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!"#$"%&"'()!!*"(+,+!"#$%&'()*$ Manischewitz and Kosher.com,

Image credit: Brynie Greisman for Kosher.com

+,-.'/0$% MICHAEL POLITZ Michael@fbmagazine.com 1'%$!2"%&3&$1'2"%4'54!0'$6 LAUREN KANE Lauren.Kane@fbmagazine.com .$)1&1'*'2).&!"(+.')5!$&"66'!$% LISA NORQUIST lisa.norquist@fbmagazine.com )!!",52&()5)*$%/ AMY MONTANO Amy.Montano@fbmagazine.com SHELBY POLITZ Shelby.Politz@fbmagazine.com 2%)1$/0"7&$1'2"% MICHELE TELL Michele@proofawards.com !"52%'-,2'5*&$1'2"%/ MICHAEL POLITZ !"52%'-,2'5*&7%'2$%/ AMY MONTANO SHELBY POLITZ ETHAN BALSAMO

We honor and remember the support of Chef Kerry Simon, Gary Cantor, Robin Leach, Chef Paul Prudhomme, & Gary Coles

Food & Beverage Magazine® is owned and published electronically by Beautiful People, LLC. Copyright 1995-2016 Beautiful People LLC. All rights reserved. Food & Beverage Magazine® and distinctive logo are trademarks owned by Beautiful People, LLC. “fb101.com” is a trademark of Beautiful People, LLC. No part of this electronic magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of Food & Beverage Magazine. Requests for permission should be directed to: Lauren.Kane@fbmagazine.com. The information contained has been provided by such individual, event organizers or organiza. . . . & & . . . . . & ,& . & . . &. &, &,& . . & .& with any other food and beverage or hospitality publication.

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Page 4 | Food & Beverage Magazine v September Issue 2026

September Issue 2026 v Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 5

Tradition Meets What’s Next: How Jewish Food Is Finding a New Generation A digital-first food culture has not pushed traditional Jewish cooking aside. Nostalgia, convenience, global flavors and new ways of cooking, sharing and serving are carrying it to a new generation. By Lauren Kane

For generations of American families, Jewish food has meant far more than what is served on a plate. It’s the aroma of soup simmering in a kitchen. The kugel that appears at every family gathering. Gefilte fish and horseradish that immediately bring back memories of holidays past. Challah pulled apart and passed from one person to another. A brisket recipe handed down from a grandmother, with every generation adding its own little touches along the way. At Rosh Hashanah, those connections become even more meaningful. The Jewish New Year brings families and friends together around foods rich with meaning and symbolism: apples and honey for sweetness, round challah representing continuity, and other symbolic foods expressing hopes for prosperity and blessing in the year ahead. The appetite for those traditions has not changed. What has changed is how consumers access, prepare and

Page 6 | Food & Beverage Magazine v September Issue 2026

experience them. Modernization does not necessarily mean moving away from traditional Jewish food. In many cases, modern tools and formats are helping a new generation rediscover it. The food industry is being pulled two ways at once. Nostalgia is having a moment, yet consumers have less time. They want authenticity and cultural story, but they also want foods that can work on a Wednesday night and still feel special enough to serve. Global flavors and social media trends are expanding the repertoire, while digital platforms are preserving dishes that once traveled primarily through families and community cookbooks. The result is a food culture that is evolving inside a framework of comfort, heritage and practicality. For CPG brands, publishers and food marketers, Jewish food offers a useful case study in how a heritage cuisine can adapt without losing the qualities that made it meaningful in the first place.

September Issue 2026 v Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 7

Manischewitz®: Heritage Without Standing Still Few food brands are as immediately associated with Jewish food in America as Manischewitz. Founded in 1888, the company brings more than 135 years of history to a marketplace in which consumers increasingly want to know the story behind what they eat. That longevity is an advantage at a moment when nostalgia, authenticity and cultural memory have renewed value. Brisket, kugel, challah, chicken soup, meatballs, egg noodles, gefilte fish and other familiar foods continue to resonate precisely because they carry stories with them. For a legacy brand, the job is not to replace those associations but to make them relevant to the way people live now. Around Rosh Hashanah, Manischewitz’s “Back to Basics” message encourages consumers to reconnect with the foods, rituals and experiences that have traditionally defined the holiday. Classic egg noodles remain a foundation for kugels and soups, while gefilte fish and horseradish are a familiar combination on many traditional tables. Honey takes on particular meaning for the holiday as a symbol of the wish for a sweet year ahead. At the same time, the company is adapting familiar flavors and dishes to modern expectations for convenience. Heat & Serve Sweet Carrot Tzimmes brings the traditional combination of carrots, dried fruit and sweetness to the table in an easy-to-serve format. Frozen Rugelach brings the experience of a neighborhood Jewish bakery into the home, while expanding homemade-style soup offerings give busy consumers another way to access comforting flavors without hours of preparation. Convenience does not have to dilute tradition. A younger cook may want the same dish a parent or grandparent served, but may choose a freezer-friendly, make-ahead, heat-and-serve, one-pot or slow-cooker route to get it onto the table. The question is no longer only what counts as traditional. It is also what fits into a busy week and still earns a place on the table. “Rosh Hashanah reminds us that while every year brings new beginnings, our strongest connections are rooted in tradition,” says Talia Sabag, Marketing Manager for Manischewitz. “Our ‘Back to Basics’ items celebrate the timeless foods, recipes, and rituals that have united Jewish families for generations. These products and dishes tell our

Page 8 | Food & Beverage Magazine v September Issue 2026

stories, honor our heritage, and create the memories our children and grandchildren will carry forward.”

ground, keeping the dishes that carry meaning while changing formats, techniques and flavor combinations.

The takeaway for the broader CPG industry is that a legacy brand does not have to choose between nostalgia and innovation. Heritage itself can be a source of relevance when products are designed around contemporary habits and when family food traditions are treated as living culture rather than museum pieces.

Kosher.com: What Digital Behavior Says About Tradition

The New Jewish Food Landscape Packaged-food innovation is only one part of the shift. The recipes consumers are making, searching for and sharing show that Jewish food is widening out while many of its most traditional dishes hold their ground. Ashkenazi classics now comfortably coexist with Sephardic traditions, Israeli ingredients, Iraqi dishes, North African flavors, Mediterranean cooking and recipes reflecting Jewish communities from around the world. Rosh Hashanah can still mean honey, pomegranate, dates and brisket, while those ingredients also appear in dishes such as beet-andsilan salmon crudo, za’atar-pomegranate chicken or Central Asian plov. Traditional foods and new trends increasingly sit side by side. Consumers are experimenting without leaving familiar

That mix of continuity and experimentation is visible in the audience behavior at Kosher.com, a food media platform built around kosher recipes, chefs, home cooks, cookbook authors, culinary personalities, cooking videos, holiday inspiration, entertaining ideas and original programming. Its data suggests that digital-first consumers are not abandoning traditional Jewish foods. In 2026, potato kugel, hamantaschen and challah ranked No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 among the site’s most-viewed recipes, and six traditional Jewish recipes appeared in the top 25. Searches for challah rose 13 percent, from 1,955 to 2,204; babka rose 12 percent, from 2,149 to 2,404; and rugelach rose 20 percent, from 644 to 774. Grouped together, searches containing challah, babka or rugelach increased 10.1 percent, from 9,970 to 10,981. The strongest examples often combine nostalgia with a format or flavor that feels current. Dubai Chocolate-Inspired Hamantaschen drew 9,105 recipe views from January through August 2025. Babka Cookies reached 12,345 views from January through August 2026, ranking No. 8 overall, while Marbled Babka Crumb Cookies for Pesach recorded 9,544 views in 2026 and ranked No. 18 overall.

Seared Veal Chop Photo Credit: Austin Sper of Kosher.com

September Issue 2026 v Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 9

At the same time, searches point to growing interest in global and Israeli-influenced flavors: shakshuka searches increased 24 percent, shawarma 22 percent, searches containing “Moroccan” 23 percent and searches containing “Israeli” 10 percent. Recipes such as a shawarma-spiced pita smashburger show how familiar Israeli flavors can meet a social media format without asking consumers to choose between heritage and trend. “We want people to see that kosher cooking is incredibly dynamic,” says Goldy Guttman, Director of Kosher.com. “There is tremendous respect for tradition, particularly around a holiday like Rosh Hashanah, but there is also so much creativity. Families want to make the dishes they remember, while at the same time discovering new flavors, techniques, and ideas that become traditions of their own.”

Page 10 | Food & Beverage Magazine v September Issue 2026

For food marketers and publishers, the pattern matters. Novelty attracts attention, and heritage keeps bringing people back. The digital audience is showing an appetite for both, often at the same time.

Digital Media Can Strengthen Tradition The way culinary knowledge travels has changed dramatically. A generation ago, recipes moved through handwritten cards, community cookbooks, newspaper food sections, magazines and, perhaps most importantly, from one family member to another. Those pathways still matter, but they now exist alongside searchable recipe libraries, video, social media, streaming shows and culinary personalities.

Award-Winning Matzo Balls Photo Credit: Yehuda Sichel of Kosher.com

That shift can strengthen rather than weaken tradition. A recipe once known mainly inside one family or community can now be preserved, searched, watched and shared with a much larger audience. A younger cook may encounter a heritage dish on a phone rather than standing beside a grandparent, but the recipe, and the story attached to it, can still be carried forward. Kosher.com has expanded from a recipe destination into a broader food media platform, pairing its recipe library with original programming and culinary personalities. Sunny Side Up with Naomi Nachman, for example, combines cooking with conversation and introduces audiences to chefs, cookbook authors, entrepreneurs and food personalities. A recent episode with cookbook author Adeena Sussman explored an accessible, Israeli-inspired approach to cooking. Video also adds context that a recipe card cannot always provide. Viewers can see a technique, hear the origin of a dish, understand why an ingredient matters and meet the person behind the food. For heritage cuisines, that matters, because the meaning travels with the method.

From the Jewish Table to the American Table Jewish food is also benefiting from broader consumer interest in comfort, authenticity, family recipes and globally influenced flavors. Many dishes associated with the Jewish table translate naturally beyond religious observance or a specific holiday. Chicken soup does not need to wait for a holiday. Rugelach can sit beside afternoon coffee. Challah can become part of weekend brunch, brisket can anchor a mainstream dinner party, and tzimmes can share a Thanksgiving table with mac and cheese and green beans. The cultural story adds meaning, but the food itself can travel.

That matters for the industry because heritage cuisines increasingly offer two points of entry: consumers who recognize the food through family and memory, and consumers who discover it through flavor, storytelling, travel, restaurants or digital media. The opportunity is to invite the second group in without flattening the cultural context that matters to the first.

What the Industry Can Learn Jewish food’s evolution points to several larger shifts in the food landscape. Nostalgia can be contemporary. Convenience can preserve rather than replace tradition. Global influences can expand a cuisine without erasing its core. And digital media can become an archive and a discovery tool for foods once passed primarily from one kitchen to another. Most importantly, “modern” does not have to mean unfamiliar. Consumers can embrace a new format while still wanting kugel, challah, babka, hamantaschen, cholent, brisket and chicken soup. They can experiment with za’atar, silan, shawarma spice or a viral dessert trend and still return to the dishes that taste like home. Rosh Hashanah makes that balance especially visible because the holiday is built around foods with deep symbolic and emotional meaning. Yet the same dynamic extends throughout the year, as consumers decide which recipes to preserve, which methods to adapt and which new influences to bring to the table. A heritage cuisine does not survive by staying unchanged. It survives because people continue to cook it, buy it, search for it, share it and make it their own. Recipes, kitchens and media formats will keep changing. The opportunity for food brands, publishers and the industry at large is to make that evolution feel like a continuation of the story rather than a break from it.

Most importantly, “modern” does not have to mean unfamiliar. Consumers can embrace a new format while still wanting kugel, challah, babka, hamantaschen, cholent, brisket and chicken soup. They can experiment with za’atar, silan, shawarma spice or a viral dessert trend and still return to the dishes that taste like home.

September Issue 2026 v Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 11

APPLE BUTTERGLAZED TZIMMES Photo and Recipe Credit: Micah Siva of Kosher.com

INGREDIENTS: 3/4 cup Manischewitz Apple Butter 1 cup vegetable stock, such as Manischewitz Vegetable Broth 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 6 dried figs, quartered 1 cup prunes 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped 1 medium apple, peeled and chopped 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped 4 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger, freshly grated 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup chopped parsley 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the Apple Butter Glazed Tzimmes 1.Combine the apple butter, vegetable stock, and vinegar in a bowl. Add the quartered figs and prunes. Soak for 20 minutes. 2.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 3.In a large bowl, toss the sweet potato, apple, carrots, and parsnips with olive oil, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. 4.Add the vegetables to a 9x13 baking dish. 5.Pour the apple butter mixture over top. 6.Cover and bake for two hours or until tender. 7.Top with parsley and sesame seeds.

Page 12 | Food & Beverage Magazine v September Issue 2026

APPLE HONEY PHYLLO TWIST Photo and Recipe Credit: Esty Wolbe of Kosher.com

INGREDIENTS: 1 package phyllo dough sheets Oil spray 9 apples, grated 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 3 tablespoons honey, plus more for drizzling

DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. Add 1/6th of the apples on top of the phyllo and spread into a thin even layer over the whole sheet. Top with phyllo, spray with oil, add one more sheet of phyllo and another layer of apples, spread thinly. You should have four phyllo layers with oil in between, an apple layer, two phyllo layers and another apple layer. 6. Roll up into a log. Use a sharp knife to cut the log in half lengthwise, making sure to cut all the way through all the layers. 7. Turn the cut side up, exposing the beautiful layers, then cross the two halves over one another to form a twist. Now gently coil the twist into a spiral.

2. Combine the apples with cinnamon and honey and set aside.

8. Repeat two more times, adding each new twist to the existing spiral to make it large and continuous.

3. Open the package of phyllo dough, unroll, and place a damp towel or paper towel on top to keep the dough from drying out. For this recipe, every time you lay out a sheet of phyllo, you’ll spray it with oil.

9. Spray the top with oil and bake uncovered for 35 minutes. Immediately out of the oven, drizzle with additional honey.

4. Lay out a sheet of phyllo in front of you. Spray with oil and top with another sheet. Repeat until you have four layers of phyllo and oil. September Issue 2026 v Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 13

RED WINE AND DATE BRISKET Photo and Recipe Credit: Sina Mizrahi of Kosher.com

DIRECTIONS

INGREDIENTS:

Prepare the Red Wine and Date Brisket

Spice Rub

Red Wine and Date Brisket

1 teaspoon granulated onion 1 teaspoon granulated garlic 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3-pound second-cut brisket 2 teaspoons oil 1 to 2 large red onions, sliced 10 medjool dates, pitted and chopped 1 cup red cooking wine 2 cups boiling water 1/2 cup silan date syrup 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon granulated onion 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Mix spices in a small bowl. Rub meat with spice mixture on all sides. 3. Heat a large skillet or ovenproof braiser on medium heat. Add oil; sear meat until browned and crusty, four to five minutes per side. Transfer to a plate or place in an ovenproof dish. 4. Add onion slices to the pan, allowing their juices to deglaze the stuck-on bits. Scrape well. Once the onions start to brown slightly, add chopped dates. Cook for two to three minutes. 5. Pour cooking wine and water and bring to a boil. Add silan, tomato paste and seasoning. Return meat to the pot or pour the sauce over the meat in a baking dish. Cover tightly. Roast for three hours or until the meat is fork tender and incredibly soft. 6. For nice slices, cool overnight in the fridge and slice against the grain. 7. To serve, arrange brisket on a platter and spoon sauce over it.

Page 14 | Food & Beverage Magazine v September Issue 2026

JUST-RIGHT SWEET AND SAUCY BRISKET Photo and Recipe Credit: Brynie Greisman of Kosher.com Meat | Easy | 10 Servings | 3 Hours, 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS: 1 (5-pound/2.2-kilogram) brisket (second cut, but if you’d like to use first cut, ask your butcher to leave some fat on either side of the brisket) 1 whole head garlic 2 to 3 sprigs thyme (optional but recommended) Olive oil, for drizzling Salt, to taste, Pepper, to taste 4 tablespoons avocado oil, divided 1 cup pitted prunes 2 cups boiling water 1/2 cup cabernet sauvignon (or other dry red wine) 1/3 cup (3 1/2 ounces/100 grams) tomato paste 1/4 cup date syrup (silan) 3 tablespoons onion soup mix

DIRECTIONS

3. Heat three tablespoons avocado oil in a roaster pan. Sprinkle roast generously with salt and pepper. Sear for two to three minutes on each side. Remove from heat. Squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves and smear all over the roast (use gloves for this). Add the thyme. 4. Lower oven heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). 5. Meanwhile, let the prunes steep in the boiling water for about half an hour or until softened. Blend together with the water, remaining one tablespoon oil, wine, tomato paste, silan, onion soup mix, and additional salt and pepper. You’ll have a nice thick sauce. Pour over the roast, cover well, and bake for approximately two and a half hours. If you see that the gravy seems to have cooked out somewhat, add a little bit of water. 6. Remove roast from oven. Cool. Refrigerate and slice when cold. Freezes well. (Best to freeze gravy separately.)

