Gourmet Business - August 2015

It can be tough to think about sales in the fourth quarter during the sweltering days of summer. Nevertheless, as we all know, now is the time to finalize your holiday orders for all those gifts that are surely, hopefully, going to fly off the shelves through New Year’s Day. In fact, if you wait much longer, it could be too late to get the products in that you’ll need for the fall and winter holidays, all of which involve gift-giving to some degree, some more than others. To help you do just that, we are very pleased indeed to feature our Fall Gift Guide this month, full of outstanding new products, including food, kitchenware and serving pieces. We’ve scoured the industry and have come up with dozens of great gift ideas that are sure to make the season a little brighter and a lot more profitable. 

A clean kitchen is a healthy kitchen and one in which it is much easier to work. Many households are clearly divided between those who cook and those who clean up, with the latter often undervalued. In “The Oxford Companion to Food,” eminent food historian Alan Davidson wrote that although washing up is not often highly regarded, “the truth is that it is a skilled business calling for a natural aptitude, a discriminating attitude to the various means available, and considerable practice.” He goes on to say that it should be regarded as “the climax of the whole cycle (gathering, preparation, cooking, eating)”. With that bit of wisdom in mind, our learned and most fastidious editor Joanne Friedrick has taken a serious look at cleaning up in the kitchen (page 7). She also offers a bevy of new cleaning products to ease the task at hand and perhaps put a bit of polish on the bottom line as well. 

The trade show season isn’t over yet, and our publisher David Spencer previews the upcoming NY NOW (page 15), a show that is a virtual cavalcade of housewares and gift items. As we crawl toward Labor Day, the end of summer and the beginning of school, and as many of us are off to cover yet more trade shows, here’s wishing you a successful August and good luck heading into fall. 

James Mellgren
Managing Editor, Gourmet Business 

jmellgren@gourmetbusiness.com