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.
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Our best selling points are inside this bottle "Approximately 48 percent of people who go out to eat sometimes order vegetarian meals. That means when you're making a vegetarian item, you're not just marketing it to vegetarians and vegans, but to a much larger population out there." the benefits of flagging its whole-grain, gluten-free, non-GMO– verified, organic brown-rice chips as vegan or vegetarian. They always were, but only in the past couple of years did the company actively make it known. Todd Kluger, vice president of marketing, confirmed that Lundberg experienced "an increase in sales and awareness of our brand when we reached out to the vegan and veg- etarian communities." A national brand-monitoring study the company conducts every two years brought about packaging changes. The study broke down the demographics of those who purchase and enjoy Lundberg's Organic Rice Chips. "We were surprised to find out that more than 15 percent of our consumers identified themselves as vegetarian or vegan," Kluger says, "which is higher than the national average of consumers who identify themselves in that way." Challenges Facing the Industry Vegans read labels, as suppliers will attest. For people who eat vegan and look closely at ingredient labels, it makes a difference if they see corn listed, says Beanitos' Foreman. "People are rejecting corn because of its associations with agribusiness," he says, noting the influence of the author Michael Pollan. "About 90 percent of all corn is genetically modified, but so far it's not an issue with beans. "Overall, it's just a fact that people are much more aware of what's going on in their food and are making healthy choices when it comes to snacks," Foreman continues. He has gotten particular satisfaction from customers emailing him that they'd stopped eating chips because of the corn issue—until Beanitos came along. Lisa Protter of Organic Nectars notes the downside of suc- cess in vegan products. "The marketplace is a lot more competi- tive now," she says. "When we first started there was little in the way of delicious, raw, gluten-free foods, but now there's a lot more choice. It's great for consumers but harder for us." Even so, she adds, her company's sales are up 50 percent over last year. |SFM| Julie Besonen is food editor for Paper magazine and restaurant columnist for nycgo.com. Find more vegetarian and vegan snacks by visiting the Product Finder at specialtyfood.com. Fruity flavor ideal for cooking your favorite dishes Cap with interior dispenser Cold Pressed 100% spanish olive oil From the largest producer in the world Kosher Max. Acidity 0.3% Premium Quality Extra virgin olive oil from our farms in Spain Dark bottle to preserve quality Exclusive four sided packaging easily recognizable HOJIBLANCA USA, INC. 175 Washington Avenue, Suite 18. DUMONT, NJ 07628 Ph.: 201.384.3007 Fax: 201-384-0848 Added Taste Brings Added Profi ts Choose from over 60 Gourmet Mixes. www.monksmeadow.com 800-545-3760 MARCH 2012 35