1. Leave brisket on the counter for half an hour to come to room temperature. 2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). Cut the top off the head of garlic and place it on a small piece of parchment paper. Place the thyme sprigs underneath and around the sides of the garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly in foil and bake for half an hour, or until soft. September Issue 2026 v Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 15

MUSIC MATTERS TO YOUR CUSTOMERS NEW STUDY CONFIRMS MUSIC CAN INCREASE REVENUE AND BUILD CUSTOMER LOYALTY

89%

OF MILLENNIALS SAID THAT GOOD MUSIC MAKES A MORE MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE

NEARLY

86%

70%

WOULD RECOMMEND THE ESTABLISHMENT IF THEY ENJOY THE MUSIC

86%

WOULD RETURN TO AN ESTABLISHMENT IF THEY LIKED THE FEATURED LIVE MUSIC

80%

OF MILLENNIALS SAID THAT HAVING NO MUSIC NEGATIVELY IMPACTS THEIR EXPERIENCE

SAY THAT MOST OF THE RESTAURANTS AND BARS THEY FREQUENT HAVE MUSIC PLAYING

IF GOOD MUSIC IS PLAYING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO OBTAIN A BMI MUSIC LICENSE, PLEASE VISIT WWW.BMI.COM/EDE

NEARLY 80% WILL STAY LONGER

NEARLY 60% WILL BUY MORE FOOD OR DRINKS

70% MILLENNIALS 63% GEN X 56% GEN Z

BAR AND RESTAURANT OWNERS WEIGH IN

“

CHECK AVERAGE TENDS TO GO UP 5 TO 10% JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE GETTING THAT 2ND OR 3RD DRINK. REVENUES HAVE JUMPED ALMOST 25% ON THE NIGHTS THAT WE HAVE LIVE MUSIC. -BRIAN BREWERY OWNER, COLORADO AND UTAH

”

“

WITH LIVE MUSIC (…) THERE WERE MORE LIQUOR SALES, AND THAT’S A 75% PROFIT MARGIN. -THOMAS OWNER, FAMILY ITALIAN RESTAURANT ATLANTA, GA

”

“

THE MORE UPBEAT, THE BETTER CHANCE FOR AN UPSELL, THE BETTER CHANCE THEY WANT TO STAY A LITTLE LONGER.

-CHRISTOPHER VINEYARD OWNER AND TASTING ROOM OPERATOR LOS ANGELES, CA

”

TO VIEW THE COMPLETE SURVEY, VISIT https://www.bmi.com/pdfs/publications/2023/bmi-value-music--research-analysis.pdf * A QUANTITATIVE ONLINE STUDY BY BMI AND NATIONAL RESEARCH GROUP (NRG) WAS ANSWERED BY 1,000 NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE PEOPLE AGE 21+ WHO REGULARLY VISIT EDES (AT LEAST 3X PER MONTH). TO REPRESENT THE B2B PERSPECTIVE, NRG CONDUCTED SIX IN-DEPTH-INTERVIEWS WITH OWNERS, OPERATORS AND MANAGERS OF BARS AND RESTAURANTS.

WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT ECRM SESSIONS? CURATED, ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS THAT CONNECT FOODSERVICE SUPPLIERS AND BUYERS. Suppliers pitch their products, make connections, and expand their reach. Buyers get access to the in-demand brands that their shoppers want.

The networking outside the meetings was just as valuable.

Amanda Tomsik Director of Foodservice & Adult Beverage at atomsik@ECRM.MarketGate.com or call 440-528-0474

“

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

“ “

Met with buyers we would never get access to otherwise. Several buyers were already talking next steps.

Scan QR code or visit ecrm. marketgate.com to check out upcoming Food & Beverage Sessions

“

More effective than tradeshows, these are very targeted.

“

!"#$"%&"'()!!*"(+,+!"#$%&'()*$ Fizzen Founder Kristen Cavallari +,-.'/0$% MICHAEL POLITZ Michael@fbmagazine.com 1'%$!2"%&3&$1'2"%4'54!0'$6 LAUREN KANE Lauren.Kane@fbmagazine.com .$)1&1'*'2).&!"(+.')5!$&"66'!$% LISA NORQUIST lisa.norquist@fbmagazine.com )!!",52&()5)*$%/ AMY MONTANO Amy.Montano@fbmagazine.com SHELBY POLITZ Shelby.Politz@fbmagazine.com 2%)1$/0"7&$1'2"% MICHELE TELL Michele@proofawards.com !"52%'-,2'5*&$1'2"%/ MICHAEL POLITZ !"52%'-,2'5*&7%'2$%/ AMY MONTANO SHELBY POLITZ ETHAN BALSAMO

We honor and remember the support of Chef Kerry Simon, Gary Cantor, Robin Leach, Chef Paul Prudhomme, & Gary Coles

PAGE 5

VISIONARY COVER

Contents September 2026 Inside this issue 5

Visionary Cover

Kristin Cavallari

Industry Tips

Better Breakfast Month

Beverage News

Bulletproof

Industry Tips

ClipTalk

Industry Events

Drinks with Benefits

Industry Tech

Cray

Travel

Tasting Italy

Award Highlight

Grapes from California

Spirits

Hello Soju

Editor’s Top Pick

Page 3 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

Hospitality News

Bar Bas

Travel

Food Tour of Japan

Spirits

Malfy Gin

Hospitality News

Chef Eyal Shani

Industry News

NurtureBio

Bakery News

Rolling Pin Bakehouse

Industry Leaders

Eco Bev

Trend Reports

Cuss Worthy Cafe

Restaurant News

Sushi by Bou

Innovation Cover

Manischewitz®

PAGE 30

73 PAGE

PAGE 77

PAGE 1 7

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 4

!"#"$%&'() *$+,'

Page 5 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 6

Kristin Cavallari

Is Rewriting the Protein Drink Playbook Fizzen brings sparkling fruit flavor and accessible nutrition to a category long defined by chalky textures, dense formulas, and rigid wellness routines. by Lauren Kane

There is something very Kristin Cavallari about looking at a category people have simply learned to tolerate and asking why it can’t be better. For years, protein drinks have occupied a particular corner of the beverage world. They are functional, practical, and often consumed with a certain amount of determination. You shake the bottle, prepare yourself for the texture, and remind yourself it is good for you. The branding typically speaks in the visual language of gyms, performance and precisely A

- A

A A

A CF A C

Cavallari saw room for something entirely different. Her newest venture, Fizzen, arrives with bubbles, real fruit juice, and an invitation to reconsider what drinking your protein can actually feel like. Crack open a cold can, and the experience is closer to reaching into a cooler on a hot afternoon than standing beside a blender with a scoop F

A ’ II

A C

A FC

A C

peptides, and essential vitamins and minerals, creating a drink that sits comfortably between wellness and everyday refreshment. That distinction matters to Cavallari, who has spent years thinking carefully about what she puts into her body without allowing wellness to remove the joy from eating or drinking. “I felt like there was a gap in the market,” she explains. “I feel like so many of the functional drinks, they either taste medicinal, have a ton of sugar, or I feel like they’re actually just intimidating to your average customer. I wanted to create something that people would genuinely be excited to drink.”

Page 7 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

It is an uncomplicated explanation, but it captures exactly why Fizzen makes sense as her next move. Cavallari has spent more than two decades in the public eye, but the woman behind Fizzen F

F A

A C

Beach. Today, she is an entrepreneur, author, and podcast host who has learned that longevity is built differently than celebrity. A C

name, but they stay when they trust your taste, judgment, and willingness to be honest about what actually belongs in your life. That trust has become one of Cavallari’s most valuable forms of currency. Her relationship with wellness has evolved publicly alongside her audience, including through three cookbooks and years of openly discussing the food, habits, and ingredients that shape her routine. Rather than chasing perfection, her approach feels practical and decidedly livable. It is food that tastes good, ingredients she feels good about, products that earn their place in a daily routine, and choices that do not require turning life into a fulltime optimization project. Fizzen slips naturally into that philosophy because it delivers functionality without asking the AC

The concept is simple, even if the development behind it was not: protein does not always have to look, taste, or behave like CA

A C

A F

A C A

with the idea of a sparkling protein drink, even she needed convincing. “When they said a sparkling juice with protein, I was like, that actually sounds disgusting,” she admits. “My initial thought was, is this going to be like a thick juice? My mind couldn’t really make sense of it.”

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 8

The skepticism was understandable. Protein has long been

become something a consumer reaches for in the morning,

associated with dense shakes, powders, and beverages that

tosses into a bag for the afternoon, opens by the pool, drinks

C A

A C

between meetings or grabs when water feels a little too plain.

the tongue. Fizzen had to undo those expectations while still

For Cavallari, who avoids caffeine later in the day because it

delivering enough functionality to justify its place in the category.

can interfere with her sleep, the drink also offered an energizing

Once Cavallari tasted the formulations, however, her concern

afternoon ritual without relying on stimulants.

gave way to surprise. “I was blown away because you can’t taste the protein at all,” she says. “It just tastes like a really light,

“What I love so much about protein is that it can be consumed

sparkly juice.”

at any time of the day,” she explains. “This is something you could have in the morning. You could have it before or after a

F A

C A

C C

and the product quickly won over more than one member

so effortlessly, where I can have this nice afternoon drink that I

of the Cavallari household. Her children were with her and

know isn’t going to keep me up at night.”

immediately wanted their mother to become involved. “They were like, ‘Mom, you have to do this,’ because they just wanted

That wider range of occasions is where Fizzen becomes

to get free Fizzen,” she says with a laugh. Beneath the humor

particularly interesting from an industry perspective. The

was a reaction she found meaningful. Her children had seen

beverage business is in the middle of a protein boom, but

the many opportunities placed in front of her over the years,

consumers are also becoming increasingly discerning about

C C

A C C

how functional ingredients enter their lives. The days when

she say yes because they genuinely loved the product.

“good for you” was enough to excuse an unpleasant texture, A A

supplement store are disappearing. Wellness has become more

beverage’s potential. Fizzen did not need to live exclusively in

lifestyle driven, visually engaging and experience focused, and

the narrow window between a workout and a shower. It could

Fizzen appears built for exactly that shift.

Page 9 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

entertaining, hospitality and alcoholfree or lowalcohol menu

sound like summer instead of supplementation, including

occasions, particularly as consumers become more interested

.CA F

in beverages that blur the lines between function, refreshment

A C

’A C ,

Pineapple. Fizzen looks like something consumers might want to

and social enjoyment.

drink before they ever stop to study what it does for them. That A

A C

Fizzen’s greatest advantage may be that consumers do not

may purchase a functional beverage once because of an

need to become a different type of person to drink it. They do not

ingredient story, but repeat purchase happens because the

have to identify as athletes, count every macro or carry a shaker

drink is genuinely enjoyable.

bottle. The product can sit beside sparkling water, juice and other betterforyou beverages while quietly delivering protein

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carries an immediate sense of nostalgia. Her preference has

especially relevant to people who understand the importance of

since shifted to Peach Mango, though her excitement for the

protein but have never felt particularly spoken to by traditional

lineup seems rooted less in choosing one winner and more in

products in the category.

the fact that the products taste like recognizable fruit drinks rather than disguised supplements. The sparkling texture keeps A

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beverages can feel more like a task than a treat.

Cavallari is careful, however, not to treat protein as another passing wellness craze. “I really don’t like health trends,” she says. “I don’t think that protein is a trend. I think my issue with health trends is that there is too much emphasis put on them,

The versatility extends beyond traditional wellness occasions.

and now people are living in fear that they’re not getting enough

During the interview, Cavallari revealed that she had recently

protein. I’m just someone who has always been mindful of

mixed Fizzen with tequila and found the combination surprisingly

getting protein in.”

delicious. It was an offhand comment, but it hinted at another compelling possibility for the brand. A product designed for

For her, Fizzen is not intended to fuel that anxiety. It is simply

the morning or postworkout window could also move into

another convenient way for consumers with active lives to add

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 10

several grams of protein to their day. That measured perspective

watched her make business decisions for years. They have also

helps the brand avoid the more aggressive messaging often

watched her turn down opportunities, adjust course, and become

attached to functional products. Fizzen is not asking consumers to

increasingly selective about where she lends her name.

completely rebuild their routines around a can. It is offering them C

“My audience has grown up with me, and I think they know my authenticity,” she says. “I will never put my name on something

The source and quality of the ingredients were equally important

or get behind something unless I 100 percent believe in it. I think

to Cavallari. Years of building brands have taught her how easily

the reason a celebrity brand does well is that you have to live and

marketing language can make a product sound more impressive

breathe the brand. The audience can see through it now.”

than the formula behind it. She wanted to understand where the protein came from, how it functioned, and whether the quality

That visibility can be unforgiving, but it can also create a

aligned with the standards she had already established with her

valuable level of accountability. Cavallari believes her audience

audience. “I know how marketing works,” she says. “You can get

understands that she will not meaningfully promote something

away with saying something is one thing when it kind of isn’t.

she does not use herself. In the wellness space, that credibility

A big thing that was important to me was making sure that the

carries particular weight. Consumers are being asked to trust not

quality of our protein was topnotch.”

just how a product tastes, but how carefully it has been formulated and whether the person introducing it has asked the questions

That scrutiny is central to the relationship she has maintained with

they would want answered themselves.

her followers. Celebritybacked products are no longer unusual, particularly in beverages, and the category has become crowded C

A C

“I hope they know that every ingredient that went into it was

consciously thought of,” she says. “You can have both a really

cannot guarantee the second purchase. Cavallari approaches

delicious drink while still getting really good nutrients. You can

that reality from the perspective of someone whose audience has

have ingredient transparency. There are so many brands that say

Page 11 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

one thing but do another, and I want people to know that if I’m

going to get behind a product, it’s because I have personally

do more, optimize more, and track more, Fizzen offers a

been asking all the right questions.”

refreshingly simple proposition: here is something enjoyable to A

As Fizzen continues to enter consumers’ refrigerators, Cavallari is A

A C

along for the ride.

two additional products within the health and wellness space that

For Cavallari, that simplicity is not a lack of ambition. It is the

will not contain protein. She remains careful about revealing too

point. She has reached a stage in her career where attaching

much, but says one of the concepts has never been done before.

her name to another product might be easy, but building one

The goal is to introduce both by next spring, signaling that Fizzen

she would genuinely keep stocked in her own kitchen requires

is being built as more than a single sparkling protein line.

more. Fizzen appears designed around that test, offering protein in a form that is lighter, fruitier and considerably more refreshing

For now, the launch establishes a clear foundation. Fizzen is

than consumers have come to expect. Cavallari is not attempting

polished without feeling precious, wellnessminded without

to reinvent the category by making it louder, stronger or more

becoming preachy, and attractive enough to place on the

complicated. She is making it easier to enjoy, then adding just

counter when friends come over. Most importantly, it does not

enough sparkle to put a smile on your face.

seem interested in making life more complicated. In a functional

C FFF

C II

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 12

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Better Breakfast Month:

Simple Biscuits and Seasonal Jam for Busy Mornings As mornings become busier with the return to school and fall routines, breakfast remains one of the most important moments of the day to slow down and enjoy. Better Breakfast Month is a welcome reminder that breakfast does not have to be complicated to be meaningful. Often, the best breakfasts are the simplest ones, made with quality ingredients and a little extra care. One favorite combination is a fresh buttermilk biscuit served with homemade seasonal jam. There is something special about a warm biscuit paired with fruit at its peak. It is a classic breakfast pairing that can be enjoyed with family, shared around the table, or made part of a busy morning routine. When making biscuits, a few important tips can make a difference. The first is using cold ingredients, one of the most important steps in the biscuitmaking process. Fullfat buttermilk is also recommended when preparing biscuits.

A homemade biscuit and a spoonful of seasonal jam can be a small reminder that some of the best breakfasts are also the simplest.

Page 13 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

Another useful kitchen technique is grating the butter before adding it to the flour. Rather than cutting the butter into larger pieces, grating it helps incorporate the butter throughout the flour. It is a simple step that can become an essential part of the biscuitmaking process. The beauty of a recipe like biscuits and jam is that it allows room for personal touches and traditions. Everyone has favorite breakfast memories, whether gathering around the table with family, enjoying a homemade meal on the weekend, or finding a moment of comfort before a busy day begins. When it comes to making jam, timing and ingredients matter. Jams are best when fruit is at its peak. Using fruit in season celebrates the flavors that are naturally available and creates something special to enjoy alongside breakfast favorites. Throughout the year, different fruits offer opportunities to create different types of homemade jams. Whether berries, peaches, or another seasonal favorite, choosing fruit at the right moment can make a simple breakfast feel even more thoughtful. Better Breakfast Month is also a chance to celebrate the joy of homemade meals. In a season when families are often balancing school schedules, work, and busy routines, taking the time to prepare something simple can make mornings feel more connected.

Home cooks are encouraged to embrace straightforward recipes and focus on the ingredients that make a difference. Breakfast does not need to be complicated to bring people together. Sometimes, the most memorable meals are the ones that feature familiar favorites prepared with care. Biscuits and seasonal jam represent the comfort of a homemade breakfast and the importance of enjoying simple moments around the table. By using cold ingredients, fullfat buttermilk, grating butter into the flour, and choosing fruit when it is at its peak, anyone can create a breakfast that feels special. As families settle into new routines this season, these simple ideas can inspire more moments around the breakfast table. A homemade biscuit and a spoonful of seasonal jam can be a small reminder that some of the best breakfasts are also the simplest.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 14

WHERE FLAVOR MEETS PHILANTHROPHY

Supporting and Empowering Latino Youth in the U.S.

CREATING SEASONED LEADERS The Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund empowers Latino youth with culinary arts scholarships, mentorship, and access to food and wellness resources. Since 2016, we’ve invested over $1.5 million to expand food education and create opportunities to thrive in the culinary world and beyond. The Fund also partners with nonprofits to provide culinary education and improve food access, ensuring Latino youth have the tools to succeed while honoring their roots. www.aaronsanchezimpactfund.com

Photo Credit: Emeril Lagasse Foundation.

LEARN MORE. GET INVOLVED.

Scan the QR code or visit www.aaronsanchezimpactfund.com to learn about our programs and support our mission.

The Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund is a program of Emeril Lagasse Foundation, working together to create opportunities to inspire, mentor, and enable youth to reach their full potential. Through culinary education, food access, and cultural celebration, we’re building brighter futures and stronger communities.

