Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/102355
To create his own identity while honoring the cheese industry, Moskowitz founded the Cheesemonger Invitational in 2010, a festival and competition where cheesemongers demonstrate their skills via blind tastings, cutting and plating. At the most recent competition in June 2012, 700 guests watched 45 cheesemongers compete. "This was my way of telling the industry, I love you," Moskowitz says. New challenges. Moskowitz is running Larkin in a very different era than his father's, marked by the expanded role of the FDA and greater importer responsibilities due to the Food Safety Modernization Act. "You really have to have all your ducks in a row," he says. "Back in the day, it was the Wild West. Today the regulations force us to become expert importers with new accountability and responsibilities." BYRD COOKIE COMPANY T iming was a key factor in Stephanie Lindley's decision to become CEO of her family business in Savannah, Ga. A departure—and a return. Stephanie Lindley began working for Byrd Cookie Company soon after her father, Benny Curl, bought the business from her grandfather in 1988. Lindley worked at the company from 1988 to 1999, but left to start a chain of retail shops, which gave her more time for her two children. Years later, when Lindley and her father sat down on her porch in 2010, she says she knew before they had finished talking that she wanted to return. "It was a complete surprise, but if it wasn't me, then who was it going to go to? I didn't want our business outside the family," she says. "This time the timing was perfect. My children were grown." When she bought the business in 2011, Lindley became the fourth generation to help the company started by her great-grandfather in 1924. Deliciously Fudgy Baking all-natural Belgian chocolate brownies since 1992. Visit us! Booth #1364 2013 Winter Fancy Food Show 602.489.5135 ~ wholesale@brownies.com Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 1364 78 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com Supporting differences. Lindley and her father agree they have different styles. Curl describes himself as slower and more conservative than his daughter. "She's more creative. She's very good at vision," he says. Lindley says she acts more quickly, both in making decisions and evaluating. When they began the leadership transition, Curl led the conversations on how to navigate the entwined personal and business venture. "He wanted to make sure I knew that he was on board and would be supportive of me with whatever I wanted to do," Lindley says. "He would not be a stumbling block or stand in my way." Shifting priorities. Today many grocery stores stock Byrd products once found only in highly specialized shops. To succeed in this new market, Lindley has focused on creating consistently excellent cookies, frequently taste-testing batches for quality. "It is so important how we distinguish ourselves from other cookies," she says. "I realized that we had been focusing more on the packaging. I wanted to maintain a focus on the quality of the cookie." Lindley's tenure has been marked by intense engagement and