direction.”

If consumers can’t find that informationon the product’s label, they’ll demand it inother ways, going so far as to ask legislatorsto regulate around their concerns if theydon’t feel that food producers are complyingvoluntarily, according to Barnholt. “Youneed to know that the entire food market isgoing to move in this direction, whether theywant to or whether it’s legislated,” he said.“Trust is going to be what drives how con-sumers buy food, what they buy and wherethey buy it. This is going to be one of thebiggest issues as we go forward.” ■

calcium potassium, sodium — and vita-mins A, B, C, D and E — are all presentand accounted for in quality cocoa. Andwhile the 2015 Dietary Guidelines forAmericans suggests everyone ought tokeep saturated fats limited to 10 percent ofdaily intake, a little chocolate might help.

Not all of the fats in cocoa are associatedwith raised cholesterol and heart disease.Marilynn Schnepf, Emeritus Professor ofNutrition and Health Sciences at the Uni-versity of Nebraska, Lincoln, said onlyabout a third of those fats in are associatedwith heart disease, and that limited intakecan help combat negative effects. “Turnthe package over and look at the label,” shesaid. “The first ingredient in chocolate issugar, so be aware of that. Many productswhich you think are good chocolate havedifferent fats in them. Sometimes it won’tbe cocoa butter, but coconut oil or hydro-genated oil. My advice would be to enjoyvery high quality chocolate, so you don’thave to eat very much of it to really enjoyit.” She then explained that chocolate withthe highest cocoa powder content that has-n’t been Dutch processed is best, sinceDutch processing destroys antioxidantproperties of chocolate. The more bitter,the better. “The bitterness of chocolatecomes from the flavonoids, the antioxi-dants,” she said. To reap the benefits of the

cacao plant to the fullest extent, consumershave to seek out minimally-processed,high-cocoa products.

Gourmet chocolate producers have noshortage of such products, offering a lit-tle something for every need. At Rain-bow Grocery in San Francisco, shopperscan select from a variety of ultra-darkchocolate bars, with some brands offer-ing a full 100 percent cocoa bar. “Peoplewho shop for health reasons seek morethan 65 percent cocoa,” said KristenConnelly, Grocery Buyer for RainbowGrocery. “It’s extremely bitter, but peo-ple have developed a palate for ex-tremely dark chocolate.” She alsomentioned that a lot of brands will use ablend of cocoa sourced from multiple re-gions. Other specialty chocolate compa-nies source their cocoa from singleregions, such as Chocolate Santander,showcasing the individual flavors fromeach country and crop like “third wave”specialty coffee. “We see a lot more sin-gle origins than blends,” Connelly said.“People want to taste the nuances of theproduct. They want to taste the differ-ence between a Madagascar chocolatebar and an Ecuadorian bar. These mighteven taste different year to year, basedon the crop. Now, the producers try tobring out the flavor of the bean.” ■

3Sneak Peek SNACKINGNEWS

nearly half (47 percent) who are willing toopen their wallets a bit further. As forwhere adults are going to shop, about half(49 percent) agree they would shop moreat a retailer that offers a wider selection ofmulticultural products. These multiculturalproducts are even more tempting for Mil-lennials, with 65 percent agreeing theywould shop more where there is a wide se-lection of multicultural products. ■

MulticulturalContinued from Page 1

to kids. The best part is that we’re learningthat cocoa can be quite good for us inmoderation.

Health is the last thought on anyone’smind in the candy aisle, but dark chocolatecan be considered a functional kind of treat.The cacao plant has been considered a heal-ing and boosting supplement for thousandsof years, thought to aid in liver function andfeelings of well-being. Researchers now arecalling cocoa a nutraceutical, a food thatcontains physiologically active compoundsthat promote health, might prevent diseaseand goes beyond nutrition to aid in cogni-tive and aerobic activities. The stimulantscaffeine and theobromine account for thewaking boost, while phenylethylamine hasa similar effect to oxytocin, the love chem-ical, and lifts mood. Cocoa also containsanandamide, a cannabinoid naturally pro-duced in the human body that opens upsynapses in the brain to allow for more neu-ral activity and feelings of bliss. Combined,these chemicals ramp up serotonin and en-dorphin production in the brain, with effectssimilar to a “runner’s high.”

Chocolate also provides the buildingblocks for these feel-good neurotransmit-ters, and a mix of fats. Magnesium, iron,

Specialty ChocolateContinued from Page 1

KeHEContinued from Page 1

KIND Publishes Added Sugar Content Across Its PortfolioEarlier this year, KIND Healthy Snackspublished the added sugar content of the60+ snacks across its portfolio, furtheringits commitment to transparency surround-ing its products and their nutritionals. Theannouncement came two years in advanceof the deadline recently set by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) forfood companies to break out the addedsugar content in their products.

“Our approach at KIND is to provideconsumers with straightforward informa-tion about what they’re putting into theirbodies, so for us, publishing the addedsugar content in our snacks is a naturalnext step in our ongoing commitment totransparency,” said Daniel Lubetzky,Founder and CEO of KIND.