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How Bulletproof Is Making Its Hero Ingredient More Accessible As consumers increasingly look for functional ingredients that fit easily into their existing routines, convenience has become an important part of the wellness conversation. Products are no longer expected to deliver benefits alone, they must also be versatile, approachable and easy to use at home, at work or while traveling. Bulletproof™ is responding to this demand by introducing a new format for one of its most recognizable products. The brand that put MCTs on the map, Bulletproof™ popularized MCT oil through the Bulletproof™

Coffee movement and helped define the functional coffee and wellness

category. Long considered the brand’s hero ingredient, Brain Octane® C8 MCT Oil remains the gold standard for 100% pure C8 MCTs sourced from coconuts. Now, for the first time, consumers can enjoy the same trusted Brain Octane® formula in a convenient powdered format, bringing the benefits of pure C8 MCTs to a new set of consumer’s daily routines.

Page 17 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

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Each scoop contains six grams of coconutsourced C8, a mediumchain triglyceride that rapidly converts into ketones. The product is formulated to support quick, lasting energy, brain function and metabolism.* The launch reflects a broader shift in the wellness market as consumers seek functional products that complement, rather than complicate, their daily habits. Coffee, smoothies and protein shakes have become natural entry points for functional ingredients because they are already part of many consumers’ established routines. For longtime Brain Octane Oil users, the powder provides another way to incorporate C8 MCTs into the day. For consumers who may be newer to MCTs or hesitant to use a liquid oil, the familiar scoopable format can make the ingredient feel more approachable. The powder’s versatility is also central to its appeal. It can be mixed into both hot and cold beverages, allowing consumers to use it across different occasions, from a morning cup of coffee to a postworkout shake. Its creamy texture can enhance a beverage’s consistency without adding a noticeable flavor. The portable, messfree format is designed to extend those routines beyond the home. Unlike liquid oils, which may be inconvenient to measure or transport, a powdered product offers greater flexibility for use at work or while traveling.

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This emphasis on convenience mirrors a larger trend across functional food and beverage categories. Consumers are increasingly gravitating toward products that offer targeted wellness benefits while requiring minimal preparation. Powders and other easytouse formats allow functional ingredients to become part of everyday eating and drinking occasions instead of remaining separate from them. For Bulletproof™, the new product represents an evolution of an ingredient closely associated with the brand. By introducing Brain Octane in powdered form, the company is expanding access to its signature C8 MCTs. The launch also signals how established wellness brands are adapting familiar products to meet changing consumer expectations. While the underlying ingredient remains the same, the powder removes some of the practical barriers that may prevent consumers from using a liquid oil consistently. As the functional wellness space continues to evolve, products that balance benefits with ease of use are likely to remain a priority. Bulletproof™ latest launch demonstrates how an established product can be reimagined through its format, making a familiar functional ingredient more convenient for consumers wherever their routines take them. Brain Octane C8 MCT Powder is available in an 8.8ounce container for $29.99 through the Bulletproof™ website.

About Harry Lewis, AEO Harry has over 20 years of experience in managing people, marketing, strategy and innovation processes to drive growth and generate value to consumers and businesses. As CEO of Bulletproof 360, he oversees consumercentered strategies of innovative premium Coffee+ experiences and fosters our mission of positively transforming consumers’ wellbeing. Previously, he served as the Chief Marketing and New Ventures Officer at BIA, as well as the Chief Disruptive Growth Officer at Apex, a member of the Mariposa Group, the fastest growing conglomerate of food and beverages in Latin America. Harry’s initial years in brand marketing and business development were spent at AB /InBev, where we held several marketing positions in different countries over a span of 18 years. Harry has an MBA and BA in Economics from Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala and a Masters in Marketing from Stanford University. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 18

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The Secret Ingredient to Personalized Events?

COMMUNICATION Personalized guest experiences are becoming increasingly valuable in the hospitality and events industries. From handcrafted tasting menus to weddings that capture each chapter of a couple’s story, customized touches are a staple of bespoke events in 2026. Today, luxury is no longer defined solely by premium ingredients, elaborate décor or over thetop production. Increasingly, guests are looking for experiences that feel meaningful and specific to them, creating new demands for the teams responsible for bringing those moments to life. When the bride and groom ask for a customized menu that follows the chapters of their love story from Greece to Italy and back home, staff are asked to plan, assemble and deliver each course at the right moment. If a VIP guest makes a surprise appearance at the last minute, staff need to be ready to think on their feet, instantly sharing updates with teams across the venue. While these personalized touches create memorable experiences for guests, they also add complexity for event professionals. Coordinators must keep catering staff, vendors and service teams aligned on changing timelines, guest requests and event logistics throughout the day. At the same time, staffing shortages and increasingly complex productions have placed additional pressure on event teams. Professionals are expected to deliver highly customized experiences with smaller teams, often coordinating multiple moving parts across large venues. As expectations continue to rise, many teams are looking for communication tools that help them stay connected without disrupting service.

Page 19 | Food & Beverage Magazine August September Issue Issue 20262026

For more than 60 years, Midland has built trusted, innovative communications solutions. Pulling from decades of experience developing twoway communications solutions, Midland recognized that event professionals faced a unique challenge: staying connected throughout an event without sacrificing mobility, professionalism or guest engagement. “The events industry has long relied on staff to ensure seamless service,” says Lisa Pruetting, Director of Marketing for Midland. “But modern guests, especially at luxury events, expect more than ever. They want to feel valued and have an experience that is uniquely personalized and authentic. To pull that off in a large space, staff need to be able to communicate quickly and reliably.” This shift in guest expectations inspired a rethink of how communication fits into the hospitality industry. Rather than adapting tools built for other industries, the company developed a solution ideal for event professionals, where discretion, mobility and speed are the priority.

The result is ClipTalk. Unlike traditional communication devices, ClipTalk is uniquely fit to stay out of the way while staff work. Its lightweight, clipon, wearable design allows teams to remain connected without reaching for a handheld device, getting tangled in wires, or stepping away from guests to relay important information. In an industry where timing and coordination are critical, ClipTalk helps staff share updates quickly and discreetly while remaining focused on delivering a seamless guest experience. BC Activation, extended range and allday battery life into a tiny device that weighs less than an ounce ensures seamless communication even at the most highstakes events. The mini walkie talkie is also equipped with 22 channels, enabling both group and separate connections during the event. “You can’t pull off a unique and meaningful event at scale if staff isn’t on the same page every step of the way. As the industry continues to evolve, the communications industry must evolve with it,” adds Pruetting. While guests may only see the finished product, successful events depend on seamless coordination behindthescenes. As the demand for personalized productions continues to grow, communication will play an increasingly important role. By helping hospitality professionals stay connected to ensure seamless execution, solutions like ClipTalk allow staff to focus on creating memorable guest experiences without worrying about communication gaps.

Expert Bio: Lisa Pruetting is Director of Marketing at Midland Radio Corporation and a marketing leader with more than a decade of experience across brand strategy, product development and customerfocused growth. Her career has centered on understanding evolving customer needs and translating those insights into products, positioning and experiences that create meaningful value for both businesses and consumers.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 20

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The Daily Pour Announces Expansion of “Drinks with Benefits”: Now A Two-Day Festival Kicking Off with an Exclusive Trade Summit DWB Summit on September 16th brings together the industry’s leading founders, investors, and innovators, followed by an immersive festival celebrating the rise of mindful and functional drinking The Daily Pour, the top media and events platform

of the category. The Summit has already lined up an

founded by entrepreneur and TV personality Dan

allstar roster of industry leaders, including Bill Shufelt

Abrams, announced the expansion of its award winning

Drinks with Aenefits DWA festival after an inaugural

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2025 event that welcomed over 1,000 attendees and

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event dedicated to the booming world of nonalcoholic,

functional, and betterforyou beverages. The event

kicks off September 16th with the DWA Summit, a select C

by a full day of immersive consumer experiences open

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The DWB Summit is designed exclusively for trade insiders, entrepreneurs, and founders shaping the future

Page 21 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

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gathering for trade professionals and founders followed to the public.

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With limited spots available, the Summit offers an intimate, high-value day of programming including: • Entrepreneurship: The Pivot from Corporate to Creator • Raising Capital — insights from investors backing the next generation of beverage brands • The Unglamorous Aspects of Selling • The Evolution of the Wine Occasion • Female Founders Experience • Winning the Retail Game The next day, Drinks with Benefits, which was named one of the top 10 Best Specialty Food Festival by USA Today, Standout Fall Festival by BizBash and #1 NA Event by After Magazine, opens its doors to trade and consumers on September 17th at the Altman Building in NYC for a multisensory experience which includes:

• Tasting Gallery: An exclusive showcase of industry leading nonalcoholic and functional brands, featuring Sylva by Ben Branson, Tom Holland’s Bero, Double Gold awardwinners Oddbird and Varnum Vintners, and Ayrloom—New York’s topselling hemp brand.

• A Curated Culinary VIP Experience: Featuring innovative plantbased dishes from abcV, Le Botaniste, JaJaJa Mexicana, and Délice & Sarrasin, paired with artisanal appetizers by Murray’s Cheese and handcrafted French cream puffs from Barachou. • Rhythms Lounge: A sober rave directed by ALTRD, fusing live music, breathwork, and craft nonalcoholic elixirs.Sage • Mixology Lab: A handson experience designed for both curious drinkers and industry insiders to craft their own zeroproof creations • Wellness Sanctuary: Offering a guided meditation wellness studio. • Art Show curated by Cindy Lisica Gallery: Bringing a visual art dimension to the world or wellness, there will be a curated selection of contemporary art by some of today’s most A CA A BC A A full list of participating brands and activations can be found on the Drinks with Benefits website. As more consumers than ever are rethinking their relationship with alcohol and more carefully curating their consumption, Drinks with Benefits and parent company, The Daily Pour, have become industry leaders. “We’re witnessing one of the biggest cultural shifts in how people drink,” said Dan Abrams, founder of The Daily Pour. “Consumers today want options that fit their lifestyle, whether that’s a glass of wine or now more than ever, a high quality alcohol free drink. Drinks with Benefits was built to celebrate that shift and give people a place to explore it in a way that’s fun, delicious and genuinely exciting.”

The data speaks for itself: • 1 in 3 adults now identify as mindful drinkers, actively reducing alcohol consumption while exploring nonalcoholic alternatives • actively moderate their alcohol intake • 47% of consumers are replacing alcohol on certain occasions with functional drinks • 3 in 5 consumers now view nonalcoholic beverages as part of their wellness routine, rather than a marker of abstinence Tickets and Registration DWB Summit seats are extremely limited and available to trade professionals and founders on a firstcome, firstserved basis. Reserve your Summit seat here: Drinks With Benefits Summit | The Daily Pour For more information on the consumer session, tickets, and the full schedule of events, visit: www.drinkswithbenefits.com For more information, schedule of events, interview krista@drewcommunications.comC

About The Daily Pour Founded in 2024 by entrepreneur and TV personality Dan Abrams, The Daily Pour is the ultimate media and events platform for the modern drinker. Through its AIpowered app, major social following, original videos and bestinclass tasting festivals around the country, The Daily Pour delivers trusted recommendations, cultural context, and premium experiences across whiskey, tequila, agave, rum, and various nonalcoholic categories. To learn more, visit: thedailypour.com

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 22

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B E H I N D T H E BA R

BEHIND THE BAR, A NEW KIND OF SAFETY CHECK By the Food & Beverage Magazine Editorial Staff

Nine o’clock on a Friday, and a good bar hums the way a good kitchen does: ice cracking into shakers, a bartender’s wrist flicking a twist of citrus, the low roar of a room full of people deciding, without quite saying so, whether tonight is going to be a good one. It is a controlled kind of chaos, the same choreography that has always made hospitality feel like magic rather than transaction. What most patrons never clock, amid the citrus and the noise and the candlelight, is how much trust they are extending to a room full of strangers the moment they set a drink down and turn away from it. Drink spiking happens far more often than most patrons assume, and the vast majority of incidents are never reported.

Page 23 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

Roughly 1 in 13 college students report having experienced a spiked drink, according to a 2016 study published in the journal Psychology of Violence that surveyed more than 6,000 students at three U.S. universities. A 2024 international survey of more than 7,600 nightlifegoers published in the Journal of Drug Issues found about one in five believed they had had a drink spiked at some point, most often in a club or bar. Those numbers sit uneasily against everything hospitality is built to promise: that a night out is safe to enjoy, that the room is looking out for you even when you are not looking out for yourself. For an industry that trades in good feeling, it is a gap worth taking seriously.

Justin Smith has built a company trying to close it. He is the founder and CEO of Cray, a Tampabased dating and relationship safety platform, and its newest arm, Cray Protected, is aimed squarely at the rooms where food and beverage professionals spend their nights: bars, restaurants, and event venues looking to make patron safety something guests can see, not just something operators hope for. Smith did not arrive at this work from a marketing meeting. He has spoken publicly about a relationship whose warning signs he only understood well after it ended, and about the years afterward spent picking apart why smart, careful people miss things that look so obvious in hindsight. His company’s shorthand for the answer, now painted across its branding, is “vibes lie, patterns don’t.” A feeling in the moment, he argues, can talk a person out of what the facts have already been showing them. Smith brought a background in psychological assessment publishing and an MBA in entrepreneurship from the University of Tampa to the question, and spent that stretch of years turning a private blind spot into something closer to a field guide. That field guide became the Cray app, which launched worldwide in October 2025. Users answer guided questions about a relationship, whether it is a date, a roommate, or a new friend, and the app measures those answers against a behavioral framework built from outside research: dozens of documented warning signs sorted into eighteen categories. The result comes back as a private CrayScore, alongside a second reading called SchemerScore that flags behavior aimed at getting something from someone, and a newer BaeScore that flips the exercise around to count what a relationship is doing right. None of it leaves the user’s phone. There is no profile, no post, no one else who ever sees the answers. The app has since built partnerships with more than fifteen college campuses, where the same warning signs surface in dorm life as readily as they do in dating. Cray Protected takes that same instinct and sets it loose in physical rooms, the ones where strangers actually meet: a bar on a Friday night, a restaurant hosting a first date, an event venue packed with people who do not yet know each other’s names. The certification gives operators a badge and a kit built for the floor rather than a phone screen. Setup kits, priced from $99 for restaurants up to $229 for highvolume event spaces, include window decals, posters for the hallway and the restroom, and coasters that a patron can scan with a phone to reach the app midconversation. The kits also include NightCapIt, a peelandstick cover that seals a glass so nothing can be slipped into it while its owner is on the dance floor or in line for the restroom. Venues that burn through supplies faster than a onetime kit can keep up can put coasters and covers on a recurring shipment, with the price per unit easing down as the order grows.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 24

The business case reads like something out of a P&L rather than a safety pamphlet. Visible safety measures give patrons another reason to come back to a venue, which turns a protective gesture into something closer to a loyalty program. And because the kits start at $99, the badge on the door is one of the cheapest visible commitments a venue can make to something guests were already inclined to want. There is a quieter argument too, the kind an insurance broker would recognize before a marketer would: posted signage, drink covers within reach at the bar, and staff trained to offer them are visible evidence that a venue has made patron safety part of how it operates — the kind of proactive commitment that guests, staff, and insurers alike tend to notice.

None of this asks a kitchen to cook differently or a bar to pour differently. The room still fills the way it always has, the citrus still gets twisted, the ice still cracks into the shaker right on cue. What changes is smaller and easier to miss unless you are looking for it: a badge by the door, a coaster on the table, a cover within arm’s reach at the bar. Smith is betting that the next thing patrons remember about a night out will not be the drink list or the décor, but whether the room they walked into had already thought about their safety before they had to ask.

kit details, pricing, or place an order at cray.app/protected.

Page 25 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

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TASTING ITALY: A JOURNEY THROUGH REGIONAL FOOD TOURS Imagine yourself twisting fresh pasta in a Tuscan kitchen bathed in sunlight with the scent of boiling tomatoes and basil filling the air. Or perhaps you’re haggling for the freshest seafood at Palermo’s vibrant Ballarò Market, ready to sample crispy arancini and sweet cannoli. A simple dish of spaghetti alle vongole enjoyed along the Amalfi Coast has the power to ignite a culinary adventure across Italy, revealing lesserknown gastronomic delights and introducing

you to dedicated local artisans. This guide offers insider tips on the most unforgettable regional food tours Italy has to offer, from truffle hunting in Piedmont to cheesemaking workshops in Sardinia. Get ready for an appetizing trip into real Italian gastronomy, where recipes aren’t just followed, but they’re debated, defended, and celebrated as vital pieces of cultural heritage.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 26

Exploring the Rich Culinary Heritage of Italy’s Regions When you visit EmiliaRomagna’s aging cellars, you’ll hear the distinctive tap of hammers as cheese masters test each wheel of ParmigianoReggiano, nurturing them through 24 months until they develop that crystalline crunch you’ll taste in every bite.

vibrant street markets, vendors call out in dialect, offering you capers from Pantelleria and pistachios from Bronte. You’ll taste centuries of Arab influence in pasta con le sarde, where wild fennel, pine nuts, and raisins create a sweetsavory contrast that will surprise your palate.

In Tuscany’s hill towns, you can join nonnas who’ll teach you to roll pasta dough until it’s translucent enough to read a newspaper through, before transforming it into thick, handrolled pici for your wild boar ragù or delicate pappardelle paired with fresh porcini.

These aren’t just meals you’re eating – they’re edible history you can experience firsthand through cooking classes in family homes, earlymorning market tours with local chefs, and seasonal festivals like Alba’s truffle fair or watching pizza masters at work in Napoli’s centuriesold pizzerias.

