New Product Line - Oser Communications Group

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GOURMET NEWS www.gourmetnews.com ■ JULY 2011 ■ GOURMET NEWS
ALO Drink A Category Leader In
Less Than Three Years
Going up against some of the largest beverage
companies in the already-crowded functional
drink category in 2009, San
Francisco-based ALŌ Drink had a distinct
advantage: a line of all-natural aloe verainfused
beverages, similar to those that were
popular in the Far East.
Less than three years after debuting in the
United States (and Canada), ALŌ is already
the number one ready-to-drink aloe vera beverage
in the domestic natural channel. Recently
awarded the 2011 InterBev Beverage
Innovation Award for Best Natural Functional
Drink, ALŌ Drink delivers aloe vera’s
powerhouse blend of vitamins, minerals and
essential amino acids in the most delicious
and natural form possible. With the functional
drink category among the fastest growing in
the beverage industry, ALŌ Drink has distinguished
itself as an all-natural standout.
Offering Americans a blend of wholesome
purity and delicious flavor unlike any comparable
beverage on the market today, ALŌ
Drink last year earned a Silver Finalist for
Best Cold Beverage in the 2010 sofi
Awards from the National Association for
the Specialty Food Trade, as well as the coveted
BevStar Bronze Award in the Functional/New
Age Drink category from
Beverage World magazine.
While some drinks labeled as “aloe vera
juice” in reality contain little aloe vera and
even less nutrition, ALŌ honors nature by
making its beverages with chunks of pulp direct
from the leaf rather than reconstituted
from powder. What’s more, the company utilizes
the inner aloe pulp derived from the
hand-filleting method and not from the
“whole leaf” process in which the nonnutritious
green outer skin is ground up
along with the main pulp.
By capturing nature in a bottle so
meticulously, ALŌ has created a refreshing
change from the ordinary―a pulpy, chunky,
exotic, unexpected, oddly translucent yet utterly
compelling and nutritious drink unlike
anything the average consumer has ever seen
or tasted before.
ALŌ Drink is available in seven refreshing
flavors, including ALŌ Exposed, made
with real aloe vera pulp and honey; ALŌ
Awaken, mixing aloe vera and wheatgrass;
ALŌ Enrich, blending pomegranate, cranberry,
and real aloe vera; ALŌ Allure, a tropical
fusion of mangosteen, mango and aloe
vera; ALŌ Appeal, a citrusy blend of pomelo,
pink grapefruit, lemon and real aloe vera;
ALŌ Enliven, mixing 12 different fruits and
vegetables with aloe vera; and ALŌ Elated,
marrying brewed olive leaf tea and green tea
with aloe vera. Visit www.alodrink.com for
more information.
For Fine Salumi Products,
The Word To Remember Is “Licini”
Musco Food Corp. has been distributing
Licini products for eight years. Owner Phil
Musco proudly states, “Our sales have increased
considerably on this product line
every year since we became involved.” Mr.
Musco believes, “The three main factors that
contribute towards the ever increasing sales
are 1) an increasing demand and awareness
for artisanally produced Salumi products in
general, 2) the acknowledgement and appreciation
that Licini products are among the
finest Salumi products produced and 3) the
retailers’ realization of the value of the return
sales on this product line.”
Licini Brothers produces artisanal Salami,
Pancetta and Coppa in the Italian tradition.
In the 60 years since the company was
founded by the three Licini Brothers, the
recipes and methods have hardly changed.
Their products are simple in production with
elegant results. Their love of honest work,
respect for the farm, and desire to present ancient
flavors to the modern world are the
strengths of the Licini process and are evidenced
in the finished products.
By producing in small batches, Licini is
able to maintain many of the characteristics
of great Salami that commercial producers
can’t. They only use all natural casings for
every product. The rich flavor of Licini products
comes only from the slow curing
process and the addition of simple spices.
Because Licini is a USDA facility, they
maintain the highest standards and criteria so
Texas Tamale Company And Brazos
Legends Have A Tasty History
Texas Tamale Company and Brazos Legends
are brands that have been a part of
Texas culture for over 25 years. Both companies
were started with family recipes. The
founders of Texas Tamale Co. were looking
for a healthy alternative to the traditional
Tex-Mex tamale made with lard. They came
up with a great tasting tamale made with
vegetable shortening. Soon friends and
neighbors were offering to buy the homemade
tamales and salsas, and Texas Tamale
that their products continue to be old-world
without being old-fashioned. Salami is aged
in temperature-controlled environments.
Pancetta is hand-rolled and all of the ingredients
are ground and mixed on-premise. By
controlling all aspects of their small-scale
production, Licini guarantees that every
product comes to you with the consistency
of a manufactured product, but with the character
of a hand-made one.
Musco offers the complete Licini line.
Cacciatore Salami is fine in texture and
diminutive in size, for family-style antipasto.
