Jetlag notwithstanding, I feel good about our recent trip to Frankfurt, Germany. My colleagues and I were there, of course, to attend Ambiente, the huge international housewares trade show that draws many thousands of buyers from 150 countries, and exhibitors from more than 90.
My feelings of goodwill are not merely be- cause of the outstanding meals we had while we were there (thanks to David’s uncanny knack for picking restaurants we went three for three while we were all together), but for the overall success of the show. We saw a lot of exciting new products, many of which you’ll be seeing in the next issue, and heard encouraging things from many of our acquaintances in the industry about the direction in which their businesses are going.
Many of the people we spoke to in Frankfurt are also planning to be in Chicago for the International Home + Housewares Show. We will be there too, and with that in mind we have a preview in this issue of some of the new products for which you can be on the lookout. We canvassed the exhibitors who will be at the show to see what they will be showcasing and we compiled it into a gallery so you can do a little advance prep for the show.
We will once again be hosting the Gourmet Business Pavilion where we will be featuring some great new products that are not other- wise exhibiting at the show. We’ll be located adjacent to the Cooking Theater where our own Chef Bernard Guillas will be onstage Sunday afternoon at 3. We’d like to thank Zwilling J. A. Henckels for sponsoring Chef Bernard this year. He’s very entertaining and a marvelous chef, so go see him if you have a chance.
Also in this issue, Editor Joanne Friedrick has written a timely article about the state of the specialty food industry, to which I have add- ed a sidebar about some recent happenings in the world of cheese. We also have a report from the Las Vegas Market that we attended for the second time in January. It was a great show and the new Gourmet Gift section keeps getting bigger. With that, we’re all off to Chicago where we hope to see many of you either in the aisles or at out booth S2291. Happy spring and safe travels to all.
James Mellgren
Managing Editor, Gourmet Business
jmellgren@gourmetbusiness.com