Trentino’s mountain huts with polenta concia enriched with melted fontina, alongside locallycured speck dried in the crisp mountain air you’re breathing. In Sicily’s

Page 27 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

Regional Italian Cuisine The best Italian dishes are enhanced by the tales behind their ingredients and the tradition of its creators and the surrounding scenery. In Venice’s Rialto Market, start your morning with the locals selecting tiny softshell crabs called moleche, watching fishmongers deftly clean them for your frittura mista. Then head to familyrun bacari where you’ll stand elbowto elbow with Venetians, savoring cicchetti like baccalà mantecato spread on crusty crostini. Making your way deeper into northern Italy, you’ll find yourself in Piedmont’s rustic trattorias where tajarin pasta, fine as angel hair and yellow from abundant egg yolks, gets tossed with shavings of precious white truffles. In Modena’s Acetaia, climb into attics where aged balsamic vinegar slowly concentrates in wooden barrels, each passed down through generations. Don’t miss Puglia’s masserias, where you can learn to make orecchiette with sharptongued aunties who’ll tease you until your pasta shapes improve, then reward you with burrata still warm from the morning’s making.

Signature Dishes of Italy: A Taste of Tradition in Every Region Every Italian area boasts signature meals that perfectly represent its unique culinary traditions. For example, talented sfogline in Bologna create paperthin sheets of egg pasta for authentic tortellini, producing over 18,000 kg daily. Visit Naples to learn the exacting craft of pizzamaking, where skilled pizzaiolo adhere to stringent UNESCOprotected traditions. Venice offers you the delicate baccalà mantecato, a creamed cod spread perfected over centuries of maritime trade, while in Rome, taste the perfect carbonara made with guanciale from local producers and pecorino romano. Head to Modena to experience aged balsamic vinegar produced in traditional acetaie, some operating for over 100 years. In Sicily’s Bronte region, sample pistachios are used in both sweet and savory dishes, from pesto to gelato. Travel to Piedmont during autumn to join truffle hunters and their dogs searching for prized white truffles. The dedication to regional specialties continues across Italy from Liguria, where basil grown in the coastal climate creates the legendary Genovese pesto, to Tuscany, where the prized Chianina cattle provide the renowned bistecca alla fiorentina.

Kenny Dunn, Founder of Eating Europe, discovered his passion for cuisine while living in Rome, introducing travelers to local eateries and culinary personalities. What began as casual strolls evolved into Eating Italy Food Tours in 2011, soon expanding to multiple cities as Eating Europe. Kenny and his growing team continue to share the taste of local life and unforgettable food stories across the continent. September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 28

Tips for Savoring Every Bite on Your Italian Food Tour Regional flavors and traditions define Italian cuisine. The country’s varied topography—from alpine to coastal—influences regional cuisine and ingredients. Try the following to obtain the best experience possible. • Time Your Meals Like an Italian: Skip tourist traps serving A Bologna’s Quadrilatero for fresh tortellini. • Embrace Long Meals: savoring dishes like Milan’s osso buco or Venice’s risotto al nero di seppia while socializing between courses. • Try Regional Specialties: Each area offers unique dishes— EmiliaRomagna’s ragù, Sicily’s arancini, Puglia’s burrata— best paired with local wines like Piedmont’s Barolo or Sardinia’s Vermentino. • Check Quality Labels: Look for DOP certification on items like ParmigianoReggiano and San Marzano tomatoes to ensure authenticity. • Connect with Producers: Visit markets, join Umbrian truffle hunts, tour Modena’s balsamic makers, or take Florence pastamaking classes to deepen your culinary understanding.

Conclusion: A Flavorful Journey Through Italy’s Culinary Diversity A wide culinary region spreads across Italy that includes national food heritage protection along with multiple ancestral food preparation styles. From Modena’s 25yearaged balsamic vinegar to Campania’s San Marzano tomatoes grown in Mount Vesuvius’ volcanic soil, local cooking is deeply rooted in tradition. The Alps shaped Northern dishes like Lombardy’s saffronrich risotto alla Milanese, while Sicily’s Baroqueera convents created marzipan fruits and cannoli. The culinary distinctions create the unique character which distinguishes Italian cuisine from other food traditions. With over 800 certified traditional products, from artisanal cheeses to heritage grain varieties, and countless smallbatch specialties crafted by local master artisans, Italy proves that great cuisine isn’t just about unity – it’s about celebrating each region’s unique story, ingredients and innovations.

Page 29 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

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Turning a Familiar Fruit Into a Modern Superfood Story How the California Table Grape Commission is pairing decades of health research with the globally launched Lunchbox League to give grapes a fresh place in the wellness conversation

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 30

, .

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In 2025, John M. Pezzuto, Ph.D., D.Sc., Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Western New England University and a leading resveratrol researcher, published a

For the California Table Grape Commission, that opportunity has

scientific perspective examining whether fresh grapes deserve to

arrived around one of America’s most familiar fresh foods. Grapes

be considered a superfood. His conclusion provided the California

from California are hardly new to the produce aisle; California

table grape industry with an unusually powerful opportunity: take

growers have cultivated table grapes since 1839, and today 99

decades of research surrounding grapes and health and translate

percent of the table grapes grown in the United States come

it into a message consumers can immediately understand.

from the state. More than 80 varieties are produced across the Coachella and San Joaquin valleys, spanning green, red, and black

The research behind that positioning extends well beyond

grapes and a season that can extend from May into January.

a single nutrient. Grapes naturally contain more than 1,600 compounds, including antioxidants and polyphenols such as

That evolution is why Food & Beverage Magazine is recognizing

resveratrol, flavonoids, anthocyanidins, catechins, and phenolic

Grapes from California with a 2026 Editor’s Top Pick: Industry

acids. More than 60 peer reviewed studies have examined grapes

Changemakers award. The recognition honors brands and

and health, with research exploring cardiovascular health, brain

organizations taking bold, meaningful steps to move their

health, skin health, gut health, eye health, and healthy aging. The

categories forward. For Grapes from California, the distinction

Commission’s own health resources point to more than 25 years

reflects a broader effort that connects grower legacy, health

of research suggesting that grape polyphenols help protect cells

research, industry education, and inventive consumer marketing

and support healthy function throughout the body.

to reshape how a familiar fresh fruit is understood and promoted.

Page 31 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

That breadth matters because it allows Grapes from California to

The Commission is also extending the concept into education

move beyond a traditional produce message built primarily around

and usage. Activity sheets bring the characters into kid friendly

freshness and taste. The brand can now speak to shoppers who

programming, while new recipes and digital content demonstrate

increasingly look for foods that deliver on several fronts at once:

how California grapes can move well beyond the lunchbox. The

convenience, enjoyment, familiarity, and wellness.

2026 asset library includes everything from California Grape Wellness Juice to an autumn grain bowl and Italian sausage

. .

and grape skewers. The broader Commission library now

Enter The Lunchbox League, the California Table Grape Commission’s new global campaign and perhaps its most playful expression of the superfood message yet. Captain Cluster, Munch, and Glow are a trio of superhero grapes created to personify the health benefits, quality, and taste associated with California grapes. The idea is intentionally simple: in California, “tasty fuels healthy, and healthy makes happy.” Their superhero status provides a direct creative bridge to the evolving superfood positioning without asking consumers to decipher nutritional research before understanding the message. For 2026, the Commission is deploying the updated campaign throughout the United States and as many as 22 export markets, reaching retailers, wholesalers, importers, and consumers. Materials are being made available in multiple languages, supported by point of purchase assets, digital advertising, merchandising, sampling, retail promotions, social media, influencer partnerships, and registered dietitian programs. That scale is what makes the strategy particularly notable. The Lunchbox League is not simply a character campaign placed on a few consumer advertisements. It is designed as an adaptable marketing platform that can travel across markets, retail environments, digital channels, and age groups while returning to one recognizable message.

encompasses more than 300 recipes and ideas across beverages, snacks, entrées, desserts, salads, and specialized eating preferences. For retailers and food industry professionals, that gives the campaign relevance beyond consumer awareness. Grapes from California can be positioned as a snack, ingredient, wellness food, seasonal merchandising opportunity, and culinary component, all while supporting the growers, farmworkers, families, and rural California communities behind the crop. There is something especially smart about turning the superfood conversation toward a fruit consumers do not need to be taught how to eat. Grapes require no preparation, no recipe, and no explanation to earn a place in a lunchbox or refrigerator. The innovation is not in changing the product; it is in revealing how much more there is to say about it. With the Lunchbox League, Grapes from California has found a way to make that story colorful, global, and remarkably easy to understand. The result is a campaign and category strategy that feels both timely and grounded in something much larger: generations of California growers, decades of health research, and a product consumers already know and enjoy. That ability to create new relevance around an established food is precisely what makes Grapes from California a Food & Beverage Magazine Editor’s Top Pick: Industry Changemaker. For an industry constantly searching for the next big wellness ingredient, one of the more interesting changemakers may have been sitting in the produce aisle all along.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 32

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HELLO SOJU

Partners With Casablanca Karaoke at Andy’s in Los Angeles — A Houston Brothers Hotspot In Collaboration with Anderson .Paak – For Special Comedy & Karaoke Celebration The Hello Soju collaboration with Casablanca Karaoke at Andy’s WeHo has been a multiweek long popular, highenergy activation pairing curated cocktails with live nightlife experiences. Casablanca Karaoke is Andy’s yearlong running Tuesday night in-demand concept, a hybrid Karaoke DJ night, created by and curated by Emcee Judah J. Drops-ins include everyone from G Eazy to Evan Ross to Ahanel West Aoast to Too Short to Jacquie Lee to Lukas Haas to Anderson .Paak himself. This weekly Casablanca series event takes place at the exclusive speakeasy 70sinspired lounge created by Anderson .Paak and the Houston Brothers, featuring open mic karaoke, celebrity guest dropins, and dynamic entertainment such as the August 4, 2027 comedy installment “All Star Comedy and Karaoke” featuring comedy personalities like Chanel Omari and Kiki Yeung.

Page 35 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

The venue, another brainchild of the successful Houston Arothers, Mark and Jonnie Houston, is also filled with glass case decor showcasing Anderson’s memorabilia, gold and platinum framed records, and one of a kind images of him performing, making it an exciting destination for patrons, not to mention the live music component and rear outdoor patio. Hello Soju partnered with the venue for a four week specialized experiential takeovers, offering featured soju cocktails during the opening hours of the event to mix with highend latenight dining options and curated DJ sets, highlighted by DJ Pedro aka Michaelangelo Falcon, and DJ Looney on comedy night, with DJ Pookie at the helm of the year plus long series. Hello Soju and Casablanca first collaborated on a Chinese New Year celebration in February, to jump start the partnership. Signature Hello Soju cocktails at Casablanca Karaoke include the Red Soul Rising, and the K SPRESSO Martini. These have become the favorites of the Tuesday evening annual karaoke party. Comedian and iHeartRadio host Chanel Omari anchored the special entertainment lineup at the venue, bringing together a rotating cast of notable standup female comedians. Late night, it switched to the weekly karaoke, featuring drop ins by Jamie Foxx’ artist J Young MGK, DrakeBs Dad Dennis Graham, actor Kyle Massey, and even had Andy’s owner and legendary music artist and DJ Anderson .Paak in the house for the comedy portion of the night. “Hello Soju” is an awardwinning, premium American alcohol brand based in Los Angeles that specializes in modern interpretations of soju, the traditional Korean distilled spirit. Created by the global entertainment and media company The Hello , the brand serves as a bridge between Korean heritage and California culture. It is highly recognizable by its vibrant, colorful packaging and its recent highprofile partnerships. The venue is located at the former Doheny Room space behind a secret front newsstand at 9077 Santa Monica Alvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069. While Casablanca Karaoke typically takes over the lounge early in the week Tuesdays with open mic karaoke and singing signups starting around 9 30 PM, entry generally requires an RSVP or table reservation through nightlife networks like The Rumor. For Comedy special collaborative evenings. Follow on social @casablancakaraoke

Photos by Nick Velasco for Hello Soju

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 36

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Page 37 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

Aiya Typical Hojicha is made from roasting green tea leaves (stalks & stems included); however, Aiya’s Hojicha is made with Tencha, the same shadegrown & destemmed tea leaves used for Matcha. The result? A smoother, richer, toastier flavor. Sweetened with cane sugar, this balance of flavors is best enjoyed as a latte but can also be prepared as a sweetened iced tea or smoothie. Featuring an easytear film and packaged in singleserving sticks, Aiya Sweetened Hojicha To Go packets are the perfect option for those onthego.

Distinguished Gentleman Foods Distinguished Gentleman Foods brings chefdriven flavor from the restaurant kitchen to the home table. Founded in Naples, Florida, by Chef Gregory Scarlatos and Monika Czechowska, the brand grew from sauces developed and served at their restaurant, FUSE. Created with a chef’s approach to flavor, the collection is designed to go beyond traditional barbecue. The sauces can be used for grilling, glazing, dipping, marinating and adding bold flavor to everyday dishes. The line currently features Memphis Sweet BBQ, Texas Hot BBQ and Carolina Mustard BBQ, each with its own distinctive flavor profile. The sauces are glutenfree, made without highfructose corn syrup or preservatives, and produced in Florida. Distinguished Gentleman Foods is built around a simple idea: restaurant quality flavor shouldn’t be reserved for restaurants.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 38

Editor’s Top Pick

La Sirena Tequila La Sirena Tequila is redefining the ultrapremium tequila category through distinctive craftsmanship, striking presentation, and a brand story centered on confidence, courage, and legacy. Produced at femaleowned Casa A Weber agave and crafted to deliver an exceptionally smooth, agaveforward profile across its Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo expressions. The brand has earned significant industry recognition, including Tequila of the Year, Best of Class, and & Spirits Competition, along with multiple gold medals from leading spirits competitions. Beyond the liquid, La Sirena’s sculptural mermaid bottle and crowned presentation create an unmistakable presence behind the bar and on retail shelves. The brand continues expanding its footprint across key hospitality and retail markets while building a community around individuality, confidence, and modern luxury.

Spiked Pop Spiked Pop is reshaping the hard soda category by bringing the cleanlabel philosophy transforming nonalcoholic soda into the alcohol aisle. Created by Owl’s Brew cofounders Jennie Ripps and Maria Littlefield, the brand reimagines nostalgic soda flavors through a modern, betterforyou lens, using real juices, botanicals, teas and herbs—without artificial flavors or coloring. At 4.8% ABV and 5 grams or less of sugar and carbohydrates per serving, Spiked Pop proves that bold flavor, fun and ingredient transparency can coexist. Its sevenflavor portfolio—including Black Cherry, Cream Soda, Strawberry Hibiscus and Watermelon Lime—pairs familiar favorites with inventive twists designed for today’s drinker. With nationwide distribution across retailers A cleaner, brighter and more refreshing future. Page 39 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

The Sag Harbor “Enigma“ Segar, crafted by Hamptons Cigar B Freudenthal ran a robust cigar factory in Sag Harbor, New York. Freudenthal famously blended Virginia and Cuban tobaccos to create the original „Enigma Segar,“ named after the local Enigma D C C D D with a smooth, light tan Connecticut wrapper, complemented by Dominican fillers and binder. It boasts a complex, mediumbodied profile that begins with hay and chocolate, transitioning into peppery wood char, and finishing with an oaken char and baking spices. True to its maritime roots, the Enigma Segar is uniquely presented in an aquablue wooden barrel resembling those found D

EcoStylist EcoStylist is redefining what it means to shop sustainably with its Sustainable Personal Styling service, pairing clients with expert stylists who curate outfits exclusively from independently certified ethical and ecoconscious brands. Rather than leaving shoppers to navigate greenwashing and vague sustainability claims on their own, EcoStylist does the vetting first: every recommended brand is evaluated against C labor, and sustainably made materials, with certification never available for purchase. The service addresses a growing frustration among conscious consumers — that shopping ethically shouldn‘t require hours of independent research just to avoid supporting harmful labor practices or false claims. By combining personalized styling with prevetted, certified brands, EcoStylist removes the guesswork entirely, delivering wardrobes that reflect both personal style and genuine environmental and social responsibility. Founded by Garik Himebaugh, EcoStylist continues to push the fashion industry toward greater accountability, one certified brand — and one styled client — at a time.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 40

Editor’s Top Pick

Enigma Segar

Editor’s Top Pick

Topiary Reimagining South African Wine, Naturally. Topiary is taking a fresh approach to South African wine, placing an sustainable philosophy at the heart of how it makes and presents wine to today’s consumer. By championing a more considered relationship with the terroir, the brand reflects a growing shift toward wines that are not only enjoyable, but also connected to provenance, sustainability and responsible production.

International de Lyon demonstrates that this approach can go hand in hand with international recognition. Topiary is helping challenge the perception that sustainability and accessibility require compromise, showing that South African wines can deliver quality, character and contemporary relevance while respecting their natural origins. In a category increasingly shaped by conscious consumers, Topiary is helping move the conversation forward, proving that a more organic, authentic approach can be a powerful driver of both innovation and excellence.

Miracle Mama Miracle Mama is a functional snack brand on a mission to support women through every stage of life. Founded by entrepreneur and mother Whitney Rowell, the brand began in boost milk supply for new mothers — and quickly gained a devoted following. What started as Miracle Milkookies®, a freshbaked lactation cookie designed to nourish breastfeeding moms, has since evolved into a broader movement centered on women‘s wellness.

Page 41 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

MVA (maison vernhes alliance) is a wine collective sourcing artisanal bottles directly from producers around the world—smallbatch wines that are hard to find and, above all, delicious. Villa Tolnay’s Cabernet Franc is a perfect example. Chief Winemaker Philipp Oser personally oversees every harvest and vintage, highlighting the distinctive character of the volcanic soil on Hungary’s Csobánc Hill. The result is an intense, dry, mineralrich wine with impressive aging potential. Like a Beethoven symphony, this Cabernet Franc unfolds in layers, balancing the power of volcanic minerality with generous notes of red fruit. The result is a remarkably expressive wine with a sense of place and rare honesty. Its bold character pairs beautifully with slowcooked dishes and red meats, allowing its aromas and depth to shine. C to one you love.

