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/235863
category spotlight At Jungle Jim's International, shoppers are going for Avitae caffeinated waters, one of several new brands that add natural caffeine from coffee beans to purified still water, and Hint Essence waters in such flavors as honeydew hibiscus and pomegranate tangerine. "People are carrying out four gallons at a time," says Weed. The estimated $1 billion sparkling water market is also rapidly expanding, seeing a 16 percent growth in the category in the first half of 2013, according to Beverage Digest. Chapel Hill, N.C., retailer Southern Season offers the Ayala Herbal Waters line of four sparkling waters in cinnamon orange peel, ginger lemon peel, lavender mint and lemongrass mint vanilla. Hint recently introduced Hint Fizz, a line of unsweetened, sparkling waters flavored with fruit essence. But it isn't only new and enhanced sparkling waters that are popular. At The Healthy Gourmet, Athens, Ga., owner David Wells says bottles of San Pellegrino Italian sparkling water are a strong favorite While most of the sales of coconut waters are for single-serving sizes, customers are buying litersize containers for at-home use. Victoria's Kitchen Almond Coconut Water Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 4220 76 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com with his customers, who place the glass bottle on the dinner table. Tea Gets Moving. According to Today's Specialty Food Consumer 2013, a report compiled by the Specialty Food Association and Mintel International, the ready-to-drink specialty tea and coffee segment grew 18 percent from 2010 to 2012, reaching $482 million. Tea drinks, especially, are growing in popularity and may include black, green, lemon, tulsi, red and Chinese oolong teas, brewed in imaginative blends and packaged in glass or plastic bottles, often using organic and fair trade ingredients. As in other categories, the demand for zero or low calories has led to the proliferation of unsweetened teas, including the Teas' Tea line of unsweetened green, oolong and jasmine teas with few or no calories. Coconut Water Goes Mainstream. Once an exotic drink found only in natural food stores, coconut water is now an estab-