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/55305
CHEESE FOCUS Top Trend: Sticking Stateside American artisanal cheese is a category that simmers with potential. Even European- born shoppers no longer believe that all the best cheeses come from Europe. If you aren't allocating significant space to domes- tic selections, you're missing out on sales. From those first tentative steps with fresh chevre, American cheesemakers have con- quered more challenging territory. "I'm see- ing an explosion of styles being produced and a significant increase in the state of the art," says Matt Rubiner, owner of Rubiner's Cheesemongers in Great Barrington, Mass. Hyper-local is still hip, but merchants Great Products Deserve the Best Labels. are broadening their view, reports Brad Dubé, president of Food Matters Again, a Brooklyn, N.Y., importer and distributor. New York City retailers who used to insist on "cheese from nearby" are now snapping up artisanal selections from Wisconsin, Idaho and beyond. Dunbarton Blue from Roelli Cheese Haus in Wisconsin and Big Boy Blue and Pluvius from Washington State's Willapa Hills Cheese have scored big in the Big Apple for Dubé. Sheri LaVigne, proprietor of The Calf and The Kid in Seattle, sees a bright future for Rush Creek Reserve, a Vacherin-style creation from Wisconsin's Upland Cheese. "The trial run was unbelievable, and I already have customers clamoring for this year's run," wrote LaVigne in an email last fall. This raw-milk cheese, a sibling to the prize-winning Pleasant Hill Reserve, is made only in autumn, when the cows' milk spikes in fat and protein. American sheep's milk cheeses finally constitute a legitimate, if minus- cule, category. Almost every expert ques- tioned mentioned this niche as a trend— then acknowledged that it might just be wishful thinking. But the critical acclaim for sheep's milk beauties like Barinaga Ranch's Baserri (California), Carr Valley's Cave-Aged Marisa (Wisconsin), Hidden Watch new product videos at www.primeralabel.com/videos Primera has everything you need to print and apply gorgeous, full-color labels for your products. Our LX-Series Label Printers, an industry standard, are now complemented by the new AP-Series Label Applicators and DX-Series Label Dispensers. Better looking labels, applied straight and without wrinkles, helps you sell more of your products! Call us at 1-800-797-2772 for more information and a FREE sample label package. Visit us at www.primeralabel.com or email to sales@primera.com. Mountain Springs Creamery's Ocooch and Driftless (Wisconsin), Hook's Little Boy Blue (Wisconsin), Lark's Meadow Farm's Dulcinea (Idaho) and Wisconsin Sheep Dairy's Dante make the case that this under-represented class is on the rise. "We've been doing really well with the Two Carlson Parkway North Plymouth, MN 55447-4446 USA 800-797-2772 (U.S.A and Canada only) Phone: 763-475-6676 Fax: 763-475-6677 www.primeralabel.com ©2011 Primera Technology, Inc. Primera is a registered trademark of Primera Technology, Inc. All data and company names used in sample outputs are fictitious. Big Woods Blue," produced by Shepherd's Way Farms in Minnesota, says Rachel Cohen, cheese buyer for Tomales Bay Foods, a West Coast distributor. This lus- cious sheep's milk wheel ranked among the top of its class in 2011's American Cheese Society competition. "It's shining at the moment," Cohen adds. Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 1362 42 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com