Our Place full lineup of nextlevel pots, pans, and accessories designed for peak performance in the kitchen, without a trace of Forever Chemicals. The collection is powered by an ultradurable, C steel, and features gamechanging upgrades, including:

•

New metalandsilicone utensils that match the cookware’s premium craftsmanship

•

An innovative, builtin utensil rest—exclusively designed for this collection

is available in two elevated styles—Chrome, and Chrome with Gold knobs and handles. The Titanium Pro Collection is also available to bundle, including the Home Cook Duo Pro, Mini Home Cook Duo Pro, Cookware Set Pro, Always Pan Duo Pro, Always Pan Trio Pro, and Ultimate Cookware Set Pro.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 42

Editor’s Top Pick

maison vernhes

Editor’s Top Pick

MIGHTYLICIOUS MIGHTYLICIOUS Oatmeal Coconut Cookies are softbaked, chewy cookies with a rich oatmealandcoconut flavor and a slightly tropical sweetness. The company describes the recipe C C C C Coconut its bestselling flavor. The cookies have also received recent attention from Good Housekeeping, being named among A D receiving the honor. Ingredients: Include a proprietary glutenfree flour blend of rice flour, corn starch, tapioca starch and potato starch, along with unsweetened coconut, oats, oat flour, coconut yogurt and natural vanilla flavor.

Mezete Mezete Classic Hummus with Breadsticks combines smooth, creamy hummus made from chickpeas and rich tahini with crunchy breadsticks for an authentic Middle Eastern snack D D C contains no preservatives or artificial additives and is vegan, NonGMO and Halal, with a shelf life of up to 18 months. The readytoeat snack is shelfstable before opening, making it ideal for lunchboxes, travel, work or anytime you want a satisfying dipandcrunch snack. Note that the breadsticks contain wheat/gluten, while the hummus contains sesame.

Page 43 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

Jeppson’s Malört is a Swedishstyle liqueur made with wormwood and a proprietary blend of botanicals, known for its intensely bitter, herbal character. The spirit opens with bold notes of wormwood and citrus, followed by earthy, grassy and botanical flavors and a lingering, remarkably dry finish. Unlike sweet or fruitforward liqueurs, Malört is unapologetically bitter, complex, and designed to challenge the palate. Traditionally enjoyed as a shot, Malört has become a rite of passage for generations of Chicagoans. Its distinctive flavor and unforgettable finish have earned it a devoted cult following among those who appreciate its unique character— and plenty of strong opinions from those who don‘t. Revered and reviled in equal measure, Malört has become an icon of Chicago drinking culture and an adventurous choice for drinkers looking to try something unlike anything else on the bar.Love it, hate it, or wonder why anyone drinks it, one thing is certain: you’ll never forget your first Malört.

Rancher’s Premium Smokehouse Rancher’s Premium Smokehouse is challenging the traditional sausage category by pairing timehonored smoking techniques with bold, contemporary flavors. Its lineup—including Philly Cheese Steak, Smoked Bacon Cheddar, and Southwest inspired varieties—turns familiar flavor profiles into premium sausage experiences designed for today’s more adventurous D carefully selected meats, proprietary spice blends, and craftoriented production to deliver distinctive flavor without sacrificing consistency. The brand’s approach goes beyond simply creating another sausage: it transforms recognizable culinary favorites into convenient, grillready products that invite consumers to explore new flavors. With an emphasis on innovation, versatility, and Texasrooted craftsmanship, Rancher’s Premium demonstrates how a traditional category can evolve to meet changing expectations while maintaining the authenticity consumers value.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 44

Editor’s Top Pick

Jeppson’s Malört

Editor’s Top Pick

Mixly’s Mixly’s Tropical & Spicy Margarita Cocktail & Mocktail Mixer brings a lively twist to the classic margarita with bright citrus, tropical sweetness, and a warm jalapeño finish. Made with lime juice concentrate, pineapple juice concentrate, sweet orange extract, agave extract, and jalapeño extract, the mixer delivers a balanced blend of tangy, juicy, and gently fiery flavors. It pairs easily with tequila for a barquality cocktail at home, while club soda transforms it into a refreshing mocktail with plenty of personality. The versatile 25.4ounce bottle contains approximately eight servings, making it well suited for casual gatherings, celebrations, or a flavorful drink at the end of the day. With no artificial colors or preservatives, Mixly offers a convenient option that keeps preparation simple without sacrificing character. Sweet, spicy, and unexpected, the Tropical & Spicy Margarita Mixer gives every pour a vibrant islandinspired kick. Its bold flavor makes ordinary drink occasions feel memorable.

Hillside Lane Farm This gluten free, vegan pizza crust has an amazing rise with a delicious flatbread flavor! Gluten free and Kosher certified the crust is ready to top and bake with your favorite toppings!

Page 45 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

Sustainable Hydration for Every Day. PATH Water offers a more sustainable approach to everyday hydration with refillable, recyclable, BPAfree aluminum bottles. Its Alkaline Water is ultra D still, sparkling and flavored sparkling varieties. Designed as an alternative to singleuse plastic bottles and expensive tumblers, PATH’s bottles are made for everyday use and are designed to keep beverages cooler than traditional plastic. The collection also includes accessories such as swing caps and sleeves for added convenience. Made in the USA, PATH Water provides an easy option for consumers looking to incorporate more sustainable choices into their daily routines without sacrificing convenience or D D C C are also available. drinkpathwater.com

Quinn’s Quinn’s new Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter & Honey Filled Pretzel sticks are the first gluten free filled pretzel sticks. This innovative new format takes everything you love about D only 2g added sugar and just real ingredients, nothing artificial . They are made glutenfree, dairyfree, nonGMO, cornfree, and soyfree. Both deliver salty crunch, creamy centers, and realfood nourishment –crafted for families and snackers who want real food without compromise.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 46

Editor’s Top Pick

PATH Water

Editor’s Top Pick

GiveThemBeer’s Sparkling Wine Advent Calendar Make the countdown to Christmas sparkle with GiveThemBeer’s Sparkling Wine Advent Calendar, a festive gift created for bubbly enthusiasts. Behind 12 numbered doors, recipients will discover sparkling wine splits from recognizable favorites such as Chandon, La Marca, Freixenet, Mionetto and Ruffino, along with other bottles to explore. The curated assortment spans crisp Prosecco, classic Brut, lively Cava, refreshing Rosé, elegant Blanc de Blancs and French sparkling wine, ensuring every evening offers a pour and a new tasting experience. Its polished blackandgold presentation makes it an impressive holiday gift for friends, family members, colleagues or hosts, while the concealed lineup preserves the D is available for preorder, with shipping scheduled to begin in late October. Whether enjoyed one bottle at a time or shared during celebrations, this calendar turns 12 nights into memorable occasions filled with discovery, cheer and bubbles.

Aquavit Bring an unexpected tropical twist to a classic Nordic spirit with Tattersall D C blend of botanicals, this distinctive aquavit is finished on oak and blended with coconut for a warm, layered sip. Toasted coconut softens and enriches the spirit’s savory character, while notes of pumpernickel rye, bright citrus, oak and baking spice create a complex, memorable finish. At A without overpowering the other ingredients. Pair it with pineapple or lime for a refreshing tropical serve, or use it in place of rum to give familiar drinks an unexpected Scandinavianinspired edge. Equally suited to adventurous home bartenders and curious spirits enthusiasts, Toasted Coconut Aquavit offers a playful balance of spice, warmth and tropical flavor that feels both distinctive and surprisingly versatile in the glass for any occasion worth celebrating.

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Editor’s Top Pick

Mauritius Sundowner Orange Oaks & Ames Gold Rum from Maurititus carbonized with tonic, natural orange create this special “ready to drink” aperitif. Delicate sweet wine notes from Sauternes cask aging, natural freshness and lightly sparkling fruitiness characterize this Mauritius Sundowner. It is served chilled in a tumbler with a big iceball. It goes also well as a food pairing to chicken and lamb dishes.

Broken Bones Single Malt Whisky Broken Bones Whisky is smooth, complex and elegant single malt whisky, that has collected numerous international awards.Broken Bones Whisky was nurtured in specially selected combination of barrels from Slovenian and American oak that contribute to its distinctive, floral and full flavor. Bones were broken to make this whisky The Broken Bones A Borut required hospital treatment after accidents (one broken leg and one broken nose) while filling the first whisky barrels. Broken Bones is a craft distillery that grew out of passion of three friends who share family tradition of producing spirits and wine. Equipped with the knowledge and experience of their forebears they set out to create something different Slovenian whisky.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 48

Editor’s Top Pick

Jerry & The Mermaid B cornerstone of Riverhead, New York. Today, secondgeneration Chef/Owner Jerry Dicecco Jr. carries forward the family restaurant creativity, local sourcing and a deep commitment to community. when Dicecco launched The Mermaid Project. With overwhelming to feed first responders and hospitality workers affected by the shutdowns and provide food boxes to local families in need. Today, that same spirit continues through partnerships with local fishermen, farmers and community organizations. In the kitchen, Dicecco celebrates everything from the restaurant’s signature lobster rolls and raw bar to locally landed and lesserknown seafood. For Jerry & The Mermaid, being a changemaker means more than serving great food—it means using hospitality to take care of the community that has supported it for generations.

Simrancooks Simrancooks introduces The Mother Mix, the first made intheUSA Canary Islands cooking sauce, created to make flavorful home cooking faster and easier. Inspired by founder Simran Khiantani’s motherinlaw’s treasured family recipe, The Mother Mix is a readytouse sofrito made with tomatoes, roasted red peppers, onions, garlic, extravirgin olive oil, turmeric, and smoked paprika. One jar replaces the timeconsuming work of chopping, sautéing, and simmering, helping home cooks prepare satisfying meals with ease. Versatile across cuisines, The Mother Mix can be used to create paella, shakshuka, pasta, curries, soups, stews, rice dishes, and more. Made with clean ingredients and no artificial colors or preservatives, it is vegan, glutenfree, dairy free, and nutfree. The Mother Mix delivers on Simrancooks’ promise: effortless meals that feel like home.

Page 49 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

Editor’s Top Pick

Wicked Cutz’s Wicked Cutz‘s awardwinning Cinnabon® Bacon Jerky brings together two powerhouse flavors: smoky, savory bacon and the iconic sweet cinnamon taste that Cinnabon® is known for. Featuring rich bacon complemented by warm Makara® cinnamon and a touch of sweetness, the product delivers a uniquely craveable flavor experience unlike anything else in the meat snack aisle. Created to stand out in a crowded category, Cinnabon Bacon Jerky transforms a familiar snack into a bold sweetand savory indulgence. Its distinctive flavor profile captures consumer attention, drives trial, and encourages repeat purchases, making it a powerful addition for retailers looking to offer innovative products that keep customers coming back for more.

Ockap Caviar & Cuisine Created by Parisbased Ducasse Conseil, the consulting arm of chef Alain Ducasse’s restaurant group, Ockap Caviar & Cuisine is now open in Miami, with a menu totally designed D pasta. The meal kicks off with caviar croquetas and a lobster roll with caviar, while main courses include fried chicken with caviar; sea bass, shellfish and sabayon; ribeye and caviar; and lobster, potatoes and bisque with — you guessed it — caviar. And in case you’re still in need of more fish eggs, the desserts come with caviar, too, whether you choose vanilla soft serve or granita with red fruits, tea and hibiscus.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 50

Editor’s Top Pick

Zaffre The Courage to Choose Color Change often begins with a choice that feels a little unexpected. At Zaffre, we believe one of the most powerful choices you can make is color. For too long, linens have been treated as the final layer, something meant to quietly complement a design. We see them differently. Color and pattern can set the tone, challenge expectations, and completely transform the feeling of a table. Choosing a bold color takes confidence. Choosing a pattern takes instinct. Together, they create something memorable, personal, and entirely your own. For Zaffre, change means encouraging our clients to look beyond what feels familiar and trust what excites them. It is about taking the risk to choose the unexpected, whether that means a saturated hue, a playful print, or a combination you never imagined putting together. Because sometimes, changing the table changes everything.

Bella Sun Luci We’re not Dad’s ranch dressing—and that’s the point. Today’s consumers are asking tougher questions: What’s in it? Who made it? Can I trust the label? Recent concerns surrounding avocado oil have only heightened that scrutiny. As a family owned company, we believe transparency isn’t a trend; it’s our responsibility. Three years ago, when we created our Bella C C already looking ahead. We knew standing out on a crowded shelf meant being better not just different. We use California extra virgin olive oil from our family ranch, De Nigris Italian aged balsamic, Meyer lemon concentrate, local wildflower D costs more. We think it’s worth it. We’re fully invested in every bottle, monitoring production and verifying that what’s on the label is what’s inside. That’s what makes us a change maker.

Page 51 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

The globally beloved, European musthave Thermomix TM7, now used in more than 14 million kitchens worldwide, is redefining the modern cooking experience. More than a smart appliance, it’s a streamlined, allinone cooking system that makes everyday meals more intuitive, inspiring, and accessible. C friendly device from open cooking and steaming to sous vide, fermentation, slow cooking, blending, slicing, and more helping simplify both prep and kitchen space without sacrificing D C Cookidoo, Thermomix’s expansive recipe platform featuring C and guided, stepbystep cooking. The TM7 also creates a connected experience across devices through smartphone and Apple Watch integration, allowing users to send recipes to the machine, monitor cooking progress, and receive real time updates from their wrist further demonstrating how Thermomix continues to push the category forward.

BATTA While nearly every pantry staple has been reinvented over the D Batta was built to change that. Founded by Maya and Peyton, two best friends who launched the company from New York while keeping their fulltime careers, Batta makes allnatural cake and frosting mixes with no artificial flavors, colors, or fillers. Its flavors, including Creamy Matcha Latte, Cinnamon Toast, and Salted Honey Cream Cheese, are designed for grownup palates without asking home bakers to start from scratch. The brand‘s premise is simple: boxed and genuinely good should not be a contradiction. Every mix is priced at $12, and the packaging is designed to be gifted as readily as baked. Self funded and independently built, Batta enters a category long defined by shelfstable convenience with a clearer standard for what belongs in the box, and what does not.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 52

Editor’s Top Pick

Thermomix TM7

Editor’s Top Pick

Melanie’s Medleys With distinctive flavors and an unwavering commitment to quality, Melanie’s Medleys is bringing fresh energy to a classic category. Crafted with highquality ingredients and thoughtfully developed flavor combinations, each cream cheese spread delivers rich, craveable flavor with exceptional versatility. Available in both retail and bulk foodservice formats, Melanie’s Medleys brings quality and creativity to everything from breakfast and snacking to recipes and entertaining.

Chef Cassi’s Table Some products are created to fill a gap. Chef Cassi’s Table’s Cognac Butter Pecan Syrup was created to stretch a category. Developed by founder Chef Cassi, the syrup takes the familiar comfort of butter pecan and gives it unexpected depth with cognac flavor, without alcohol. But what makes the product distinctive is not simply what is inside the bottle. It is what Chef Cassi expects consumers to do with it. Cognac Butter Pecan Syrup was designed to move beyond pancakes and waffles, finding its way into cocktails, coffee, desserts, glazes and savory dishes. That versatility reflects a chef’s approach to product development, where a pantry staple becomes another ingredient to create with. Chef Cassi’s Table is expanding specialty syrup from a breakfast condiment into a versatile culinary ingredient, bringing a more imaginative approach to a familiar category without losing the flavors consumers already love.

Page 53 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

Editor’s Top Pick

Fish Sisters In the Philadelphia region and along the Jersey Shore, oyster crackers have long been part of the seafood table. For generations, they were set out at oyster houses and sea food spots, where grabbing a handful became part of the ritual while waiting for a bowl of stew or fresh oysters — or cracking them right into a steaming chowder for added texture and bite. That tradition — of crunching, sharing, and savoring — is what Fish Sisters oyster crackers carry forward. Made right here in the Philly area, they bring a nostalgic piece of local seafood culture to every handful, whether you’re building a bowl or finis hing the bag before dinner even starts.

Tequila Corralejo Ahead of Hispanic Heritage Month and Mexican Independence Day, Tequila Corralejo has introduced its awardwinning D a more accessible option for gifting, intimate gatherings and cocktail occasions while maintaining the same tequila and craftsmanship as the brand’s larger formats. Produced at Hacienda Corralejo in Guanajuato, Mexico, the Reposado is C A for four months in American oak and French Limousin oak. It features aromas of vanilla, honey, spice and oak, followed by C D A C artisan labeling. It is available now for a suggested retail price D D D

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 54

Editor’s Top Pick

TruBond Clear Rise Start your morning with intention. TruBond Clear Rise is your bright, tangy citrus mint blend, crafted to anchor the first half of your day with clarity, focus, and clean energy. No spike. No crash. Just the kind of presence that makes the rest of your day feel earned. This is the morning ritual your brain has been waiting for. Clean, functional, and fruitforward. The bright tang comes naturally from real baobab fruit and real citrus, so it drinks refreshing and lightly tart, not like a sugary or artificial orange. Clear Rise ingredients are studied at real amounts, like Lion‘s D carries a real, meaningful share, portioned so you can enjoy a drink whenever your morning calls for it, rather than pack it all into one glass.

TruBond Lighten Up Some drinks are made for lighter moments and the deeper conversations that follow. TruBond Lighten Up is your crisp, fruitforward raspberry yuzu blend, crafted to lift your mood, keep you present, and help you connect more fully through the afternoon and into the evening. Caffeinefree. Think less tension, more engaged presence. Just the good kind of buzz. This is the social mix your routine has been waiting for, from afternoon into evening. Clean, functional, and built for connection. Made to enjoy all day: Lighten Up ingredients are D meaningful share, portioned so you can enjoy a drink whenever your afternoon or evening calls for it, rather than pack it all into one glass. Real amounts, not a pinch for the label.

