Gourmet Business September 2013

Supporting American Business

Summer is winding down, and I am looking forward to participating again in a unique fundraiser this weekend that supports local farmers. The D2R2, or Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnee, is a glorious 100- mile charity bike ride over the dirt roads of Franklin County, Mass., into southern Vermont that benefits the Franklin Land Trust, which helps farmers protect historic farmland from development. Rolling along these dirt roads through beautiful farms and pastures reminds me of all the hard work that these farmers invest in deliver- ing fresh produce to our local markets to sustain American families. They deserve all the support we can give them, and preserving the land for farming is essential to their efforts.

These are not the only local businesses that need our support. There are other small businesses across America that are producing great products with American labor. As these companies grow, they hire additional employees and purchase more raw materials, which helps improve our economy. Many consumers understand the importance of “buying American,” and use their purchasing power to buy products that they would like to think flow dollars back into the economy. But is this always the case? In this issue, we dig deeper into the rules that allow a company to make the claim that a product is “Made in the USA.” Find out for yourself what this really means and if everyone is playing by the same rules.

Assembly rules aside, it seems to me that there has been a bit of resurgence in companies producing products with American inputs and ingenuity. After all, who should know better what American consumers want? There are so many interesting success stories like Buck Knife Co., an iconic American brand that recently entered into the kitchen cutlery segment with a full line of knives that seemed to involve a great deal of research into the way that knives are used in the American kitchen. When they needed to source some additional components that they could have easily found in Asia, I am told they chose instead to work with Lamson & Goodnow, another historic cutlery manufacturer based in my home state of Massachusetts. Now, when one of these knives is sold, there are two communities that benefit from the additional business. This is a fine example of a business that is reinvesting its sales dollars in our domestic economy, and we should make it a point to make our customers aware of this important fact.

I hope you consider featuring products that are sold into our channel by companies that produce in our country. As our economy continues to recover, there will be more business for all.

David Spencer 

Publisher, Gourmet Business President, HousewaresDirect, Inc. 

dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com