Food Ingredients
My First NRA Show
Nothing could prepare me for the National Restaurant Association NRA Show 2010 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Being the largest restaurant and hospitality show in the western hemisphere, with more than 1,600 exhibitors from 100 countries and a 200-page Exhibit Guide & Program containing all the information you need to navigate the show can be an overwhelming experience.
Here are a few of my favorites and must-see booths and pavilions:
Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream- A rich, creamy, old-fashioned ice cream parlor with new product ideas and award-winning flavors. Try the Amaretto Cherry, made with homegrown cherries from Michigan. Delicious! Flavor trends also include, pomegranate and a five-flavor Spumoni.
Vienna Beef- It wouldn’t be a Chicago food show without the official Chicago-style hot dog! Vienna had a line down the aisle with lots of show buzz and excitement.
Taylor – Promoting their new multi-flavor slushy equipment with simple operational features allowed me to mix four different flavors; raspberry, energy boost, blueberry and strawberry into one refreshing slushy. Every gas station in America should have one of these nifty gadgets.
Red River Valley Red Potatoes- These potatoes are from The Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota and are grown in some of the darkest and richest soil in the world. I found these potatoes to be firm, sweet and non grainy like most red skins. Impressive.
Grecian Delight-I had the opportunity to sample one of Grecian’s low calorie sandwiches made with whole-wheat flatbread, Lebanese chicken shawarma and skhug- it was love at first bite.
Gluten-Free Pavilion- This trend is definitely here to stay. The section was packed with 33 suppliers of gluten-free breads, crackers, baked goods, pastas and even beer. Conte’s Pasta had great tasting gnocchi and ravioli to sample, Violet Family Products was sharing their scrumptious pizza crust and Crunchmaster was handing out their multi-seed crackers that had the perfect amount of seasoning on each cracker.
Food Trucks Pavilion- This section promoted the latest in food truck technology for chefs and entrepreneurs who want to avoid the expense of an actual restaurant. Fun idea!
New Identity for Seattle’s Best Coffee
Having grown up in the drippy Pacific Northwest, I have a special place in my heart for Seattle. That’s why if I had a choice between Starbuck’s or Seattle’s Best Coffee I’d always make the ‘renegade’ choice. The Seattle’s Best logo said “home” to me; taking me back to chilly strolls on misty piers clad in Eddie Bauer goose down. For this regular trip down memory lane, I even forgave them when they sold out to Starbuck’s in 2003.
With the new logo…I have to say goodbye to my nostalgia, and sadly…probably my motivator to purchase their cuppa over Dunkin’ Donuts’ fine brew. The brand was the tie-breaker for me. I just can’t see myself in their new contemporary, streamlined (and dare I say, commoditizing) circle drop logo.
Will it be instantly recognizable, as they hope? Yes, probably. Will it evoke the same emotional pull for loyalists? I doubt it. What do you think?
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The Brand Impact … retire an icon?
There’s a movement afoot to retire McDonald’s “Chief Happiness Officer.” Is Ronald the beloved brand ambassador that McDonald’s claims … or the creepy “dealer on the street corner” that the advocacy group Corporate Accountability International is making him out to be?
If you’re so inclined, you can attend one of many events (see photo) or sign the Retire Ronald petition.
As a marketer, I understand t
he reluctance to send a 30+ year mascot to the retirement home. What will be the impact on the McDonald’s brand if they are forced to retire Ronald? McDonald’s to date has defended their fun-loving clown by talking about all the good “he” has done … from being the soul of Ronald McDonald House Charities to sending “him” to schools as a health ambassador (chocolate milk and apple slices with caramel being safer choices … really?).
On the other hand, Corporate Responsibility International seems to think that the absence of Ronald means the demise of McDonald’s and all that they find fault with. But with over 40% of McDonald’s ad budget targeted to kids, surely Ronald would be replaced with something. This could be a “watch out what you ask for” situation. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.
What do you think?
What’s in YOUR Easter basket?
Most of us have fond remembrances of rushing around on Easter morning hunting for the elusive Easter basket. All I ever wanted was a Fanny May white chocolate rabbit. There’s something oddly fun in peeling off the eyes, biting off the ears and breaking apart the body … especially when you’re not actually eating a real animal.
As with all simple things, times have truly changed. Now, the options for types of chocolate and flavors are seemingly endless.
Let’s see … organic bunnies? Fair trade candy eggs? Gluten-free ? Vegan? Heart-healthy 80% cocoa or go for the store brand sugar buzz?
A few fun facts about Easter candy:
- More chocolate candy is sold the week prior to Easter than the week leading to Valentine’s Day.
-Last year (2009), 120 million pounds of candy were sold for Easter, of which 71 million pounds were chocolate … vs. 48 million pounds for Valentine’s Day and 90 million pounds for Halloween.
- US chocolate sales are up 2.6% vs. last year.
- Vosges Chocolates,a personal favorite, offers “Bacon & Eggs” … 55% dark chocolate with a creamy caramel/bacon center as well as their Amalfi bunny … white chocolate, pink peppercorns and lemon zest.
- The most popular non-chocolate Easter candy in the U.S. is the cute little Peep, only 32 calories each and no fat! Americans ate 600 million Peeps the last Easter season.
- Our friends in the UK eat an average of 3 Cadbury Crème Eggs per person! The Cadbury Créme Egg plant at Bournville can produce more than 1.5 million eggs per day.
And good news out just in time! The European Heart Journal found that people who ate a half bar of chocolate per week had lower blood pressure … therefore, a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes. Wait … a half a bar per week? Unfortunately, more than that and you get the high calories and sat fat linked to weight gain and raised cholesterol … therefore, a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Reading the fine print is just not any fun. Still, I’m heading over to the Vosges boutique with a quick stop at Fanny May to compare white rabbits. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Are you a “sustainable” marketer?
How do you define “sustainability” and how do you showcase your efforts within your marketing initiatives … without being perceived as “greenwashing”? 
In the last couple of years, “sustainability” has risen in the ranks as a purchase criteria for food and supplements. People are becoming more conscious of how products are manufactured, how the ingredients in them are sourced, and how they get to the shelves. At the 2010 Focus on the Future, we were treated to a keynote by Dr. Jay Golden, Director of the Sustainability Consortium. This is a group of academics and global businesses who have come together to develop a scientific foundation that will improve consumer product sustainability throughout its lifecycle. The reason? Walmart’s 15-point supplier sustainability assessment, replete with specific dates to comply.
Sweaty Palms for Nestle
We have all heard about Nestlé, maker of Kit Kat, using palm oil from companies that are destroying Indonesian rainforests, threatening the livelihoods of local people and pushing orangutans towards extinction. When Greenpeace released this information the result was a flood of protesters drowning the Nestle Facebook Fan page with negative comments and sending tweets about the company and its practices.
What has helped this story gain traction is the extremely poor response from Nestle itself. When Facebook fans started using altered Nestle logos as their profile pictures, Nestle posted a reply which added fuel to the fire; “we welcome your comments, but please don’t post using an altered version of any of our logos as your profile pic–they will be deleted”.