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Joimo was born from a simple observation: Better tea makes better kombucha. The company built on Taiwanese tea traditions, starting with the finest singleorigin oolong tea, handpicked from the high mountains. Labeled as the „champagne of kombucha,” Joimo is crisp, clean, and bright without the bite; crafted for taste, not just wellness. Each batch of kombucha is artisanally crafted without shortcuts, transforming organic cane sugar through months of careful fermentation with a symbiotic culture of healthy bacteria and yeast. The result is delicate and floral, with airy, slightly earthy and a touch of minerality. Bright and lightly dry, with fine, crisp effervescence, it finishes clean and perfectly balanced. Ruby brings a warm, toasted depth that‘s both comforting and D D began as an experiment when Chris started brewing kombucha (unknowingly) using premium oolong tea.

SAINT BARMAN What marks SAINT BARMAN as a changemaker is its refusal to cut corners in a category built on them. The house lives by C a Classic Legends lineup with the Manhattan, Negroni, and Martini to come, and an inventive eightchapter series that reimagines the Old Fashioned as if it were created in another country, from bourbon to rum to añejo tequila and beyond. culture, SAINT BARMAN is quietly redefining what “ready to serve” can mean.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 56

Editor’s Top Pick

Joimo

Editor’s Top Pick

Lloyd‘s Original We take pride in offering a spirited beverage experience that truly stands out. Our flagship product, Lloyd‘s Original Rum Punch, is not just a drink; it’s a celebration in a bottle. What sets us apart is our commitment to quality and authenticity. Each batch of our rum punch is crafted using a timehonored family recipe that perfectly blends rum with a selection of fruit flavors, delivering a taste that captures the bold essence of the Caribbean. This dedication to exceptional craftsmanship ensures that every sip is a refreshing and vibrant experience, making our rum punch a memorable choice for any occasion. Our focus on delivering both highquality products and exceptional service further distinguishes Lloyd‘s Original Inc. from the competition. We cater to businesses and consumers across New Jersey, making it easy for you to incorporate our unique beverage into your offerings or personal collection. By choosing Lloyd‘s Original Rum Punch, you’re not just choosing a drink; you’re embracing a product that embodies the vibrant, friendly spirit of the Caribbean. Let us elevate your beverage experience—contact us today and discover why Lloyd’s Original Inc. is the goto choice for a truly distinctive and enjoyable drink.

10 Torr’s Coffee Liqueur C brewed into a rich cold brew concentrate and blended with the Reno distillery’s awardwinning, vacuumdistilled vodka. Turbinado sugar and Madagascar vanilla beans add depth and balance, creating a smooth, aromatic spirit with layered notes of coffee, caramel and vanilla. The blend rests for approximately one week before being filtered and bottled. It can be enjoyed on its own, added to coffee or worked into richer, coolweather cocktails with chocolate, cherry or warming spice. It also puts a fallready spin on classics like a White Russian or Espresso Martini. Because it’s made with allnatural ingredients, some settling is normal. Just flip the bottle before pouring. The Coffee D D Specialty Spirits Distillery category.

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The VoChill Spirits Chiller™ introduces an entirely new way to enjoy a neat pour, giving whiskey and tequila lovers control over temperature without ice, dilution, or intrusive stones. Its gentle, controlled chill softens the heat of highproof spirits while preserving the character, aroma and flavor that make every pour unique. Simply stored in the freezer between uses, the Spirits Chiller is ready whenever the moment calls and stays cold for several pours. Its sleek, lowprofile design elevates the home bar and includes a premium crystal glass thoughtfully designed for nosing and sipping, with exceptional clarity and a thin rim that delivers the refined drinking experience of a fine wine glass. For neatpour drinkers who want a cooler, smoother experience without compromising what’s in the glass, VoChill is rethinking what it means to enjoy D D D

Grapes from California C delicious table grapes, passing their knowledge and expertise D D DC grapes come from California, where growers are committed to producing a safe, healthy product while adhering to strict regulatory standards, practicing environmental stewardship, and prioritizing worker health and safety. California table grapes are grown in two regions, with harvest beginning in the Coachella Valley and moving north to the San Joaquin Valley. Grapes from California are in season May through January, with D are tasty, healthy, fun to eat, and one of the most portable snacks around. They’re also versatile, adding fresh flavor and texture to everything from salads and entrées to desserts and drinks. Grown under the California sunshine, where tasty fuels healthy, and healthy makes happy, California grapes make eating well delicious and easy.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 58

Editor’s Top Pick

The VoChill Spirits Chiller™

Editor’s Top Pick

Rosenblum Rosenblum didn’t start in the quiet hillsides of California; it C C Kent Rosenblum began making wine in his basement. Surrounded by murals, expressive music, and people being unapologetically themselves, this pioneering urban winemaker became an early champion for California Zinfandel. Today, Rosenblum builds on that heritage, reimagining Zinfandel through an urban lens — both inside and outside the bottle. Because wine, like art or culture, isn’t meant to be admired from a distance; rather, it is meant to be felt and experienced with others. Made for the real moments of life, from impromptu rooftop hangs to weekday neighborhood gatherings, Rosenblum brings a modern edge to California Zinfandel. Bold, confident, and full of character, Rosenblum invites a new generation to experience wine on their own terms — because wine doesn’t need to feel precious, it just needs to be worth sharing.

Bronco Wine Co Crafted by Bronco Wine Co. winemaker Blair Guthrie, Bronco for all people and all occasions. As consumers look for more A made for wherever the moment leads. Not only does its convenient singleserve packaging make it easy to pack it for picnics, beach hangs, concerts, and outdoor adventures — no corkscrew or cup required — but it’s purposely crafted to be reused again, extending its life well beyond a single pour. Made from organic and sustainably grown Albariño, Vermentino, Pinot Gris, and Verdelho, this lower alcohol white wine is bright, refreshing, and easy to enjoy. Available as a singleserve or C A a new way to experience California wine: one intentionally designed for modern life.

Page 59 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

AUTEC, the nation’s leading commercial sushi robot provider, designed the ASM575A Onigiri Maker to help chefs and food service professionals capitalize on onigiri‘s rising popularity as a snack or menu item. The robot controls riceball density with a consistent airtorice grain ratio and fluffy texture and D D per rice ball). Changing the forming roller allows the robot to produce different shapes, including triangular and rectangular rice balls, enabling chefs to expand menus and innovate new dishes. It’s ideal for Spam Musubi, which has seen growing demand in recent years, as well as triangleshaped omusubi, rice sandwiches, and more. Easy to operate and featuring a stylish dark gray design, it’s more than a machine—it’s an opportunity for culinary innovation and business growth.

Solely Strawberry is America’s favorite berry, and Solely, the organic fruit snack brand known for its fruitfirst, fewingredient philosophy, is putting it center stage. The new Organic Mango Strawberry Fruit Jerky combines organic strawberry with organic mango, using just two ingredients and nothing more. There’s no added sugar, preservatives, gums, fillers, or artificial ingredients. The flavor debuted at Natural Products including Whole Foods Market, building on Solely’s leadership D D D C individually wrapped strip, it is designed for everyday snacking moments, from lunchboxes and gym bags to glove compartments. The launch aligns with broader category growth. According to Grand View Research, the global fruit D “We use a few simple ingredients and let the fruit shine,” said Solely CoFounder and CEO Simón Sacal.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 60

Editor’s Top Pick

AUTEC

Editor’s Top Pick

High Standard From the makers of Black Market, High Standard is poured when the people are right, the music is perfect, and memories are to be made. Hibiscus delivers a crisp rubybright snap and naturally vivid color, while saffron layers in a smooth floralgold warmth that feels unapologetically premium. Together, they’re botanicals admired for their antioxidantrich profiles and feelgood ritual energy. High Standard delivers a controlled, predictable quickonset. The D with natural ingredients traditionally favored* in wellness routines to support adult women’s uniquely changing needs, including: Real saffron: historically embraced during changing life stages. Hibiscus: a tart, antioxidantrich botanical. Lion’s Mane extract: commonly included in wellness formulations to support focus and cognitive clarity. Vitamin B complex: supports energy metabolism and overall wellness. Less than 4g of real cane sugar per serving.

GoodLight Natural Candles C

C C palm wax so guests and staff alike can enjoy their evening (or shift) free of the soot, smell, and toxic emissions of petroleumbased paraffin candles. GoodLight also partners with several nonprofits to help fund grassroots initiatives to advance sustainable palm farming, rainforest preservation, wildlife conservation, and carbon neutrality, so you’re contributing to positive impacts when you D D D

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Marionberry Tempranillo stands as one of the signature offerings in Bachelor Vista Jammery’s Winemaker’s Collection of jams, and its best selling flavor for good reason. This small batch preserve layers marionberries with cherries, mission figs, balsamic vinegar, and a whisper of green peppercorn, creating a profile that mirrors the depth and elegance of Tempranillo wineThe jam opens with dark, brambly fruit before unfolding into velvety richness and a subtle savory note that gives it remarkable dimension and texture. It’s crafted with the precision of a winemaker and the creativity of a chef, resulting in a flavor that feels both familiar and luxurious. Whether paired with aged gouda, spread on warm pastries, or used as a centerpiece on a tasting board, Bachelor Vista Jammery’s Marionberry Tempranillo delivers a refined, wine driven complexity that has made it the standout favorite of the collection.

Funnel Mill teas to life through exceptional craftsmanship, warm hospitality, and a deep respect for tradition. Owners JC and Teresa believe every cup is an art form. They share their knowledge, honor the history behind each brew, and invite you to slow down and experience coffee and tea at their finest.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 62

Editor’s Top Pick

Marionberry Tempranillo

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BAR BAS - THE SEXY SPEAKEASY LOUNGE ’

’

The hidden French cocktail lounge located beneath Marseille invites New York’s fashion, nightlife and hospitality communities to discover its subterranean world this September A A C C officially celebrate its grand opening this September, timed to coincide with the energy and excitement of New York Fashion Week, following a soft roll out earlier this summer. CA A C from the city above, inspired by the laidback glamour of French bars of the 1970s. With its lowlit atmosphere, intimate seating, Frenchinspired cocktails, wine and latenight dining, Bar Bas is designed as a destination for those looking to linger long after the fashion shows end and embrace a romantic atmosphere that lures in patrons for hours on end.

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In recent weeks, Mark Ballas hosted a final night celebration to mark the close out of his starring stint in Broadway’s Chicago the musical, for a late night dance party celebration with castmates, featuring DJ Reach, which is a perfect example of the allure Bar Bas provides its guests and partygoers.

The bar also offers a curated French wine selection and zeroproof cocktails, while the food menu embraces French classics and shareable favorites including steak frites, shrimp beignets, confit duck leg, escargot, tuna tartare and housebaked baguettes. Desserts include pot de crème au chocolat, crème brûlée and profiteroles.

The upcoming Fashion Week grand opening marks the next chapter for the lounge, officially welcoming New York’s fashion, entertainment, hospitality and nightlife communities into its world, after a soft roll out over the last two months, building its mysterious allure and creating a buzz amongst New York social scenesters in the know.

For more information, visit https://www.barbasnyc.com/ and follow @barbasnyc on Instagram.

At the heart of Bar Bas is a cocktail program created by Aviram Turgeman, featuring Frenchinspired seasonal interpretations of A C Martini, GnT Méditerranée, Joie de Vivre, Le Chat Noir and Le Panier ’75, a French 75inspired cocktail made with Martell cognac, Tahitian vanilla, lemon and Taittinger Champagne.

Hours: Thursday 4 30 p.m. 12 a.m.; Friday–Saturday 4 30 p.m. 2 a.m. For inquiries, please contact AarAas@theinfluence.com

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 64

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Food Tour of Japan Goes Beyond the Ordinary “Japan is a magical place, where a bowl of noodles, a sip of matcha or a delicate pillow of sushi may contain multitudes,” says Andrew Bender, Tour Planning Manager of Esprit Travel, Japan specialists. Ingredients harvested that morning combine with artful presentation, the room it’s served in, the garden you’re viewing, and, of course, the mastery of the chef. All these experiences — and much, much more — come together in Esprit’s Cuisine & Culture of Japan tour. From May takes in Japan’s most compelling culinary and cultural hotspots: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. Every day features exceptional meals, Bender explains: sushi to tempura, noodles to homestyle dishes, izakaya fare, train station bentos to rarefied, Michelinstarred kaiseki. Beyond restaurants, market and farm visits, and handson cooking classes, offer a chef’s perspective.

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Japan’s oneofakind culture makes for the perfect pairing: elegant gardens, mystical temples, and captivating art, architecture, ceramics and textiles. Each visit offers insights made possible by Esprit’s decades D Bender says, “Esprit Travel has built its reputation taking visitors off the tourist track.” In these days of everincreasing numbers of visitors to Japan, “This expertise matters more than ever.” Every step along the way, every detail is cared for, from airport transfers to luggage shipping. And for free time, the central locations of the tour’s fourstar hotels make it easy to shop for crafts or fashions, explore the city or just wander to make discoveries. Whether for firsttime visitors to the Land of the Rising Sun or old Japan hands, skilled chefs or avid gourmands, this tour, the flavors, traditions and everyday life of Japan, filled with experiences that would be difficult—if not impossible—to arrange independently.

Five Destinations, Countless Flavors Five destinations show the wide range of Japanese cuisine and culture: 1. The tour meets in Tokyo, where ageold traditions coincide with cuttingedge culture. Guests explore the Tsukiji Outer Market, make sushi in a private class and savor exquisite, gourmet tempura. Cultural highlights include a blessing at Meiji Shrine, futuristic textiles, landmark architecture, celebrated museums and the bustle of a departmentstore depachika food hall. 2. A ride on the Shinkansen bullet train leads to Kanazawa, the beautifully preserved city near the Sea of Japan. Visits include the former samurai and geisha districts, the celebrated Kenroku en garden and the vibrant Omicho Market, known as “Kanazawa’s kitchen.” A Michelinstar ryotei (traditional finedining restaurant) offers the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. 3. Kyoto highlights include Buddhist vegan cuisine at a monastery, a lesson in the Way of Tea from a temple abbot, the famed Sagano Bamboo Forest and a historic villa. A ceramics expert explains pottery’s role in Japanese foodways—and psyche—and a cooking class demystifies everyday Japanese dishes, with recipes to recreate at home. Day trips to the countryside include a rustic farming village, a tea plantation, handson natural fabric dyeing and lunch in a restored farmhouse. 4. The tour culminates in Osaka, Japan’s unofficial food capital, filled with delectable skewers of kushikatsu, udon noodlemaking, Japanese knives, restaurantsupply shops and a progressive tasting of local street foods along the neonlit Dotonbori canal. 5. And a day trip to Kobe includes a sake museum and brewery, a stroll through the city’s old town, and a sumptuous farewell dinner featuring the city’s legendary beef.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 66

The Esprit Travel Difference Esprit Travel’s decades of history in Japan inform everything it does. The boutique agency has served thousands of guests with a curated selection of smallgroup, escorted group tours to Japan, as well as custom travel. “Our tour leaders have lived, studied or worked in Japan and are fluent in Japanese language and, equally importantly, Japanese culture,” Bender says. “Over decades, our team has forged unique relationships with experts: master chefs, artisans, farmers, teachers, gallerists and thinkers.” With a maximum of 15 travelers per group, he says, Esprit’s tours are deliberately personal and intimate. There is time to ask questions and linger over a meal, and, he says, “Tour guests often form friendships that extend years beyond their time together in Japan. We’re grateful to have so many repeat guests!” And Esprit’s proprietary radio system allows tour leaders to subtly communicate to tour guests from a distance, without disturbing the peace of the moment. One guest review described the tour as “extraordinary and downright fun.” Another raved “We are still reliving our fabulous trip and continually think how fortunate we all were to have such a congenial group.”

Expert Guide Guests credit Bender himself with a large part of the tour’s D understanding of everything Japanese “astounding,” helping travelers recognize connections they might otherwise have missed. It comes naturally to Bender, an American who has spent decades living and working in Japan and with Japanese entities in the U.S. — including over 25 years with Esprit Travel. He’s also an awardwinning travel and food writer, who has contributed to numerous guidebooks to Japan for Lonely Planet and Frommer’s, as well as articles for Forbes, the Los Angeles Times and inflight magazines. “It’s true what they say, that Japan can be hard to understand,” he reflects. “I’ve lived it! “But at Esprit, our special sauce is that, unlike other tour operators, having feet in both countries gives a unique position to explain the intricacies of Japan in a way that brings it home for visitors.” Whether Japan has been on your bucket list or already feels like an old friend, this adventure offers plenty to explore—or plenty of reasons to fall in love with Japan all over again. B C information and registration, visit Esprit Travel.

Page 67 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Virginia Woolf

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 68

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Malfy Gin Toasts the Hamptons Summer Season With Signature Italian Spritz’ From The Studio Mayfair to Hamptons Social, MONSE and Project Zero, Malfy Gin brought an unmistakable Italian sensibility to the Hamptons’ most stylish summer gatherings.

The Hamptons summer social calendar has delivered no shortage of fashion, culture and philanthropy this season, and Malfy Gin has been there to add a vibrant Italian accent to the festivities. Across intimate dinners, garden receptions and purposedriven celebrations, the gin brand’s signature Italian Gin Spritz Cart has become a colorful fixture at some of the season’s most fashionable gatherings. From Water Mill to Bridgehampton and Southampton, Malfy Italian Gin has paired its bright, Mediterraneaninspired cocktails, highlighting its Limone and Rosa flavors, with fashion launches, magazine celebrations and charitable events, proving that a well crafted spritz can be as much a part of the summer scene as the setting itself.

