December 2012

This Holiday Season I Give Thanks

Another year is drawing to a close, and it certainly was an interesting ride in our business. All the data pointed toward consumers wanting to spend money on their homes, but there appeared to be an underlying nervousness that seemed to keep the business from steaming ahead at full throttle. Perhaps with the election out of the way, the country will again turn its attention to economic growth and prosperity. I hope that the sales results for this holiday season are positive and bring us all into the New Year with a fresh and enthusiastic outlook for 2013. The Gourmet Business team is certainly charging ahead with an ambitious plan for 2013 that we will unveil at the beginning of the year.

We would like to thank our audience for their positive feed- back and encouragement over the last year. It certainly helps us continue to refine the publication to be the ultimate source of information about our industry for specialty merchants in all channels of distribution with an interest in merchandising gourmet products. You will see that we continue to strive to enlarge our areas of coverage and enhance the quality of information with our expanding editorial team, bringing needed attention to growing niches and the trends revealing new business opportunities.

All of this would not be possible if it were not for the dedica- tion and passion for the business demonstrated by the group of individuals who work tirelessly to make this publication possible. Producing a new publication every other week, on time, with top-quality editorial and eye-pleasing presentation is a feat that doesn’t get accomplished without plenty of hard work and many long workdays. We will celebrate their accomplishment and extend a new challenge by giving them even more to do in 2013. Please join me in thanking them all for a job well done.  In our last issue of the year, you will get a peek at some of the new items coming to market in 2013, with our previews of the January shows in Atlanta and the NYIGF. We will also review some of the outstanding products and flavors that can be merchandised around one of my family’s favorite dishes, pasta.

We always take note with great interest when a new technology comes to mar- ket. One of the technologies that held a lot of promise for providing information to consumers at point-of-purchase was QR codes. In this issue, we will take a closer look at the use of QR codes and whether or not the technology is living up to its promise. I think QR codes do provide a convenient bridge from POS to product demonstration video that can tell a complicated story in a very short presentation, and ultimately help sell the product for the retailer. As smartphones become more capable and Internet speeds get even faster, I expect QR codes will become as im- portant as a website to the growth of a dynamic brand-oriented company.

Happy holidays!

David Spencer Publisher, Gourmet Business President, HousewaresDirect, Inc. dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com