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VOLUME 90 • NUMBER 2 MARCH 2025 • $7.00 • Fresno Fair San Joaquin Valley Olive Oil Competition Applications Being Sought PAGE 3
• Whole Foods Market Accepting Applications for Local & Emerging Accelerator Program
N E W S P A P E R
BY A.J. FLICK
“Cookie cutter” has come to mean items so identical they’re
• 1800 Tequila Selects de Nieves for Artist Series PAGE 8
• Americans Trust Frozen and Dairy Aisles to Help Keep Health Goal Resolution PAGE 10
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• Prime Shrimp, Mahana Fresh Present ‘Shrimply Paradise’ Four-Flavor Feast PAGE 15
• Tariffs Discussed at Winter Fancy Food Show PAGE 18
• Featured Products PAGE 19
• Advertiser Index PAGE 22
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Ann Clark Ltd. Cookie Cutters, Mixes Bring Joy Over Decades in Business
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• New Products: Sauces, Snacks and Sweet Things
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boring. But there’s nothing about cookie cutter maker Ann Clark
Ltd. that’s boring. Now in its fourth decade and at the top of the market, Ann Clark Ltd. is worth millions churning out much-soughtafter cookie cutters. In addition to innovative shapes of cookie cutters – pink guitar cookies for a Taylor Swift fan, anyone? – the company, under the leadership of Ann Clark’s son, Ben, has been expanding its products to include
mixes that make cookies and other baked goodies, decorations, flavorings and baking supplies from parchment paper to rolling pins. Ben Clark’s excitement shows as he talks about the business of cookie cutters, especially the company’s expansion into mixes. “It’s all about the ingredients,” said the native of Vermont, where the business is headquartered. “Great food comes from great ingredients. “It’s about taking classic, favorite foods to another level.” The baking mixes line includes
percent growth in sales this year. The men see trends in pasta sauces, private label brands, pickled products, decreased interest in alcohol sales (especially, Choi said, if cancer warnings must be placed on alcoholic beverages). functional ingredients and global flavors. Regarding CPG, these trends are shaping 2025 with challenger brands and ingredient transparency on the rise, along with global flavors. Wellness brands are focused on GLP-1 (semaglutide and other weight-reduction
medications), functional ingredients and non-alcoholic beverages. Consumers also are demanding authenticity in their products. In retail, the men see growth in private label products, international retailers gaining ground and a rising demand for ready-toeat, low-prep meals. Foodservice is experiencing a rise in global flavors, focus on a $10 to $15 price point, more lim-
A new study published in the Journal of Food Science, funded by the National Honey Board, found that choosing honey instead of table sugar can help reduce added sugar intake and decrease calories, while achieving the same sweetness. The findings demonstrate that 0.6 tablespoons of honey provides the same sweetness intensity for 10 fewer kcal compared to 1 tablespoon of table sugar. This is due to honey’s aromas, which play a role in perceived sweetness intensity. In this first study to quantify honey’s sweetness, four honey floral varietals (clover, wildflower, alfalfa and orange blossom) were measured for sweetness intensity using a standard sensory testing method. Results revealed that when added to water, honey is 1.7 times sweeter than table sugar on an equal volume basis. For consumers, this means that the same sweetness as table sugar can be achieved with approximately 40 percent less honey, translating to about 21 percent fewer calories for the
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Specialty Food Trends for 2025 Outlined
BY A.J. FLICK
The four specialty food trends to watch in retail, foodservice and CPG are specialty/premiumization, health and wellness, sensorial/global flavor experiences and value consciousness, according to Brian Choi, managing partner and CEO of the Food Institute and Sunny Khamkar, co-founder and CEO of MenuData, speaking at the Winter Fancy Food Show at Las Vegas Convention Center. Specialty food continues to see a strong demand, they said, with sales expected to experience a 5.5
Study: Honey Just as Sweet As Sugar, But Fewer Calories
Acclaimed Chef Conant to Launch Tomato Sauce Line BY A.J. FLICK
What do tomato sauce and deli sandwiches have in common? If you answered Scott Conant, you’re correct. Chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Conant broke news at the Winter Fancy Food Show, announcing he will launch his own tomato sauce, Martone Street, at Sprouts Farmers Market in a few months. Two years in the making, the sauce – named after the street his grandfather settled in after emigrating from Italy – is Conant’s first
CPG. To Conant, Martone Street evokes family dinners, crafted by his grandmother, mother and aunts, and everyone sitting around the table to eat. Martone Street sauce features 100 percent fresh tomatoes, which Conant assures will set it apart from other sauces. “I do feel like that Old World hospitality resonates with people and gives a sense of place, family and connectivity,” he said. Conant’s Martone Street Sauce joins a thriving tomato sauce
market that Verified Market Research predicts will grow to $28.21 billion by 2031 at a compound annual growth rate of 3.5 percent. The market is being driven not only by rising consumer demand for ready-to-eat and convenience culinary options, but high demand by health-conscious consumers for organic and preservative-free tomato sauces. As Conant browsed the rows of 1,063 exhibitors and 30 pavilions at the Winter Fancy Food Show at Las Vegas Convention Center,
he took stock of the vast array of products. “I don’t see a lot of new ingredients,” Conant said, “but it’s the way that ingredients are being put together. That’s what is exciting to me, seeing new flavor profiles. “But more importantly, it’s a really heartfelt approach to business that resonates with me.” Now based in Scottsdale, Ariz., the Connecticut native Continued on PAGE 18