Malfy Gin provided a distinctly Italian counterpoint to the afternoon’s fashionforward aesthetic. The brand’s vibrant Italian Spritz Cart served Malfy Rosa Sparkling Blood Orange Spritz and Malfy Limone Lemonade Spritz, giving guests a refreshing taste of the Italian coast against the relaxed sophistication of the Hamptons.

MONSE Toasts Summer in the Hamptons

The pairing felt particularly natural: MONSE’s playful, contemporary approach to American fashion met Malfy’s colorful interpretation of Italian aperitivo culture.

The most fashionforward Malfy moment took place Saturday, August 8, when Devorah Rose hosted an intimate summer gathering at a private residence in Water Mill in honor of MONSE Garcia. The afternoon marked MONSE’s Hamptons debut and offered guests an intimate look at the house’s PreFall 2026 collection. The residence was transformed into an immersive expression of the collection, with oversized sunflowers, tiered silver platters overflowing with cherries and a grazing table C C an array of bites from FreshDirect. Among the notable guests were Princess MariaOlympia of Greece and Denmark, Alice & Olivia designer and creator Stacey Bendet, Sailor Brinkley Cook, Jenny Mollen, Alexandra Richards, C for the celebration.

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The Studio Mayfair Sets the Tone Malfy’s Hamptons summer celebrations began the previous weekend with an intimate dinner hosted by Devorah Rose and A C private estate, the evening celebrated Sterling Dio’s The Studio Mayfair and its latest collection, drawing a stylish group of guests that included Sailor Brinkley Cook, Candice Bushnell, Jenny Mollen, and other members of the Hamptons social set. Throughout the evening, guests enjoyed signature Malfy Gin Spritz cocktails featuring the brand’s Limone and Rosa expressions. The colorful serves brought an elegant Italian accent to the intimate dinner while guests gathered to celebrate The Studio Mayfair’s latest work.

The afternoon brought together a fashionable crowd that included Bravo’s New York Housewives alums Luann de Lesseps and Ramona Singer,

gathered to celebrate the new August Book by Hamptons Social and the height of the Hamptons summer season, in a beautiful afternoon garden setting.

Hamptons Social Brings Italian Aperitivo to Bridgehampton The following afternoon, Saturday, August 1, Malfy Gin joined Hamptons Social x Volvo for an exclusive garden reception at A Room at the Beach in Bridgehampton celebrating the launch of the magazine’s August 2026 issue, featuring a cover by acclaimed photographer Ellen von Unwerth. The afternoon brought together a fashionable crowd that included Bravo’s New York Housewives alums Luann de Lesseps and Ramona Singer, currently filming E!’s Golden Life, alongside a flow of chic guests, socialites and influencers, who gathered to celebrate the new August Book by Hamptons Social and the height of the Hamptons summer season, in a beautiful afternoon garden setting. Once again, Malfy’s Italian Gin Spritz Cart became a focal point, serving its signature Rosa and Limone cocktails in custom blue glassware. The bright drinks complemented the garden setting, where guests enjoyed a charcuterie spread, dessert bar, art installations, live music and a MarcAntoine Barrois fragrancemaking station. With Volvo and Hamptons Social setting the stage, the reception brought together fashion, culture, beauty, design and summer entertaining in quintessential Hamptons fashion.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 70

Malfy Gin Brings Italian Style to Project Zero’s Celebration for Coral The Hamptons season continued Saturday, August 22, in C Celebration for Coral at hotspot restaurant and lounge, Maison C Christie Brinkley.

growing importance of coral reef restoration while demonstrating how the Hamptons social calendar can bring entertainment and philanthropy together. Against the backdrop of Maison Close, Malfy helped create the kind of latesummer atmosphere the East End does best: stylish, social and purposedriven.

A Summer of Italian Style

The evening brought together ocean advocates, artists, philanthropists and Hamptons personalities in support of Project

Across these recent Hamptons gatherings, Malfy Gin has established a distinctive presence on the summer social scene, moving effortlessly between fashion, publishing, design and philanthropy.

protect marine ecosystems. Among the guests enjoying Malfy Gin cocktails was Christie Brinkley, Sailor Brinkley Cook, wearing L’Agence, alongside Alexandra Richards who cohosted the C C C C A C C C A C C Gianpaolo De Felice, Jane Gill, Jessica Mackin, Joe Cipro, Michael C C C C Vivian Rosenthal, Natalia Yura, Ed Tang, John Auerbach, Brett

The common thread has been the Italian Gin Spritz Cart, which brings more than a cocktail service to each occasion. With its colorful presentation and Mediterraneaninspired serves, the cart becomes part of the visual language of the event, complementing everything from a private fashion presentation to an elegant garden party.

Malfy’s colorful Italian cocktail identity proved a natural fit for the evening, adding a lively note to a gathering centered on conservation and community. Guests sipped Malfy Gin cocktails as they connected with friends and fellow supporters of Project

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For a Hamptons season built around entertaining outdoors, dressing up and gathering with friends, Malfy’s approach feels particularly well suited to the moment. The brand’s Italian sensibility adds a dose of la dolce vita to the East End, one spritz at a time.

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World Renowned Chef Eyal Shani Launches MALKA in Beverly Hills, Expanding His Vision of Modern Kosher Dining to Sixty Hotel The acclaimed Israeli chef brings MALKA to Beverly Hills, pairing California’s seasonal bounty with his instinctive, ingredientdriven approach to modern kosher dining, which launched with a high energy grand opening celebration on August 27, 2026. Chef Eyal Shani, the celebrated Israeli chef behind some of the world’s most dynamic dining concepts, has brought his indemand C restaurant at global hotelier Jason PomerancB SIXTY Aeverly Hills. In partnership with LAbased Pagani Projects, led by Giancarlo Pagani, the new location marks another milestone in Shani’s expanding West Coast presence and introduces Angelenos to MALKABs vibrant, full

Following openings in Tel Aviv, New York, and West Palm Beach, A philosophy at its core. The restaurant is built around seasonality, bold Mediterranean flavors, conviviality, and the belief that dining is ultimately about human connection.

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“MALKA arrives here not as something defined, but as something that will take shape through the people, the produce, and the longing for connection. It is a meeting between those who create and those who crave - and in that meeting, the food becomes alive.” said Chef Eyal Shani C transcend the traditional boundaries often associated with kosher dining. Its menu and atmosphere are designed to appeal both to guests who keep kosher and to diners drawn to Shani’s distinctive cooking, theatrical hospitality, and celebration of produce. “Los Angeles is a city of freedom and becoming,” said Chef Eyal Shani C something that will take shape through the people, the produce, and the longing for connection. It is a meeting between those who create and those who crave and in that meeting, the food becomes alive.” That philosophy is especially evident in the Los Angeles menu, where Shani’s Israeli sensibility meets California’s extraordinary agricultural landscape. LAexclusive dishes include Melanzana, C A C seasonal preparations highlighting local figs, pluots, peaches, and other peakseason produce.

the Queen Malka Schnitzel, a chicken schnitzel filled with mashed potato marrow; Branzino Hraime; Onglet served with roasted white peaches; and Shani’s unmistakably, world famous, Israeli hummus.

Shani’s meats are also another level as well with the opening filled with large presentations of mouthwatering steak and milanesa which he hand cut for the guests in attendance, as VIPs clamoured for the delicious tender pieces of meat. The beverage program pairs the food with a selection of kosher wines and cocktails that reinterpret classics Los Angeles are the Iris, made with Woodacre Vodka, white peach mint purée, and fresh lemon, and the Pomelo Paloma, combining Mexxo mezcal with fresh pomelo and lime. A us,” says Giancarlo Pagani of Pagani Projects. “There’s a natural alignment between the way Eyal cooks and the culture of this city, both shaped by seasonality, energy, and a real respect for ingredients.”

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 74

A Beverly Hills Setting Designed for Gathering The restaurant’s interiors were designed by Turjeman Yaakov of Jacob Turgeman Design, whose portfolio includes Shani concepts such as SHMONÉ, SHMONÉ Wine, Miznon, Malka, and HaSalon. The C Los Angeles setting. A sculptural whiteoak bar anchors the room, serving as both a visual centerpiece and a social gathering point. Warm brass, textured finishes, aged wood, reflective surfaces, and vintageinspired furnishings create a layered environment illuminated by statement chandeliers and a warm, golden glow. Communal tables, intimate seating, and a lively bar encourage C emphasis on conversation and shared experience. Natural produce displays and ingredientled styling further blur the line between kitchen, design, and spectacle. For Jason Pomeranc, founder of C A connection to the chef’s cooking.

The Next Chapter of Shani’s West Coast Expansion Coast footprint for Shani and The Good People Group. The group opened Miznon at Grand Central Market in 2025, followed by a Beverly Grove location in early 2026. Shani’s broader U.S. portfolio also includes restaurants in New York and Miami, while his international concepts have expanded to cities including London, C C People Group’s global restaurant collective, which includes Miznon, HaSalon, Port Sa’id, SHMONÉ, Bella, and Naked Tomato. C place where food, music, design, art, and conversation intersect. In Los Angeles, that philosophy takes on a new identity shaped by the city’s diverse communities, abundant produce, and energetic dining culture. A

Reservations are available through Resy, with walkins welcomed based on availability.

About The Good People Group

About Pagani Projects

About SIXTY Collective

With a philosophy of being in the “heart opening business” rather than the hospitality trade, The Good People Group approaches its restaurants as a combination of Eyal Shani’s food and Shahar Segal’s theatrical vision. The group operates approximately 50 restaurants globally, spanning concepts including Malka, Miznon, HaSalon, Port Sa’id, SHMONÉ, SHMONÉ Wine, Bella, and Naked Tomato. Its U.S. expansion includes multiple New York concepts, restaurants in Miami, and an expanding presence in Los Angeles.

Founded by Giancarlo Pagani in 2015, Pagani Projects is a brand development and management firm specializing in concept creation, strategic growth, and hospitalitydriven brand building. The company partners with leading chefs and hospitality groups to develop and expand distinctive culinary concepts in key U.S. markets.

Founded in 2014 by Jason Pomeranc and his brothers Michael and Lawrence C hospitality company developing design forward hotels and foodandbeverage concepts rooted in culture, creativity, and a strong sense of place.

Pagani Projects partnered with Chef Eyal Shani and The Good People Group in 2025 to bring Miznon to Los Angeles, followed by a Beverly Grove flagship and now Malka in Beverly Hills.

A C C brand positions its properties as social and cultural hubs, pairing distinctive design with immersive programming and destination driven culinary experiences.

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GreatestTomatoesFromEurope The Art Of Perfection. Preserved For Your Table.

AMERICA'S DEMAND FOR ITALIAN AND EUROPEAN CANNED TOMATOES CONTINUES TO GROW RECORD DEMAND. AUTHENTIC QUALITY. Whether you choose: • Whole Peeled Tomatoes ENDLESS VERSATILITY. • Chopped Tomatoes In 2026, imports of Italian canned tomatoes to the USA are projected to reach 56,000 tons, valued at nearly $100 million, while total imports from the European Union are expected to exceed 58,800 tons and $108 million. From professional kitchens to family tables, American chefs and consumers continue to choose premium canned tomatoes from Italy and Europe for their exceptional taste, consistent quality and outstanding versatility. Harvested at peak ripeness and carefully preserved, European canned including lycopene—bringing the authentic taste of the Mediterranean to every recipe.

• Tomato Passata • Cherry Tomatoes • Tomato Paste You can count on the same commitment to premium quality, food safety and sustainable European production. THE GREATEST TOMATOES FROM EUROPE Promoted by ANICAV (Italian Association of Canned Vegetable Industries) and cofunded by the European Union, this campaign celebrates the excellence, authenticity and versatility of premium European canned tomatoes.

Visit greatesttomatoesfromeurope.com for further details. Join us in our threeyear long journey across the USA.

www.greatesttomatoesfromeurope.com

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BUILT FOR THE BEGINNING: How NurtureBio Is Bringing Breast Milk Science to Infant Gut Health By Stuart Smith, Founder and CEO of NurtureBio

NurtureBio is an earlylife wellness company built around a simple idea: some of the most important lessons about the infant gut microbiome can be found in human milk. Founded by Stuart Smith and inspired by his family’s experience, the company launched its first product in May 2026. NurtureBio is a daily synbiotic supplement for infants and toddlers that combines five human milk oligosaccharides, or HMOs, with four targeted probiotic strains. The company’s origin began years earlier, after Smith’s child experienced five ear infections in five months. Each infection was treated with a different course of antibiotics. While the antibiotics addressed the infections, they were followed by chronic constipation that the family struggled to resolve. Smith and his wife tried singlestrain probiotics, personalized probiotics, fiber gummies and laxatives. Their child finally found relief after the family learned about HMOs and began combining them with the existing probiotic routine. “We kept encountering products that focused on adding bacteria but paid much less attention to the environment those bacteria needed,” Smith says. “Once we understood the relationship between HMOs and beneficial gut bacteria, we started asking why those ingredients were not being brought together in a product designed specifically for infants and toddlers.”

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That question became the foundation for NurtureBio. HMOs are complex carbohydrates naturally present in breast milk. Babies digest very little of them directly. Instead, many HMOs reach the lower digestive tract, where certain infantassociated bacteria can use them as a food source. This relationship between HMOs and beneficial bacteria helped shape NurtureBio’s synbiotic approach. Each daily NurtureBio serving sachet contains five HMOs, including 2’fucosyllactose, C mixed into breast milk, formula, smoothies, or yogurt and is formulated for children from birth through 48 months. NurtureBio developed the formulation with guidance from an esteemed scientific advisory board that includes researchers in human milk biology, pediatrics and the infant microbiome. Members include Ardythe Morrow, PhD; David Newburg, PhD; Diana Taft, PhD; and James Versalovic, MD, PhD. The finished product has received the Clean Label Project Purity Award and First 1,000 Days Promise certification, reflecting testing for contaminants and standards designed for products used during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood. For Smith, the goal was to translate complex microbiome research into something parents could realistically use every day. “Parents should not need a background in microbiology to understand what they are giving their child,” he says. “Our product had to be thoughtfully formulated, transparent and simple enough to become part of a family’s daily routine. We built the product we wished had existed when our own family needed it.” The company enters the market as interest in gut health continues moving beyond the adult supplement aisle. Parents are becoming more familiar with probiotics, but many are still learning about the role of prebiotics and HMOs in supporting the developing infant microbiome. NurtureBio sees an opportunity to help define this emerging category through agespecific products, clearer consumer education and continued engagement with researchers in earlylife nutrition. Its first infant and toddler synbiotic is intended to serve as the foundation for a broader maternal and child wellness platform, with future products planned across the toddler, prenatal, postnatal and pediatric stages. The company’s longterm vision remains rooted in the experience that started it: combining breast milk science with practical products that help families support gut health from the beginning. Scientific Advisory Board

James Versalovic, MD, PhD Ardythe Morrow, PhD David Newburg, PhD Diana Taft, PhD

Stuart Smith

Stuart Smith is the founder and CEO of NurtureBio, a maternal and child wellness company developing scienceled products inspired by breast milk and the infant microbiome. After his own family struggled to find effective earlylife gut support, Smith founded NurtureBio to make emerging microbiome research more accessible and useful to parents. Learn more by visiting nurturebio.com and following along @nurturebio on Instagram.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 78

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The Gravel Road to Indiana’s Sweetest Export By the Food & Beverage Magazine Editorial Staff

There is a pie that Indiana claims the way Georgia claims peaches or Boston claims cream. It has no eggs, no fruit, no fuss to speak of: just cream, sugar and butter coaxed into something so silken it seems to defy the plainness of its ingredients. Sugar cream pie is the state’s official dessert, a custard without the custard’s usual scaffolding, and for decades it lived mostly within Indiana’s borders, passed down in church cookbooks and family recipe boxes rather than on the national stage. Natalie Warner intends to change that.

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Warner is the owner of Rolling Pin Bakehouse, and her flagship product, the Sugar Cream Pie Filling Mix, is a distillation of a recipe her mother kept close for years before Warner turned it into a business. The pie itself is deceptively simple: a filling that bakes up glossy and rich, with a texture closer to a good crème brûlée than to the eggier custards most Americans grew up with. It is naturally glutenfree, shelfstable for two years in its dry mix form, and forgiving enough that a home baker only needs to add water and whipping cream, warm it briefly, and pour it into a crust. The crust itself is negotiable: a traditional pastry shell, thirty minutes in the oven, or a nobake route with crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, stroopwafel, or graham cracker, for anyone who would rather skip the oven altogether. That kind of practicality did not come from a test kitchen. It came from a gravel road. Warner started baking pies on her own at twelve years old, taught by a family with pie in its blood. Her greatgrandmother ran a successful DA C C mother of four looking for work that could bend around school pickups and nap schedules, so she set up a stand at the end of her driveway in rural Indiana and started selling what she knew best. The sugar cream pie, built on her mother’s guarded recipe, outsold everything else she put out. Word travels fast on a gravel road when the pie is this good, and it did. The stand might have stayed a local secret if not for her husband, Chad, who built the bakery its first real website. Not long after it went live, the phone rang with an unlikely caller: Rick Sebak, the documentarian behind a string of beloved PBS specials, was putting together a film called A Few Good Pie Places, a tour of America’s most memorable pie stops for WQED Pittsburgh. Warner and her family had watched Sebak’s documentaries for years before that call ever came, so being asked to appear in one felt less like a marketing opportunity and more like being D A gave Rolling Pin Bakehouse a wider audience than a roadside stand ever could.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 80

It also planted an idea. Chad suggested that if people who had never made it to the stand still wanted that pie, the answer might be a mix: something simple enough for a home cook, but faithful enough to taste like the original. Warner spent more than a year in her own kitchen chasing that fidelity, testing and retesting until the dry mix produced a pie indistinguishable from the one that had been selling out at the end of her driveway for years. What she landed on is now the foundation of the business: a product built to make homemade effortless, without asking the baker to give up any of the flavor that made the original worth waiting in line for.