KIND shared the information on its

newly launched web page, KIND Prom-ises, which for the first time, publicly out-lines the overarching health and nutritionprinciples that guide the company’s inno-vation.

“Always using a nutrient-dense foodlike nuts, whole grains or fruit as ourfirst ingredient and striving to makeproducts that are low glycemic areamong the standards that guide ourproduct innovation,” said StephaniePerruzza, MS, RD, CDN and Health andWellness Specialist at KIND. “As welook to the future, we’ll continue tostand by these principles when creatingnew snacks made with wholesome, rec-ognizable ingredients.”

Over the years, the company has takensignificant steps to use as little sugar as

possible in its snacks without compro-mising taste or adding artificial sweeten-ers or sugar alcohols. These includereducing the sugar in seven of its Fruit &Nut bars to contain between 14 and 56percent less added sugar compared toprior recipes.

Made with only fruit and chia or fruitand vegetables, KIND’s Pressed byKIND™ bars contain no added sugar andprovide two full servings of fruit, equiva-lent to one cup. The U.S. Department ofAgriculture’s Dietary Guidelines suggestsan intake of one to two cups of fruit perday. And, with 5g of sugar or less, all ofthe bars in KIND’s best-selling Nuts &Spices line contain 50 to 60 percent lesstotal sugar compared to the average nutri-tion bar. ■

M&M’S Unveils New Guardians of the Galaxy Advertising Mars Chocolate North America un-veiled a new commercial and merchan-dise to promote the release of MarvelStudios’ “Guardians of the GalaxyVol.2,” which premiered in theaters onMay 5, 2017.

The new M&M’S commercial, M&M’S“Movies,” aired online and in cinema, fea-

tures iconic characters, Red and Yellow, ina movie theater. Red stumbles upon Yel-low sitting with a raccoon that Yellow be-lieves is Rocket, the beloved characterfrom the Marvel Studios’ “Guardians ofthe Galaxy” series.

“M&M’S reaches moviegoers notonly at the concession stand, but also on

screen, in a fun, colorful way,” saidTanya Berman, Brand Director, M&M’SBrand. “We knew our beloved spokes-candies together with the light-hearted,fun characters from Guardians of theGalaxy would bring the partnership tolife in a creative way that we know fanswill enjoy.” ■

4 SNACKINGNEWS Sneak Peek

Spice Blends Bring the Fun to Yellow Door CreameryBY LORRIE BAUMANNYellow Door Creamery, a brand of Schu-man Cheese, is innovating to make spe-cialty cheeses more accessible forconsumers who are just learning to appre-ciate full-flavored cheeses. Flavors likeharissa, classic Italian herbs and spicesand habanero and lime blend with themild flavor of classic fontina to makecheeses that appeal to consumers’ adven-turous palates and also add some fun tothe cheese case, says Ilana Fischer, VicePresident of Innovation and Strategy forSchuman Cheese.

Schuman Cheese launched the YellowDoor Creamery brand in 2016 in celebra-tion of the 70th anniversary of the com-pany best known for its imports of classicItalian hard cheeses. Fischer joined thecompany two and a half years ago as partof an effort to diversify the product line.“Innovation is something that our ownerand CEO, Neal Schuman, is really pas-sionate about,” she said. “We felt like thereare a lot of really wonderful Italian cheesecompanies. We thought that there was a lit-tle bit of a gap in terms of fun.”

The average cheese case in the grocerystore contains a lot of cheeses that, to theinexperienced eye, look a lot alike, andthat can make it hard for the consumer to

know which to choose, she pointed out.“It’s very, very hard to differentiate be-tween cheeses,” she said. “People are get-ting really excited about trying really goodcheeses, but it’s not made easy for them. Itis an intimidating process.”

Communicating with consumers aboutcheese can be difficult. Flavors are hard todescribe to people who don’t have a sharedexperience of the flavors described by theterms that cheese professionals use to talkabout the products, she added. “Wethought about, ‘What do we have to do tomake the step toward specialty cheesemore accessible?’” she said.

Yellow Door Creamery started with itsfontina, a cheese whose flavor is mild butnot bland. “We decided to rub it with a va-riety of different spice blends – make itpop out of the wall of white and add cre-ative and exciting flavors that are new tocheese but not completely foreign,” Fis-cher said.

The habanero and lime blend that’shand-rubbed onto one of the three cheesesthat currently comprise the brand’s fontinacollection is an example. “It’s an interest-ing combination, but not a completely for-eign combination,” Fischer said. “We wantto make it a little bit easier for them tomake a confident decision.” Harissa and

Tuscan are the other two flavors that Yel-low Door Creamery is offering, althoughFischer says that quite a few more are indevelopment.

“Yellow Door has won quite a fewawards for the rubbed fontinas. One of thenice things about winning awards is that itgives people who are excited to try cheesea note of approval from experts,” sheadded. “It takes away some of the intimi-dation. I think that awards can do that forcheese really nicely.”

