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/116674
buyers' picks SURPRISE HITS High-priced specialty items and unusual flavors are taking off, much to some retailers' surprise. BY NICOLE POTENZA DENIS Margaret Seeley Furniss, Caviar & Bananas, Charleston, SC Our new salt bar and high-priced—but awesome—small-batch tonic water and boutique ice cream really took off more than we ever expected. Our picks: • Artisanal finishing salts (bulk in salt bar) u Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. Small Batch Tonic • Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream t Sweeteeth Sea is for Caramel Chocolate Bar David Warner, City Feed and Supply, Jamaica Plain, MA Locally produced items are the most popular and outsell others in their category. This is especially true of seasonal flavors that sell year-round. Some favorites: u Alex's Ugly Sauce Dragon Hot Sauce u Doves and Figs Kitchen Chocolate Fig Sunshine u Maple Valley Creamery Maple Walnut Ice Cream • Mystic Brewery An Dreoilin • Spirit Hill Farm Back Roads Granola Janea Boyles, The Mercantile, Atlanta, GA I was very skeptical to bring in a parbaked bread, cookies that are prepackaged (we make our own in-house), pricey condiments and another spice product in an already saturated category. They all took off like wildfire. The favorites: • Basiks at Home Spice Blends u Lusty Monk Original Sin Mustard • San Marzano Sugo di Pomodoro Marinara • Tate's Bake Shop Cookies • Tribeca Oven Baguettes Fortino Godinez, Hubbell & Hudson Market & Bistro, The Woodlands, TX Seasonal items that sell year-round like marshmallows and pumpkin butter, mind-boggling high-priced ice cream at $11.49 a pint, and the bacon-chocolate combo that never fails to pique curiosity are worthy of a surprise sale. Popular items: • Classic French Macarons • Hubbell & Hudson Pumpkin Butter • Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream Brown Butter Almond Brittle Ice Cream • Queen Bee Gourmet Marshmallows • Vosges Chocolate Mo's Bacon Bar Nicole Potenza Denis is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine. GLUTEN-FREE 2.0, P. 26 8 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com PHOTOS (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP): NEAL'S YARD DAIRY; JACK RUDY COCKTAIL CO.; LUSTY MONK; DOVES AND FIGS; MARIA SAN ANDRES; MARIA SAN ANDRES; CHAPUL CRICKET BARS; AMOUR SPREADS Crystal Brown, Liberty Heights Fresh, Salt Lake City, UT We were pleasantly surprised with many items, especially those that use ingredients that customers might be skeptical of, like licorice or cricket flour. Top picks: u Amour Spreads Apricot Rose Jam • Askinosie Dark Milk Chocolate + Licorice CollaBARation Bar • Camp Robber Marshmallows t Chapul Cricket Bars p Neal's Yard Dairy Keen's Cheddar