Warner spent more than a year in her own kitchen chasing that fidelity, testing and retesting until the dry mix produced a pie indistinguishable from the one that had been selling out at the end of her driveway for years. The Sugar Cream Pie Filling Mix remains the signature, but it is no longer the only flavor in the lineup. A Chocolate Cream version takes the same base and pushes it toward something darker and more decadent. The Chocolate Chip mix goes a different direction entirely, needing only butter and eggs to become a thick, gooey hybrid of cookie and pie that fills a kitchen with the smell of freshbaked chocolate chip cookies. It is delicious on its own, better still with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting into it. And for autumn, there is Pumpkin Spice Cream, which takes the sugar cream base and folds in the spice profile of a good pumpkin spice latte, cozy without tipping into cliché. Rolling Pin Bakehouse has recently begun offering its sugar cream flavor to restaurants and food service accounts, a sign of where Warner intends to take the brand next. The company was also named an Elite Eight finalist in the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Coolest Thing Made in Indiana tournament, notable recognition for a business that started at the end of a gravel driveway. Warner’s mission for the company is stated plainly on her website: to create premium baking mixes that offer a homemade pie experience that is simple, delicious, and memorable. It is a modest way of describing what she has actually done, which is take a pie so regional it barely traveled outside Indiana and package it so that anyone, anywhere, can pull it out of a pantry and taste what made that gravelroad stand worth stopping for.

Page 81 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

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Sustainability Doesn’t End at the Shelf: How Food & Beverage Companies Are Rethinking Unsaleable Products By Carson Holden // DHL Supply Chain

Page 83 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

For food and beverage manufacturers, sustainability initiatives often focus on sourcing, production, packaging, and transportation. Companies invest heavily in reducing emissions, minimizing waste, conserving resources, and building more environmentally responsible supply chains. Yet one critical sustainability challenge receives far less attention: what happens when products can no longer be sold? Whether caused by expired shelf life, inventory C C C quality concerns, regulatory changes, or product recalls, unsaleable inventory is an unavoidable reality across the food and beverage industry. The question is no longer simply how to remove these products from the marketplace. It is how to do so in a way that supports sustainability objectives while protecting consumers, brands, and business performance.

C C B commitments become increasingly important, manufacturers are rethinking how unsaleable products are managed. What was once viewed as a disposal issue is now being recognized as an opportunity to recover resources, reduce environmental impact, and support circular economy initiatives. This is where EcoBev, powered by DHL Supply Chain, is helping organizations turn an operational challenge into a sustainability advantage. For decades, EcoBev has provided a turnkey solution for the recovery, destruction, recycling, and environmentally responsible disposition of unsaleable food and beverage products. While often utilized during recalls and other timesensitive events, the service delivers broader sustainability benefits by diverting products and packaging from traditional waste streams and maximizing resource recovery.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 84

The results are measurable. Over the past five years, EcoBev has responsibly disposed of more than 15.5 million gallons of product from partially filled kegs, bottles, and cans. During that same period, the program recycled nearly 46.5 tons of paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum while contributing to the generation of more than 2.2 million kilowatts of renewable energy. These figures highlight an important shift occurring across the industry. Products that can no longer be sold still contain value. Packaging materials can be recycled, liquids can be reclaimed, and organic materials can be repurposed through beneficialuse programs rather than sent directly to landfill. EcoBev’s approach centers on responsible resource recovery. Packaging materials including paper, cardboard, aluminum, glass, and plastic are separated and recycled whenever possible. Product contents are managed through environmentally responsible processes that can support composting, agricultural applications, water reclamation, renewable energy generation, and other beneficial reuse opportunities. For manufacturers pursuing landfill diversion goals and broader ESG initiatives, these outcomes represent more than environmental wins. They demonstrate how sustainability and operational performance can work together. Unsaleable inventory occupies warehouse space, creates administrative burden, and ties up resources that could be directed toward growthfocused activities. Managing recovery, compliance, reporting, and destruction internally often requires significant coordination across multiple stakeholders and service providers. A comprehensive recovery program streamlines the process by providing a single solution from product collection through final reporting and documentation. This becomes particularly valuable during recalls, quality events, or large scale inventory withdrawals where speed, accuracy, and transparency are essential.

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Responsible product recovery also plays a critical role in protecting brand reputation. Consumers increasingly expect both high product quality and strong environmental stewardship from the companies they support. Allowing outdated, damaged, or noncompliant products to remain in circulation can undermine consumer trust and expose organizations to unnecessary risk. Through a secure and documented chain of custody, EcoBev helps companies quickly remove affected products from distribution channels while ensuring they are managed responsibly and compliantly. This provides confidence that products are handled properly while protecting both consumers and brand equity. There are financial advantages as well. Properly documented recovery and destruction projects may support tax write offs, prepaid tax recovery opportunities, duty refunds, and other forms of financial reconciliation. By providing the documentation and reporting required for these processes, EcoBev helps organizations recover value while maintaining audit readiness and compliance. Ultimately, sustainability is about maximizing resources and minimizing waste throughout the entire product lifecycle. For food and beverage manufacturers, that responsibility does not end once a product leaves the production line, and it does not end when a product can no longer be sold. As companies continue pursuing ambitious sustainability goals, the management of unsaleable products represents a significant opportunity to create measurable environmental impact while improving operational efficiency and protecting brand integrity. Unsaleable products may be inevitable. Waste is not. By transforming endoflife inventory into an opportunity for resource recovery, recycling, and renewable energy generation, EcoBev is helping food and beverage companies prove that sustainability extends far beyond the shelf and throughout the entire supply chain.

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Trend Report:

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By Lauren Kane

The hospitality industry has spent years talking about creating experiences, but what consumers are asking for now looks different from the immersive activations and highly produced popups that once defined the category. Increasingly, people are looking for places that make it easier to be around other people in real life, particularly in environments where conversation and connection can happen without the pressure of a formal networking event or a night built entirely around drinking. For cafés, hotels, coworking spaces, and other hospitality businesses, that shift is creating an opportunity to rethink what a physical location can provide, while opening new avenues for investors and sponsors seeking ways to connect with consumers beyond traditional advertising. Recent consumer data supports the change. Eventbrite’s expect to attend more live events this year, while 74% said in person experiences are more important to them than digital ones. Nearly nine in ten respondents said it was important for events to help them feel connected to their local community. The study also found that 58% prefer socializing when social interaction is not the primary purpose of the gathering, an important distinction for hospitality operators, investors, and brands trying to understand what younger consumers actually mean when they say they are looking for more community.

79% of Gen Z and Millennials expect to attend more live events this year, while coffee-and-running events have grown 233%. Rather than traditional mixers or events that require attendees to walk into a room and immediately introduce themselves, consumers are increasingly gravitating toward gatherings built around something else: a class, tasting, market, competition, hobby, workshop, or shared interest. The activity provides the structure, while the social interaction develops naturally around it. Eventbrite has described this behavior as “soft socializing,” and the growth of these events suggests that structured social time is becoming an increasingly meaningful part of the experience economy.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 86

Cuss Worthy Cafe is developing its business around many of those same ideas. Currently operating from Muze Office coworking locations, the emerging café concept serves coffees, teas, and small bites while using its current footprint to develop a larger communityfocused model alongside Muze. Weekly events and recurring programming are becoming part of the concept as the company works toward its flagship café, giving customers reasons to return that extend beyond the traditional coffee run.

Cuss Worthy is treating the café as more than a point of sale, building recurring reasons for people to gather, return, and become part of the community around the brand. The relationship with a coworking environment creates a particularly useful place to develop the concept. Coworking already brings together people who may spend hours working near one another without necessarily meeting, while a café naturally creates more casual opportunities for interaction. Adding structured programming allows those two uses to overlap in a way that feels organic. A customer may first visit for coffee, later attend an event, recognize someone from a previous visit, and eventually begin treating the location as part of their normal weekly routine. That type of behavior has become increasingly valuable as hospitality businesses compete not only with one another, but with the convenience of staying home. Consumers can work remotely, have meals delivered, shop online, and maintain relationships through their phones without entering a physical business at all. For restaurants, cafés and hospitality venues, simply having a good product is no longer always enough to create regular traffic. Giving customers a reason to physically participate in something can add another layer to the relationship between a business and its audience.

For sponsors, the same shift creates an opportunity to move beyond impressions and place brands directly inside experiences consumers have intentionally chosen to attend. Instead of interrupting an audience, experiential partnerships can become part of the reason that audience gathers in the first place. For investors, businesses capable of generating revenue across hospitality, programming, events, partnerships and recurring community traffic also create a broader model than a traditional singlepurpose foodandbeverage operation. The numbers around activitydriven gatherings are notable. Eventbrite reported that attendance at puzzle competitions grew C D want to attend more events that combine multiple interests or communities. Those figures point toward an audience that is not necessarily searching for bigger events, but for more interesting and approachable reasons to gather. For foodandbeverage operators, this creates opportunities that do not require turning every location into an entertainment venue. A café already has many of the fundamentals consumers need from a social space: comfortable surroundings, food and drinks, flexible arrival times and a relatively low barrier to entry. Programming can give that environment additional purpose, whether through a weekly gathering, small market, tasting, workshop, or other recurring event that gradually develops its own following. Cuss Worthy is using its current operation to explore that model before its permanent flagship is fully established. Instead of waiting until a future buildout is complete to determine what its audience responds to, the company can develop programming, introduce new coffees, teas, and small bites, and see what brings people back. Updates are shared through Instagram Stories at @ cussworthy, allowing customers to follow what is happening in the cafés without making the digital channel the end experience itself. That relationship between online discovery and offline participation may become one of the more important shifts for hospitality brands over the next several years. Social media remains valuable, but for businesses centered around physical spaces, its strongest role may increasingly be getting someone off the platform and through the door. A post or Story can introduce an event, menu item, or

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gathering, but the valuable part of the relationship happens when someone attends, returns, and starts recognizing the people around them. The café has historically filled a similar role as a “third place,” somewhere between home and work where people could meet, spend time, or simply be around others. What is changing is the amount of intention operators are placing behind that role. The next generation of cafés may still serve as third places, but many are becoming more actively programmed ones, where community is supported through a calendar of reasons to gather rather than left entirely to chance. Cuss Worthy’s longerterm plans could take that thinking beyond the café environment. The company is currently working to acquire a motel location in an Opportunity Zone, creating the potential for a broader hospitality model that combines lodging, food and beverage, events and community programming within one property. A motel also presents an opportunity to serve both visitors and locals, creating a hospitality business whose programming does not have to be limited to overnight guests.

Cuss Worthy is preparing an Opportunity Zone investment round tied to its planned motel acquisition and the expansion of its boutique experiential hospitality model. That direction reflects a wider move toward hospitality concepts that can serve several purposes within the same physical location. Hotels are increasingly programming restaurants and public spaces for local customers, retailers are adding cafés and events, and foodandbeverage businesses are experimenting with classes, clubs, markets, and collaborative programming. The common thread is that operators are finding additional value in giving customers something to participate in instead of focusing exclusively on what they can purchase. That evolution also gives sponsors more meaningful ways to participate in hospitality. A brand can support a recurring event series, provide products, fund programming, activate inside a

destination, or help build the physical experience itself. Unlike a onetime advertisement, those partnerships can place sponsors inside recurring consumer behavior and give them a tangible role in the spaces and communities their customers are choosing to spend time in. For an emerging concept like Cuss Worthy, that flexibility may be one of its strongest advantages. The company is still developing the flagship version of the brand, which means its current locations can function as realworld testing grounds for the programming and customer behavior that will ultimately shape it. The goal is not to manufacture community through a highly scripted experience, but to create enough recurring activity that people have an easy, comfortable reason to be in the same place at the same time. As hospitality continues moving toward more experiential and participationdriven models, the most interesting opportunities may not be the businesses spending the most money on spectacle. They may be the concepts that understand how to create useful, repeatable reasons for people to leave home, spend time together, and return often enough for a physical location to become part of their routine. For sponsors, that provides access to an audience through participation rather than interruption. For investors, it creates an opportunity to back hospitality businesses designed around multiple revenue streams and a consumer behavior that is showing measurable growth. Cuss Worthy is building its café around that idea now, making the concept one to watch as structured social time becomes a larger part of how consumers choose where to spend both their time and money. Cuss Worthy Cafe is currently operating from Muze Office coworking locations while developing its flagship concept with Muze. Updates on weekly community events, coffees, teas, and small bites are shared through Instagram Stories at @cussworthy. For additional information, food, beverage and tech sponsorship opportunities, partnership inquiries, or to learn more about Cuss Worthy’s upcoming Opportunity Zone investment round supporting its planned motel acquisition, contact info@cussworthy.cafe.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 88

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National Omakase Concept Sushi by Bou Recognized Among America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies by INC. A named to the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies, recognizing the brand’s significant growth from a single speakeasystyle sushi counter in New York City to a national hospitality brand. This marks a major milestone in the brand’s national growth. A

D D most recently Utah and Ohio, with an approximate total of D Founded on the idea of making highquality omakase A C tasting experiences that combine culinary craftsmanship, exceptional hospitality and dining experiences that leave a lasting impression. Its smallfootprint model has also created a distinctive path for expansion, transforming underutilized spaces within hotels, resorts and other premier properties into highperforming dining destinations. “We’re honored to be named to the Inc. 5000 and recognized as a 2026 Nation’s Restaurant News Hot Concept. These milestones aren’t just recognition they’re validation of the path we’ve chosen, a tribute to our team’s incredible work, and a reflection of the trust our guests and partners place in us every day. We’re proud of how far Sushi by Bou has come, but even more excited about where we’re headed. This is only the beginning.” C

Page 89 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

A GROWING NATIONAL PRESENCE

BEYOND THE COUNTER

A with leading hospitality groups and properties, including Marriott, W Hotel, Hyatt, Hilton, Dream Hotel, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, as well as PGA National Resort and Brookfield Properties.

A through culinary partnerships, community events and signature live tunacutting ceremonies, showcasing the craftsmanship, energy and hospitality that make the brand a one of a kind experience with no boundaries.

The brand’s flexible model allows it to activate spaces that may otherwise be underutilized while introducing a unique food and beverage experience for hotel guests, local diners and property partners. What began as a mission to make omakase approachable has evolved into a brand with undeniable cultural cachet, attracting a growing roster of notable guests across entertainment and sports, recently welcoming Kylie Jenner, Timothée Chalamet, Martin Scorsese, Obsession star Inde Navarrette, JD Martinez, NSYNC legends Joey Fatone and Lance Bass, Hunting Wives stars Malin Akerman, Katie Lowes, Jaime Ray Newman and Brittany Snow, Brandi Cyrus, Ellen

A Festival in the Hamptons this summer, curated a custom omakase experience for Tales of the Cocktail event in New Orleans and will close out the Yes Chef Festival with its signature live tunacarving D to intimate private events, these activations introduce the signature A across the country.

and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen with Oscarnominated wife, actress Hailee Steinfeld, among others.

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 90

ABOUT SUSHI BY BOU A chefguided tasting menus in intimate, highenergy settings. craftsmanship and approachable hospitality with a highly scalable, smallfootprint model that transforms underutilized spaces into distinctive dining destinations. Strategic hospitality partnerships A expand seamlessly into hotels, resorts and unique properties while preserving the intimate experience that defined its first counter. Today, the brand operates across New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Utah and Ohio, D D milestone in the brand’s continued national growth.

ABOUT SIMPLEVENUE SimpleVenue is a national hospitality development group and the A United States. Founded by Michael Sinensky and Erika London, SimpleVenue transforms underutilized spaces within hotels and real estate properties into immersive, revenuegenerating hospitality D A sister concepts includes Sushi Suite, Fins and Scales, Omakaseed and Wagyu Room.

Sushi by Boū is the nation’s largest omakase brand, offering chefguided tasting menus in intimate, highenergy settings. Page 91 | Food & Beverage Magazine September Issue 2026

September Issue 2026 Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 92

A COMPLETE HOW-TO GUIDE WITH ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO OPEN AND RUN A SUCCESSFUL RESTAURANT.

ACH MONTH, COUNTLESS NEW RESTAURANTS OPEN THEIR DOORS as others fail. Despite continuing industry growth, many new restaurants struggle to succeed. Even established restaurants are challenged to stay open. These businesses may have great food and amazing service, yet some still face uncertain futures. Now, help has arrived for restaurant owners and managers! Food and Beverage Magazine’s Guide to Restaurant Success is written by an industry expert who has opened numerous restaurants and provided valuable restaurateur guidance in the role of a trusted consultant. This restaurant success guide provides vital information on how to protect the significant investment— sometimes ranging from $250,000 to $425,000— that’s required to open a restaurant and keep it running during the first six months. Author Michael Politz started his career with an ice cream business and went on to found a number of restaurants, a frozen food distribution business, a restaurant consulting service, and a respected online magazine for the food and beverage industry. Politz shares his extensive knowledge gained through both success and failure. With his indispensable guide, you can easily double-check to make sure you’re doing things right. Get guidance from a restaurant owner’s handbook of what to do and not do Refer to handy tips and checklists that help you launch your business Discover insight into the triumphs of Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, and more Gain food industry knowledge with a comprehensive restaurant how-to guide Whether you want to open a burger joint or a fine dining restaurant, this advice-filled resource will help you cover all the details that make a difference. You’ll be better prepared before, during, and after your restaurant launch! Set your establishment up for rave reviews with Food and Beverage Magazine’s Guide to Restaurant Success.

MICHAEL POLITZ is the founder and publisher of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Michael has developed and branded multiple celebrity bar and nightlife concepts, and has consulted for Fortune 500 Companies such as Hallmark and Safeway Foods. Michael was recognized as one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Forty Executives Under 40.

978-1-119-66896-1 | $30.00 | Hardcover

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Food & Beverage Magazine - Sept 2026 Innovation Cover - Manischewitz