The hand-rubbed fontinas from YellowDoor Creamery also fit neatly into anotherrecent emphasis at Schuman Cheese –cheese products that appeal to the 96 per-cent of Americans who snack betweenmeals. The Habanero & Lime Fontinapairs nicely with chips and guacamole, andthe Tuscan Fontina is good with hummus.“All of these cheeses do really well servedcold, and they bring quite a bit of flavor,”Fischer said.

Schuman is also the company behindCello Whisps, shelf-stable cheese crispsmade entirely from cheese that launchedin June 2015 and have been flying off gro-cers’ snack food shelves ever since. “Ittook us a few years to figure out how tobake them in a way that would enhance theflavor of the cheese,” Fischer said. “We

spent a lot of time figuring out exactly howto do that.”

While the original Whisps were made ofthe company’s own parmesan cheese,Cello is now offering a Cheddar Whispsmade of a cheddar cheese developed byMaster Cheesemaker ChristopheMegevand especially for this product. “It’sgot all the craveability of a snack cracker,but without all the fillers. The only ingre-dient is cheese, all made by us,” Fischersaid. “All of the things that make cheeseso great are what big food companies havebeen trying to mimic with chemicals fordecades.”

She noted that cheese is a great snackfor consumers who are looking for ahearty snack that’s also healthy. Researchfrom market research firm Canadean indi-cates that while hunger is an obvious mo-tivation for snacking, consumers alsosnack to boost their energy levels, to re-lieve boredom or stress or as a time-savingalternative to a main meal. Their snacksoften come with a side of guilt, though,and American consumers are looking forhealthier choices to minimize that. Cheesefills that need, Fischer noted. “Cheese hasa lot of oomph,” she said. “You can throwa bag of Whisps in a backpack and takethem on a hike with you.” ■

CHEVOO: Convenience and Flavor in a Cube BY LORRIE BAUMANNCheese has always been a very convenient,very versatile food, but CHEVOO is up-ping the convenience factor with a productthat offers both trendy flavors and enoughversatility to make it an attractive optionthrough the entire day.

CHEVOO is cubed fresh goat cheesemarinated in an infused olive oil andpacked in a 7.1-ounce glass jar. Service asa snack can be as easy as dipping into thejar and spearing out a cube of the cheese,but CHEVOO is also useful as a conven-

ient ingredient to toss over a salad or intoan omelet pan, said Gerard Tuck, whofounded CHEVOO together with his wifeSusan.

CHEVOO is offered in three varieties:Aleppo-Urfa Chili & Lemon, CaliforniaDill Pollen & Garlic and Smoked SeaSalt & Rosemary. The product is madeby blending the flavoring ingredientsthrough goat curd sourced from northernCalifornia goat dairies, then it’s packedin olive oil infused with a botanical that’scrushed and steeped into the olive oil

over four to eight weeks. “It’s a veryslow and natural process to get the flavorinto the olive oil,” Gerard said. “Ourmost popular blend has smoked sea saltand cracked pepper blended through thegoat curd. We then pair that with a rose-mary-infused olive oil. It works nicely inthat you get one flavor that pops out fromthe goat curd and one that pops out fromthe oil.” The product retails for $9.99 forthe 7.1-ounce jar.

For more information, visitwww.chevoo.com. ■

Little Red Dot Kitchen Expands Production FacilityLittle Red Dot Kitchen’s move to alarger headquarters and production facil-ity in the San Francisco Bay area is nowcomplete following a successful USDAinspection of its production and co-pack-ing facility.

The new facility also houses an FDAinspected commercial kitchen that beganoperation earlier this year, said ChingLee, CEO. The production facility in-cludes fully automated, high-capacityequipment that can accommodate pro-duction of a range of meat snacks and

sticks, steak bites, jerky and sausagesfrom mixing and grinding through pack-aging. Equipment includes a commercialoven that can cook from 500 to 700pounds per cycle, capability for bothslicing and emulsion extrusion, and anautomatic bagging system.

Little Red Dot Kitchen began transition-ing operations from San Jose, California,into the new facility in Hayward, Califor-nia, in January to accommodate rising de-mand for its Bak Kwa meat snacks and toposition the company for future growth.

Bak Kwa is like a sweet and savory jerkyinfused with Asian spices and inspired bya traditional grilled Singapore andMalaysian street food.

Little Red Dot Kitchen’s Bak Kwameat snacks come from U.S. familyfarms dedicated to raising animals hu-manely and without antibiotics or hor-mones. They are minimally processedwith most ingredients having Non-GMOverification and also are free from artifi-cial ingredients, wheat, dairy and eggs.The meat snacks are available in reseal-

able 1- to 3-ounce packages with a sug-gested retail price of $6.99 to $7.99.Cases include 12 of the 2.5- to 3-ouncebags and 18 of the 1-ounce bags. TheBak Kwa is available in five flavors, in-cluding the 2016 sofi Award-winningHickory Smoked Spicy Candied Bacon,which has no nitrates or nitrites; SpicyChipotle Beef Bak Kwa; Pork Bak Kwa;free-range Turkey Bak Kwa and Lemon-grass Beef Bak Kwa.

