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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Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 3303 "Rather than looking at it as an isolated product, we mar- ket it as a cooking ingredient," she says. "People want to know what to do with it. How many recipes can I make with this?" To that end, the company's website offers ideas, such as grilled fish brochettes with roasted green salsa, crab quesadillas with papaya mango salsa, and chicken enchiladas with roasted red mole sauce. Those who prefer to scoop salsa with tortilla chips—and not just any old tortilla chips—can pick up bags of Native Kjalii's thick or thin versions made from whole-kernel white corn or blue corn, not corn f lour. "Ours have less salt so you can taste the f lavor of the corn," says Jeremy. "We started questioning where our corn was from before I was even aware of what GMO meant. To make sure all of our corn and corn oil is GMO-free we have it tested. We had to change a co-packer who didn't want to go to the trouble." Food transparency is an important cause for Jeremy. "It's our right as human beings," she says. "In labeling, do I need to know if it's GMO or not? I want that option. Staying gluten-free is another option. Is it or isn't it? We're pushing our kids to be healthy and yet how many artificial f lavors are in vending machines in schools? I'd like to work with a lobbying group and go into the schools and explain why labeling is important. It needs to start with education through a school program so students can bring the questions home to their parents." Included among the company's 11 non-GMO SKUs is an Asian-style Spicy Peanut Sauce which can be used to jazz up chicken or as a dip for a platter of crudite. Jeremy has also developed three main courses, Spicy Peanut Chicken over noodles, Pollo con Mole and Chile Verde con Cerdo (pork), sold fresh through Costco. In the next 12 months she plans to roll out two more freestanding sauces but chooses not to divulge details. Fashion continues to be an interest and she still makes use of her sewing machine. But Jeremy knows that the food industry is a better fit for her. "People seem happier in this business," she noted. "Your food becomes your personality and you don't have to be fash- ionable or pencil thin. There's no image in food. When you go out, nobody says, 'Who are you wearing?' Your product is your image. People will say, 'Oh, my God, you're Native?' They're so excited to tell me how they serve my salsa. I like that fresh salsa is not just for the rich. What I'm making is something everyone can afford." Julie Besonen is food editor for Paper magazine and a restaurant columnist for nycgo.com. Native Kjalii's thick or thin tortilla chips are made from whole-kernel white corn or blue corn, not corn four. Exhibiting at the 2016 Summer Fancy Food Show? Stop by the News & Solution Center, North Concourse, to have your product professionally photographed and uploaded to the Product Marketplace! BROUGHT TO YOU BY Have YOU visited the Product Marketplace on specialtyfood.com? SFA MEMBERS Easily upload photos and descriptions to showcase your products to buyers 24/7, 365 days per year. BUYERS AND PRODUCERS Connect between Fancy Food Shows—visit specialtyfood.com/ products. BUYERS Explore hundreds of products on demand and easily contact producers. 106 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com