Someone turned up the heat in Boston! Nothing like a heat wave to shock you into the realization that summer is upon us. Slaving over a hot stove to prepare dinner isn’t an attractive option anymore. It’s time to reach for my favorite cold salad recipes and relocate any necessary cooking jobs to the outdoor grill.
I can think of no better way to enjoy the abundance of summer produce than to
capture it all in a special salad. That is why this month we have devoted our publication to all of the terrific tools, gadgets and food products that your customers can uti- lize to produce their favorite salads for their families. Each member of our expanded editorial team has contributed to this all-encompassing “salute to salad” that you will find educational, informative and inspiring.
The Gourmet Business team just returned from the Summer Fancy Food Show in Washington, D.C., with full stomachs and loads of information to share with you in the coming months. You know what they say: “It’s hard work, but someone has to do it!” The NASFT, which organizes the show, employed the aid of some veteran columnists as “trendspotters” and asked them to report on the top food trends in the marketplace based on what they experienced at the show. They identified five trends that I would like to pass on to you as you consider what food products to buy next:
• Small Batch Mixers – Extra special ingredients for making unique beverages.
• Local Global – Flavors from around the world produced
with local ingredients.
• Cookie Cracker Crunch – An emerging snack creation that deliv- ers familiar bold flavors without all of the calories of the traditional product, such as our staff favorite Seth Greenberg’s Brownie Crunch.
• The New South – Infusing traditional southern flavors into a new realm of products.
• Chocolate Change Ups – Which, as the name implies, gives chocolate lovers a new reason to rejoice as the flavor is expanded beyond candy in products such as Stonewall Kitchen’s chocolate jam.
On a final note, I would like to remind our audience that we are now accepting nominations for the 2013 gia awards honoring exceptional Internet-based retailers of housewares products. If you would like to nominate an e-commerce retailer, please do so by e-mailing us at gia@gourmetbusiness.com. If you would like more information about this special award, please read the story in this edition on page 21.
Happy Independence Day, everyone!
David Spencer Publisher, Gourmet Business
President, HousewaresDirect, Inc.
dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com