For more information, visit www.reddotkitchen.com. ■

6 SNACKINGNEWS Sneak Peek

BY LORRIE BAUMANNThe Better Chip is bringing new energy tothe deli department with a gluten-freesnack chip that comes in flavors that com-plement the premium cheeses, cured meatsand the dips already in the deli cases. Theproduct fits in well with the transformingrole of the grocery’s perimeter, which hasbecome a destination within the store forgrab and go meal and snack shoppers whowant quick sustenance but who don’t in-tend to sacrifice their nutritional goals byresorting to fast food as well as those whoregard the deli department as their re-source for food to serve when they enter-tain.

Now The Better Chip has extended itsline of five flavors of better-for-you veg-etable chips: Sweet Corn and Sea Salt,Jalapenos and Sea Salt, Spinach & Kaleand Sea Salt, Beets and Sea Salt andChipotle and Sea Salt with a smaller pack-age size, a 1.5-ounce bag that’s easy todrop into a lunch kit or a sandwichclamshell for an offering that enhances thevalue of the grab and go offering. “Every-one wants to offer something a little dif-ferent. We feel like that’s somethingdifferent they can offer that you don’t getat sandwich places,” says Andrea Brule,Vice President/General Manager of TheBetter Chip. “We found that accounts wereinterested in a smaller bag they could usein their lunchtime program. Because ourchips are doing so well in their big bags,they thought that, in a smaller bag, theymight be able to use it in their lunch pro-gram.”

Of the five flavors, which continue to beoffered in 6-ounce family-size bags, theSpinach & Kale is far and away the com-pany’s best seller, Brule said. TheJalapenos and Beets Chips are tied for sec-ond place.

The chips appeal to consumers who arelooking for a better-for-you snack that’s agluten-free alternative to the crackers andbagel chips that are often chosen in the delito accompany dips and hummus. In addi-tion to being gluten free, The Better Chipsnacks are non-GMO, gluten free, vegan,whole grain and made with fresh vegeta-bles.

They appeal to deli managers becausethey’re an innovation that can add new en-ergy to the category. “They get the ring onthe sandwich, but when they [shoppers]come back to buy more, they get that ringin the deli. That’s as opposed to, with otherchips, that ring goes to grocery.” Brulesaid.

The 1.5-ounce bags retail as a separatea la carte offering for $.99 to $1.19.

For more information, visit www.thebetterchip.com. ■

Convenient Mini Pouches from SuperSeedzSuperSeedz®, creator of gourmet, dry-roasted pumpkin seeds, has expanded itsfamily of products with a convenient, newone-ounce size mini pouch available in sixflavors, including: Maple Sugar & SeaSalt, Sea Salt, Somewhat Spicy, Cinnamon& Sugar, Coco Joe and Super Spicy. Themini pouches retail for $1.49 to $1.99.

“The new, smaller size pouch is ahealthy, on-the-go snack that can easilybe tucked inside luggage, schoollunches, backpacks, purses or deskdrawers,” said Kathie Pelliccio, Ownerand Founder of SuperSeedz. “And oneof the best things about them is that theyare cute little standup pouches that don’tfall over and spill on your desk afteryou’ve opened them.”

It has been a busy and rewarding 12months for Super-Seedz. In 2015, itlaunched MapleSugar & Sea Salt, aflavor that hasquickly become oneof its most popularflavors; shortly afterthe launch, the flavorwas awarded TheMost Innovative NewPremium SnackAward at the 2015Sweets and SnackExpo.

In January 2016, SuperSeedz announcedit had become the No. 1 Premium Pump-

kin Seed brand in grocery stores. Since be-coming No. 1, SuperSeedz is now thefastest growing seed brand by dollarvolume in the food channel, accord-ing to a recent Information ResourcesInc. report.

SuperSeedz offers more plant-based protein than other nut sourcessuch as peanuts, pistachios, almondsand chia seeds. It is Non-GMO Proj-ect Verified, free of cholesterol andtrans-fats, is vegan and vegetarianand is allergen friendly – peanut-free,tree nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free,fish-free, shellfish-free, soy-free and

made with gluten-free ingredients. For more information, visit www.super

seedz.com. ■

Deli DepartmentInnovation withThe Better Chip

BelGioioso Offers Premium Cheeses in Snack-Size PackagesBelGioioso Cheese, Inc.offers items thatmeet consumer’s needs for individualsized, portion-controlled snacks. “Follow-ing on the heels of our enormously popularFresh Mozzarella Snacking Cheese, wedecided to expand the line to include aFontina Snacking Cheese,” states SeanMoran, Vice President of Sales. “At just70 calories, its mild, buttery flavor trulybrings a smile with every bite.”