Dry Sausage and Sopressata are two New
York favorites―rich in texture, with delicately
aged flavors. Pancetta is produced
from fresh, hand-selected, trimmed pork bellies
that are cured and seasoned with freshly
cracked black pepper producing a marbled,
tender finished product. Coppa is distinctly
Italian in style, never perfectly round and
maintains the character of the pork shoulder
Co. was born. The founders of Brazos Legends
came from a heritage of Brazos
County cowboys. Their original recipes
came from chuck wagon cooks on the trail
rides. Some of the original recipes included
bloody mary mixes, BBQ Sauces and enchilada
sauce. Both companies moved from
their home kitchens into state-inspected
commercial kitchens, established their
brands and won awards for their products.
In the mid-’90s, the current owners purchased
Texas Tamale Co. to expand its regional
market beyond the Houston and Dallas
areas and, a short time later, added the
extensive product line of Brazos Legends
products to the Texas Tamale Co. The combination
of the two companies is an ideal mix
of both Tex-Mex, BBQ and hot and spicy
pepper sauces. Today, all frozen items are
made in a USDA-inspected kitchen, and all
shelf-stable items are made in state-inspected
commercial kitchens.
Texas Tamale offers their frozen line of
tamales in five flavors―Beef, Chicken,
Pork, Spinach with Cheese and Black Bean.
Frozen Homestyle Chili and Chili con Queso
are the favorite toppings for the tamales,
in shape. Coppa’s dry-aging produces a
sweetness that makes it unique in the marketplace.
Two cooked Salami are Zampino
and Salami Cotto, which are rarely seen
delicacies, smooth in texture and complex
in flavor.
Licini Brothers continues to produce the
finest artisanal Salumi in the U.S.A. It does
so with little recognition, fanfare or publicity
(although it is sold coast to coast).
Licini has the rare capability of offering
a private-label program to distributors and
large retail chains.
Licini is a USDA inspected and approved
facility.
Musco Food Corp offers their customers
a convenient sample box that will certainly
win your heart and business. Phil Musco
proudly assures that, “You’ll soon see the
potential the Licini products have to
offer, and I’m certain that the quality is
beyond compare!”
along with the signature salsas and Hot
Tamale Pepper Sauce. The tamales are available
primarily in grocery distribution in an
ever-expanding market in the U.S.A. and
foodservice, as well as on the company’s retail
website. Brazos Legends items and the
Bull Snort line of pepper sauces are found in
specialty stores throughout the United States
and are now available in parts of Canada, the
U.K. and Australia.
In the last few years, Texas Tamale revised
the tamale recipes to eliminate vegetable
shortening, and now all tamales are zero
trans fats per serving and all tamales are
Continued on Page 72
Sticky Fingers (Con’t. from p. 1)
TO: We’ve been working on getting the flavors
and product mix right for a couple of
years. We’ve had a lemon curd and a couple
of jams for some time, but we never really
marketed them in any significant way. We decided
it was time to develop this side of our
product family with the expansion of the line
to 12 jams, curds, fruit butters and jellies.
GN: You must have some confidence in the
economy to be making such a move.
TO: I think there’s a sense of optimism
within the specialty foods industry. I feel as
if we’re waking from a collective economic
hibernation. Companies that were perhaps
holding back on introducing anything new
while focusing more internally as the economy
righted itself seem to be now moving
outward toward the increasing demand for
new items. I would put us in that category.
GN: You’ve got some traditional flavors
like Blueberry Jam and Lemon Curd, but
there are some decided departures from
what you might think pairs with scones.
TO: If you only think of these products as
toppings for scones or toast, you’re missing
out! Our Tomatillo Pepper Jelly with Fire
Roasted Jalapenos makes a terrific base for a
marinade or a filling for burritos or omelets.
The other day my family and I took out some
crackers and cream cheese and paired it with
the Raspberry Chipotle Jam, and it was amazing.
I think people are going to be pleased at
how versatile the line is. For instance, we’ve
come out with some unique and some more
traditional takes on the fruit butter category,
like Cranberry Apple and Pumpkin Spice.
GN: Back to your scone line for a moment.
Any news?
TO: Yes, we’re introducing a raspberrywhite
chocolate scone mix at the show, in
addition to a strawberry scone mix. The
raspberry-white chocolate scone is probably
our most decadent one yet; sales at World
Market have been very robust for the past
year, and now we’re ready to unveil it to a
larger market.
GN: You’re entering a crowded marketplace
with the jam line. What’s the thinking?
TO: There are some extremely good and
very established companies in the marketplace,
and it’s exciting for us to try and compete
for even a small portion of that market.
We know that retailers and their customers
associate us with high quality standards on
our scone, muffin, bread and brownie mixes,
and I think they will see that our new line
measures up. If it weren’t up to the same
quality people know us for, it wouldn’t have
our name on it.
For a taste of the new products, stop by booth
4807, call 800-458-5826 or visit www.sticky
fingersbakeries.com to learn more.