Specialty Food Magazine

SEP 2012

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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The Art of the Gift Basket As a perennial go-to present for clients or loved ones, gift baskets and boxes can compose a huge amount of fourth-quarter sales. Retailers and other experts offer tips to create money-making varieties for the holidays and year-round. Pic caption and pic caption italic S by Eva Meszaros Treat Them to Truffles BY JULIE BESONEN Whether used as a sophisticated addition to menus or as a luxurious gift, truffle prod- ucts are a natural fit for holiday merchandising. T ruffles, those rare and flavorful fungi, are so overpoweringly potent that a tiny amount will impart an earthy essence that transforms foods from mashed potatoes to foie gras. This taste of luxury is especially timely to promote for the upcoming holiday entertaining season. And, for those customers who shy away from cooking with the fresh ingredient—or whose budgets won't allow a splurge on pricey whole truffles in the current economy— there are myriad truffle-based specialty food products available at varying price points to help them enjoy a touch of extravagance this holiday season. The line up includes truffle-flavored salts, cheese, butter, vinegar, salami, foie gras, flour, pasta, rice, mustard, mayonnaise and honey. Many of these products make uncommon hostess gifts as well. PHOTO: IMAGE WITHIN FRAME, CHELSEA MARKET BASKETS; BACKGROUND, BIGSTOCK 18 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com pecialty food brings an instant sense of quality and panache to any occasion, whether for a weeknight meal or a vibrant party. So it makes sense that this quality resonates equally well when applied to the food gifting industry, which has been growing, steadily. According to Packaged Facts most recent report, "Food Gifting in the U.S., 2nd Edition," published in 2010, sales of food gifts were up 9.6 percent from 2007 to 2009. Food was one of the few areas of gifting that continued to expand in spite of the economic down- turn, and food gifting was projected to continue its growth.

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