In addition to the Fontina SnackingCheese, the BelGioioso snacking line in-cludes a 3-ounce Mini Mascarpone™cup designed for freshness and conven-ience and a 5-ounce Mini Ricotta™ sin-gle-serve cup.

“The Mini Mascarpone and Mini Ri-cotta are petite sized cups of our all-nat-ural, award-winning cheeses, offeringfreshness, convenience and portion controlfor the consumer,” says Moran. “Thecheese is packed with protein and calciumand offers a healthier alternative to tradi-tional snacks.”

As with all BelGioioso cheeses, the newofferings are made using traditional Italian

cheesemaking methods. They are all-nat-ural, rBST-free, gluten-free and contain nogums or fillers. The Mini Mascarponecups are a perfect size for a healthierspread option, with each serving at nearly

half the calories of butter. The Mini Ri-cotta cups provide an individual serving of16 grams of protein and 60 percent of thedaily value in calcium and is packaged foruse as a single serve breakfast option withfresh fruit and granola, or as a fresh,creamy dip for vegetables. Each mini por-tion of the Fontina Snacking Cheese is full

of flavor and has only 70 calories. Individ-ual packages are printed with the Bel-Gioioso signature snacking smile logo.

Protein continues to be top of mind forconsumers in relation to satiety, weight

management and sustained en-ergy with 51 percent of con-sumers seeking out protein richsnacks for their daily diets.With the key drivers of snack-ing occasions being time, con-venience, health, portioncontrol and exploration, Bel-Gioioso’s new Snacking andMini protein rich cheeses pro-vide a delicious and flavorfulsnack choice.

The 70-calorie FontinaSnacking Cheese contains three cubes,packaged into individual 0.75-ounce pack-ages. The 3-ounce Mini Mascarpone cupsare packed 18 cups per case, while the 5-ounce Mini Ricotta cups are packed 12 percase.

For more information, visit www.belgioioso.com. ■

Legendary Jerky with a Recognized NameThe Hatfields and McCoys have come to-gether to take 150 years of moonshine andwhiskey tradition and blend it with pre-mium beef jerky. Thetaste starts sweet andhints to whiskey fla-vors boldly revealingsmoky premium beefin all its glory. It’s thesweetest premiumbeef jerky the company offers, and itwants all ages to enjoy it.

The legendary Hatfield & McCoy fam-

ily brand of jerky introduced two jerky fla-vors in May 2016 and released two morein October 2016. Black Powder is the orig-

inal classic tangy, spicy beef jerky. Thispremium jerky is tender and has a sea-soned bite with black pepper and sea salt.

Spicy Revenge is a bacon jerky that startssweet and smoky and finishes with a spicykick. Spicy Revenge was recognized asone of the top five most innovative newproducts in the salted snack category at the2016 Sweets and Snacks Expo.

Breakfast Maple Bacon Jerky is the 24-hour jerky made with brown sugar and ahint of smoky flavor that complements thesweet taste of maple found in this pre-mium bacon.

For more information, go to www.hatfieldandmccoyjerky.com. ■

8 SNACKINGNEWS Sneak Peek

Chocolate Companies Do Good DeliciouslyBY LORRIE BAUMANNGuilt is not among the ingredients for thisyear’s introductions of specialty choco-lates. Along with interesting flavors,chocolatiers are bringing products to themarket that have a good story to tell toconsumers with a wide range of concernsabout which chocolate treat they can enjoyin good conscience.

Chuao Chocolatier’s new Enamored lineof organic Fair Trade chocolates comes inthree fruit-forward flavors with floralnotes: Raspberry Rose, Coconut Hibiscusand Blueberry Lavender. As their namessuggest, Raspberry Rose is made with ra-diant raspberries sugared with rose petals,Blueberry Lavender is made with blueber-ries lightly infused with lavender, and Co-conut Hibiscus offers creamy coconut witha hint of hibiscus.

The line was created by the brand’sMaster Chef and Co-Founder MichaelAntonorsi as a tribute to women. “With theEnamored Collection, we wanted to createa product that celebrated ‘you,’ becausewho you are is enough,” said Antonorsi.“Spreading joy is the intention behindeverything we do, and with this new col-lection we hope to bring a moment of joyto every person who experiences it.”

The Enamored line launched in June,

and a percentage of sales goes to Girls,Inc., which shares the brand’s ideals ofempowering women. “Girls Inc. is focusedon empowering girls to discover theirstrengths and thrive,” said Judy Vreden-burgh, President and CEO of Girls Inc.“This includes helping them build confi-dence and a positive self-image. We arethrilled to partner with Chuao Chocolatieras they launch this new line that celebrateswomen and inspires them to do just that.”

Chuao Chocolatier’s new line of barsare made with non-GMO ingredients. Thesuggested retail price is $7.00. For moreinformation, visit Chuao Chocolatier’sbooth at the Summer Fancy Food Show orvisit www.chuaochocolatier.com.

