Subscribe to Side Dish Email Newsletter icon
Print
Side Dish, Food and Beverage Industry Trends: Center for Culinary Development
SIDE DISH - CCD's Monthly Compilation on Food and Beverage Industry Trends
Blue Grass Soy Sauce

NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES

December 2008

Dylan’s Chia Granola... We’ve been tracking the emerging superfood chia for several years and are always excited when a new product featuring the omega-3-packed seed appears. One of the latest is Dylan’s Chia Granola made by Rocky Mountain Foods in Denver. Each serving of the handcrafted granolas offers about 1,100 mg of ALA omega-3. Flavors include Cranberry Walnut and Sunflower Almond. (Natural Food Merchandiser, October)


  • Could it be? A 100-calorie Twinkie?... Portion-controlled Twinkie Bites come in packs of three totaling 100 calories. It follows the introduction of 100 Calorie Cup Cakes and Strawberry Cup Cakes with cream cheese icing and crème filling. One whole Twinkie has 150 calories in comparison. (PR Newswire, 11/3)
  • Introducing Karo LITE... Just in time for holiday pecan pies, the leading corn syrup brand has introduced a reduced-calorie syrup with 33% fewer calories and zero grams high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The product was created in response to consumer concerns about high calories and HFCS, which is also being removed from many beverages. (MarketWatch.com, 11/3)
  • Ocean Spray energizes the bar scene with Cranergy Energy Juice BarPac bottles... Fueling the sizzling cocktail scene is Cranergy Energy Juice in new bartender-friendly bottles. The energy boost in Cranergy comes from green tea extract; this juice represents a new wave of energy drinks based on natural juices. (Reuters, 11/4)
  • Food Stuff: 479 Degrees Popcorn... Just like Florence Fabricant in the New York Times, we fell for San Francisco’s latest home-grown gourmet snack, 479 Degrees Popcorn. Sold in distinctive rectangular boxes, this fancy popcorn comes in exotic and enticing flavors such as Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt, Vietnamese Cinnamon Sugar, Madras Curry Coconut & Cashew, Fleur de Sel Caramel, Chipotle Caramel & Almond and Pimenton de La Vera. A great gift for the holidays! (New York Times, 11/5)
  • High tech fruit drink for kids... In an effort to sneak more whole grains and whole fruit into a child’s diet, mom Denise Devine of Gladwyn, PA developed Froose, a box drink made of organic whole fruit and whole grain brown rice. The gluten-free drink, in development for 10 years, includes 3 grams of fiber, as much as a piece of fruit, and about 10 grams less of sugar than average drinks. (CBS3.com, 11/7), www.froose.com.
  • When is a macaron really a macaron?... Parisian style macarons are quite different from their American cousin, the coconut macaroon. They are made with ground almonds and meringue and come in the form of delicate sandwich cookies with flavored cream fillings. Luckily for us, every year more and more French and American bakers add macarons to their repertoire. For stellar examples, try those at Beverly Hills’ Paulette or Mad Mac, Bouchon Bakery or Payard in New York City. (Departures, Nov/Dec)
  • Spice Vice Spicy Mixed Nut Chikki... Spice Vice is an organic Indian bakery in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its chikki is an Indian style nut brittle made with whole cashews, pistachios, almonds and an aromatic Indian masala/spice blend. The candy is made with jaggery, a raw sugar with a rich flavor. Spice Vice is another indication of the way Indian foods, flavors and ingredients are permeating food culture today. Check out other treats at SpiceVice.com. (SF Weekly Foodie Blog, September)
  • Sanjen Jamu, Indonesian herbal juice... Sanjen Jamu is a new herbal juice company in San Francisco. Javanese founder Morsinah Katimin comes from a long line of jamu, or juice, blenders. She makes Ginger-Turmeric and Turmeric blends which she sells at the Ferry Building Farmers’ Market and Rainbow Grocery. (SF Weekly, October)
  • In the same vein, Dr. Weil and Ito En Teas have a turmeric tea on the market. It is believed that turmeric, an ancient Asian medicinal herb, has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties as well as the ability to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. (Dr.Weil.com)
Tomato

FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY HEADLINES

December 2008

Innovation key to taking business back from supermarkets... According to restaurant trend watcher Nancy Kruse, supermarkets are siphoning off restaurant business through improved takeout options (see our Prepared Foods Culinary Trend Mapping Report for more on this trend). Restaurants can fight back by: promoting quality and freshness, making dishes hard to replicate outside a restaurant kitchen, offering escape-worthy destinations and serving food samples to waiting diners. (NRN, 11/3)


  • Budgets squeezed, some families bypass organics... Shaky consumer spending is dampening the mood for organic shoppers as sales volume of organic products slows after a decade-long boom. Consumers not completely committed to organics are now prioritizing purchases, focusing on dairy products and food for kids, but letting go of organic packaged goods. (New York Times, 11/1)
  • Sara Lee’s coffee blends become 30% more sustainable in 2009... The company has committed to buy 26,500 tons of certified coffee beans in 2009, or 30% more than in 2008. It partners with UTZ Certified, an organization that certifies coffee farmers based on a set of social, business and environmental criteria. (PR Newswire, 11/3)
  • Bake sales fall victim to push for healthier foods... The old-fashioned school bake sale is fast becoming obsolete in California thanks to new state nutrition standards for public schools. They require that snacks sold during the day at school contain no more than 35% sugar and 35% of calories from fat. To combat these restrictions, groups like the Piedmont High School water polo team holds sales off campus. (New York Times, 11/10)
  • Spam turns serious and Hormel turns out more... A sign of the failing economy is the surge in sales for Spam and other thrifty supermarket staples like pancake mix, rice, beans, mac n’ cheese mix, Jell-O, Kool-Aid and instant potatoes. Spam was born in the Depression and fits well in today’s recession economy. (New York Times, 11/15)
  • What America really eats? ...Parade magazine offers a glimpse at American eating habits in its annual poll. Revealing results include: Americans are eating at home more to save money; 21% are planting vegetable gardens; 59% are foregoing expensive cuts of meat. Also interesting: 21% say the most exotic food they’ve tried is sushi, 19% say Chinese. Seems like Peruvian has a long way to go to hit mainstream! (Parade.com, 11/16)
  • A seafood snob ponders the future of fish... Mark Bittman explores the sad situation of overfishing and over-consumption of fish by our growing population and discusses the challenges of fish farming. Two solutions are better aquaculture management and eating more fish like sardines, anchovies and herring. (New York Times, 11/16)
  • Private label food will likely be king for 2009... At the PLMA trade show in November, attendees were optimistic for the future. Shoppers are turning to low-price retail leaders like Wal-Mart and buying more private label products. Mainstream grocers, like Safeway, are adding more premium and mid-price private label products to compete. (Seeking Alpha, 11/20)
  • Commercializatin News: brought to you by Jan Matsuno, Director of Commercialization
    Dioxins found in Irish Pork... The recent blanket recall and subsequent all-clear of Irish pork contaminated with cancer-causing dioxins from tainted feed illustrates at number of lessons for the food industry. One: Have a complete and efficient lot traceability program. Irish officials were able to quickly trace and isolate the cause of the dioxin problem due to good controls and lot tracing. Two: Transparency. Complete and honest notification of the public, while painful, can promote consumer loyalty and prevent a protracted investigation later. Three: Know your suppliers, ALL of them. And finally: Be prepared. Melamine yesterday, Dioxin today, only good controls and vigilance can protect food safety tomorrow.