Abdallah Chocolates is atthe Summer Fancy FoodShow with flavors we’ve seenbefore from the company, in-cluding its Caramel AlmondCoconut, Sugar Free Caramel,Pecan Grizzly and EnglishToffee chocolates. The ab-sence of a new flavor is due tothe company’s constructionthis year of a new 90,000square foot facility that’s been taking at-tention away from product developmentfor the past several months, said National

Sales Manager Madonna Schmitz. The company is expecting to move into

its new facility late this summer and tohave the production lines running by thefirst of September, she added. For more in-formation, visit the company’s booth at theSummer Fancy Food Show or visitwww.abdallahcandies.com.

Sulpice Chocolat is a start-up companythat’s sticking with the traditional flavorsof a high-quality peanut butter cup butadding a boost of nutrition. A three-pieceserving includes 7g of protein and 3g offiber – attributes we associate more withnutrition bars than with candy, but this isvery definitely a treat that feels like an in-dulgence. “We’re trying to make the candy

aisle betterfor you,”said AnneS h a e f f e r ,half of thehusband andwife teamthat foundedS u l p i c eC h o c o l a t .For more in-

formation, call 630.301.2345 or visitwww.sulpicechocolat.com.

Laima Chocolates’ Cheese Chocolate is

made in Latvia with white chocolate andreal cheese. The company also makes afull line of dessert-flavor chocolates, in-cluding Creme Brulee, Key Lime Pie andTiramisu covered with dark chocolate. A3.5-ounce bar of the Cheese Chocolate re-tails for $4.99. It’s been sold in the U.S.for many years in ethnic markets, and it’sbeen more widely offered by Aero-Cos forthe past four or five years. Distributed inthe United States by Aero-Cos Interna-tional, the Laima Chocolates products aremade by Orkla Confectionery & Snacks.

Heavenly Caramels Coconut Caramels,Pecan Caramels and Vanilla Sea SaltCaramels covered with chocolate are thenewest product introduction from Utah-based J. Morgan’s Confections. A 4.2-ounce bag retails for $3.49 to $3.99.

The Heavenly Caramels line also includesseveral products that aren’t covered inchocolate and that feature flavors youwouldn’t necessarily associate with caramel,including Cinnamon Caramel, Old EnglishLicorice Caramel, Coconut Caramel,Caramel Apple, Vanilla Sea Salt Carameland Butter Caramel. Each 4.7-ounce bag ofthese varieties retails for $3.49.

For more information, call801.688.4999 or visit www.jmorganconfections.com. ■

Inspired Handcrafted Chocolates from the “Soon to be Famous”BY LORRIE BAUMANNChocolate Inspirations is a mom and popcompany that makes artisan and veganconfections run by a family who’s proudto call themselves a “soon to be famousfamily of chocolatiers.”

Our big family makes up most of ourstaff. It’s cousins and aunts and my 89-year-old grandmother,” says Marcy Goetz,the company’s co-Owner, who’s in chargeof packaging, marketing and sales – all thebusiness pieces that come after the confec-tions leave the kitchen. It’s her mom, PamVieau, who’s the inspired genius behindthe product line of boozy brittles, barks,tea bars, caramels, caramel corn and tof-fees. .

The business started when Vieau de-cided to go back to school a couple ofdecades ago. Her college classes were in-teresting, but on weekends when shewasn’t studying, Vieau decided thatshe’d also take advantage of the wealthof culinary knowledge available to her inChicago. “I’m a big foodie. You want totalk about food, I can talk to you forhours,” she says. That led her to a week-long class by Chocolatier Elaine Gonza-lez that was scheduled during a break inher college schedule and eventually to anew career for which Gonzalez becamea mentor.

Gonzalez died in 2014 after a career asan internationally renowned artist inchocolate who’d been a guest instructorat leading culinary schools throughout thecountry, including The Culinary Instituteof America, The Malley School of Mer-chandising for Retail Confectioners andThe Wilton School of Confectionary Art.She caught Vieau’s imagination rightaway with a demonstration in which shemade a chocolate bow for a chocolatecandy box. “I thought that was the slick-est thing,” Vieau says. “Back at school, Istarted making things on the side and giv-ing them away.” People started asking ifthey could buy more of her confections,and eventually, someone offered her adeal she couldn’t pass up, and that turnedher little hobby into the start of a realbusiness. “I had a guy – I had a recipe ofcookies that he liked a lot, and he tradedme a recipe of cookies for a chocolatemelting machine,” she says.

She started with an English Toffee thatwon Outstanding Confection FinalistAward in 1999 from the organization thencalled the National Association for theSpecialty Food Trade, now the SpecialtyFood Association, and soon after that, shewas making Cinnamon Toast Toffee andEspresso Toffee and coming up withrecipes for brittles. The creativity just kept

flowing. Squrtle is a turtle-type candy witha square shell, and he’s even got a mascot,Elmore Squrtle, whose image is moldedinto the top of each piece. “He’s got a –notice that all of a sudden I give him a per-sonality,” Vieau says.

Then she started working on a range ofBoozy Brittles. Those now include a rangemade with craft beers – one with a farm-house ale, one with a hard ginger beer andone with a hard root beer. The line madewith craft beers is still expanding, andVieau promises that varieties made withwines are also on the way.

The vegan line is the latest innovation.“That was a little challenging because wewanted it to taste like it happened to bevegan. We wanted it to taste not like therewas something wrong with it, but thatthere was something right with it,” shesays. “Vegan also appeals to other peoplebecause it’s also dairy-free; we run into alot of people who say they don’t eat dairyany more. We’re very proud of our veganline. We want it to taste just as good and itdoes.”

All that creativity comes from an end-less search for new ideas. She gathersthem from magazines covering the foodindustry, from visits to trade shows likethe Fancy Food Shows, from conversa-tions with other foodies and makers.

“There’s not enough hours in the day forthe amount of things I would like to tryand make. When I have free time, whichis not a lot, I am always looking inbooks. I am always looking for what’snew,” she says. “The whole purpose is tostay abreast of what’s going on and thento take away from that what you can ac-tually use yourself.”

The business is growing, but it’s stilla family-run operation, and Vieau andGoetz say that the Chocolate Inspira-tions products work best for small retail-ers, the kind of family-owned businesseswhere customers expect to find thehandcrafted, personally selected, lov-ingly made and lovingly offered prod-ucts that they can’t find in big boxstores. The vegan line, of course, is aparticularly good fit for natural foodsstores. “Mom and pop stores are ab-solutely the best for us. We’re mom andpop and they’re mom and pop, and that’swhere people go for the locally-pro-duced, the artisan,” says Goetz. “That’spart of what we are. Even if we are bigand famous chocolatiers, there’ll be a di-vision where mom and pop stores cancall. I don’t ever want to get too big tobe too big for mom and pop stores.”

For more information, visit www.chocolateinspirations.com. ■

10 SNACKINGNEWS Sneak Peek

Sweets from Salt Lake CityBY LORRIE BAUMANNWhen Rowena Montoya decided to turnher little sideline of making caramel can-dies for her husband to give away at tradeshows into a real business of her own, shenamed it after the two aunts who gave herher real start. Julie and Ann not only raisedMontoya after her mother died when shewas 15, they provided her with theirrecipes.

Montoya started making caramels whenher husband was traveling to trade showsall over the western United States to hustleup business moving heavy equipment. Heneeded something that would bring peopleto his table, so he asked his wife for ideas.Montoya thought a homemade treat would

do the trick and went back to her familyfor some recipes. “They are just wonderfulcooks and are not afraid to do anything ortry anything, and they gave that spirit tome,” she says.

The caramels went over so well thatpeople started asking where they couldbuy them. Eventually, Montoya got a lit-tle tired of telling people, “Nowhere,”and she got a little bored making justplain caramels and she started pureeingfruit and layering in chocolate. Thinkingabout Jelly Belly gave her the idea thatpeople like a multiplicity of flavors, andJulieAnn Caramels grew from there.“People aren’t used to what I’m doing,so they’re excited about it. It’s some-

thing new,” she says.Last year, she built a 1,500-square-foot

commercial kitchen, and she already hasplans to expand the operation again withinthe next few years. Despite the growth, theJulieAnn Caramels are made with thesame quality they had when Montoya wasmaking them in her cottage kitchen.They’re still made in Salt Lake City withmilk from a local dairy, quality fruit, realbutter and cane sugar. “I’m such a stick-ler,” Montoya says. “Everything in it ishigh end. I want it to be real whole foodsthat our bodies can digest.”

For more information about JulieAnnCaramels, call 801.783.8324 or emailRowena@julieanncaramels.com. ■

New Confection Creations from a Company with Centuries-Old TraditionBY LORRIE BAUMANNBissinger’s debuted two new flavors of thecompany’s Gummy Pandas at the WinterFancy Food Show. Strawberry Mango andTart Cherry & Lime join a line-up that al-ready included Blueberry Acai, PinkGrapefruit with Grapeseed, PomegranateWhite Tea, Raspberry Yumberry andBlackberry Hibiscus Gummy Pandas.“They’re well-liked by children, butthey’re sophisticated enough for adults,”said Dave Owens, Bissinger’s ChiefChocolatier and Vice President of Taste.“They have a true-to-nature taste.”

Like the other flavors in the line, thenew Gummy Pandas are gluten free, dairyfree and contain no high fructose cornsyrup. They’re packaged in a 3-ouncepouch that retails for $4.99.

Bissinger’s also debuted its CaramelizedBlood Orange bar, which is 60 percentdark chocolate. Made with a blood orange-rosemary caramel with hazelnuts andcocoa nibs, the 3-ounce bar retails for$4.99. The bar is gluten free, and the earlyreviews are enthusiastic.

There are 10 bars in the line, includingCoconut Caramel and Honey Pepita

Caramel, which has roasted salted pepitason the back of the bar, lots of honey tasteand guajillo chili for a whisper of spice.

Bissinger’s Chocolate-Covered WineGrapes are made from Muscat grapes thathave dried into raisins on the vine. They’reinfused with Shiraz wine and then enrobedin 60 percent dark chocolate. This is not anew product, but the packaging has beenupdated. They come in a 3.5-ounce pouchthat retails for $5.99 as well as an 8-ouncegift box that retails for $14.99.

Many of these products originated inthe kitchen of Chief Chocolatier Owens,who’s been Bissinger’s Vice President ofTaste for nine years after coming toBissinger’s after a 30-year career in therestaurant business. His assignment atBissinger’s includes new product devel-opment, and in that role, it’s his respon-sibility to ensure that the legacy broughtby the company’s 350 years of history ismaintained as the product line alsoevolves to appeal to changing tastes.Doing that isn’t about responding totrends, Owens said: “We try to be in frontof our consumers to know what theywant before they want it.”

Like the days when Owens was devel-oping a new dish to serve in his restaurant,a new Bissinger’s candy starts with a con-cept. Owens rolls that thought around inhis mind until he can taste it, and then hegoes into his lab to work on it. In the caseof the Caramelized Blood Orange bar, itwas the rosemary that got added into therecipe in the course of that work. Its herba-ceous note adds a complexity to the barthat Owens really likes and that he thinkswill resonate with consumers on the huntfor a new flavor sensation.

Though the other flavors change withthe times, and many of them come and goin the product line, there’s one flavor thatdoesn’t change, and that’s the Bissinger’schocolate. All of the chocolate thatBissinger’s uses is made in Europe – it allcomes from one liquor, so that the milkchocolate and the different dark chocolateshave common flavor notes. “It’s all cohe-sive,” Owens said. “That’s why we havecustomers for life.... We meet customers intheir 80s who tell us they’ve been eating itsince they were a small child. They can tellme more about the company than even Iknow.” ■

Jelly Belly Candy Company Expands Organic Line Jelly Belly Candy Company brought itsreputation for delicious flavors and highquality to the organic snack categorywith the January launch of Organic JellyBeans, in 10 assorted and five sour fla-vors, and Organic Fruit Flavored Snacks.The success of the company’s first or-ganic line led to its 10-Flavor AssortedGift Box.

The Gift Box features an assortment of10 fruit flavors: Berry, Blueberry, Cherry,

Coconut, Lemon, Orange, Peach, Pear,Red Apple and Strawberry. Each flavor isbeautifully displayed in its own compart-ment, letting consumers enjoy them one ata time. The Gift Box ships in 12-countcases.

All ingredients in the Jelly Belly Or-ganic Line are USDA certified organic,and made with non-GMO ingredients withflavors and colors from natural sources.The Organic 10-Flavor Assorted Gift Box

will join a 1.9-ounce Grab & Go® bag,5.5-ounce pouch bag and bulk offerings inthe Organic Assorted Jelly Bean Collec-tion. In addition to Organic Jelly Beans inassorted flavors, Jelly Belly offers OrganicJelly Beans in sour flavors: Apple, Berry,Cherry, Lemon and Orange. Organic FruitFlavored Snacks are also available in anassortment of six favorite fruit flavors:Strawberry, Berry, Lemon, Apple, Orangeand Cherry. ■

New automation in Asher’s ChocolateCo.’s production and packaging depart-ments has allowed for substantial reduc-tion in use of packaging materials whileincreasing the operation’s overall capac-ity. “We’ve been able to take on projectsin the past two years that previouslywouldn’t have been feasible, allowingus to increase production hours year-round,” notes Chief Executive OfficerJeff Asher, who represents the fourthgeneration to lead his family’s business.

Based in Pennsylvania, with facilitiesin Souderton and Lewistown, Asher’sChocolate Co. produces a broad line ofboth regular and sugar free chocolates,fudge and an assortment of non-choco-late confections. Bulk chocolates havebeen its core business, but branded andprivate label packaged items are a grow-ing and important segment for the com-pany.

“Our business, for 124 years now, hasfocused on producing high-quality con-fections. That focus remains, while thebiggest change is the ever-evolving chal-lenge of how to package and positionour product to reach and fulfill con-sumers,” Asher said. “This is an excitingtime for our company, as we’re seeingreal benefits from recent reinvestment inseveral areas of our operations.”

Asher credits his associates withmaintaining the consistency that cus-tomers have come to expect while driv-ing innovation forward. “There’s nodenying the value of our generations-oldrecipes, but truly vital to our success isthe collection of Asher’s associates thatbring decades of experience throughoutour business,” he said. “It’s that experi-ence, and the collaborative energyamongst our associates, that ensures ourcustomers can depend on us for thosetraditional favorites as well as new andexciting pieces.”

“We’re excited about our next gener-ation of development,” he continued.“We have earned a reputation with ourcustomers for consistent quality, and ourcommitment to match that quality to ef-ficient manufacturing options will en-sure we remain a valuable supplier tothem.”

For more information, go to www.ashers.com or email dbruno@ashers.com. ■

A New GenerationLeads the Way atAsher’s Chocolate