New Product Line - Oser Communications Group

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GOURMET NEWS www.gourmetnews.com ■ JULY 2011 ■ GOURMET NEWS
Twinings (Con’t. from p. 1)
GN: Can you tell our readers about Twinings?
JD: Twinings is a specialty tea company
that was established in 1706 in London by
Thomas Twining. Today, 305 years later, the
passion remains strong, and we remain
faithful to Thomas Twining’s exacting standards,
still selecting only the finest handpicked
tea leaves from premium tea gardens.
Globally, Twinings is sold in 115 countries,
offering over 200 varieties of tea and is the
number-one specialty tea company in the
world. Here in the U.S.A., we offer over 50
tea varieties, and we are the fastest growing
tea company for the past five years (2007-
2011). We have been on a great role, and this
year will be better than the last five.
GN: Can you tell us what makes Twinings
such a unique company?
JD: Twinings focuses only on premium tea.
We offer a full range of tea in black, flavored
black, chai, green and herbal. We currently
have 8 flavor varieties of K-Cup ® for
Keurig ® Brewing Systems, Cold-Brewed
Iced teas and the only company that carry
100-percent Organic and Fair Trade Certified
teas. Our expert tea blenders taste more
than 4,000 cups of tea every week, so you
can be sure the next cup you taste will be as
satisfying as the last. In fact, Twinings was
granted its first Royal Warrant by Queen
Victoria in 1837. The Royal Warrant, a mark
of excellence bestowed upon Twinings, is in
recognition of our teas’ demonstrated premium
quality as a supplier of tea to Queen
Victoria and her Royal households. It’s been
a tremendous honor for Twinings to supply
every successive British monarch to date.
Also at Twinings, people are our greatest
asset. I feel I am blessed with the best sales
and marketing team in the industry. The hard
work and dedication is second to none!
GN: Please tell us about an exciting event
that’s affected Twinings this past year.
JD: We are happy to announce the success
we’ve been having with our K-Cup and
Chai line. K-Cup products, Keurig’s innovative
single cup brewing system, lets people
brew the perfect cup in less than a
minute, without the wait and mess. It’s as
simple as it gets. To date, our K-Cup business
represents 20 percent of our sales. We
currently sell to special retails such as Bed
Bath & Beyond and Macy’s and all major
groceries. In addition to the K-Cup success,
our new lines of Chai teas have soared this
past year. Increases in specialty black sales
are being driven by flavored black teas.
Consumers are better understanding the connection
between what one eats and one’s
health. Tea has become a more popular alternative
to coffee. We hope to replicate
drinking experiences at coffee cafes (i.e. sophisticated
flavors and ingredients) to consumers’
homes by producing a great line of
flavored black teas. Drinking specialty tea
has become more fashionable.
GN: Can you tell us briefly how Twinings is
distributed?
DW: There are various ways to supply our
tea to our consumers/customers. We supply
retailers through regional and national distributors
and also direct. Whether you’re a
local area favorite or a large multi-unit chain
operation, Twinings has a tea program to fit
all needs. Twinings prides itself on excellent
customer service, so we’re an easy company
to do business with. Plus, we offer multiple
distribution solutions.
GN: Tell us about an exciting new product
that’s brewing at Twinings.
DW: Twinings offers four varieties of coldbrewed
iced teas: English Classic, Mixed
Berry, Lady Grey and Green with Mint. It’s
a proprietary process that actually allows
you to brew a refreshing, cool glass of tea
without the added step of boiling the water.
All varieties brew in regular room temperature
water, so a delicious
glass of fresh-brewed ice
tea takes only minutes. In
line with Twinings’ dedication
to quality, you’re
brewing tea from tea
leaves―not mixing a
powdered or diluted version.
You can even enjoy
the delicious, cold, refreshing
iced tea on the
go, since our special cold brew tea bags can
be added to your water bottle.
GN: Does Twinings offer any seasonal
items?
JD: Yes, Twinings has a great line of teas
that evoke the spirit and warmth of the season.
Available in Pumpkin Spice Chai, Winter
Spice and Christmas Tea, these seasonal
varieties are a great way to welcome the excitement
of the holidays. Coming soon are
two additional flavors as an extension to our
Chai line: Hazelnut Chai and Almond Chai.
We’ve found that retail chains, restaurants
and other channels are excited to present the
seasonal items, which prompts consumers to
try something different.
GN: Please tell our readers how they can experience
Twinings while at SFFS.
JD: I’d like to invite all to visit us at our
Twinings booth. Please stop by and experience
first-hand what Twinings has been
brewing for the past 305 years. You’re sure
to discover a blend that’s just
right for you! We will be serving
hot tea and Cold Brewed
Iced tea samples, so be sure to
stop by our booth. I look forward
to meeting you.
Visit Jim and the Twinings
team at booth 923. More information
can be found online
at www.twiningsusa.com.
Terrapin Ridge Farms (Con’t. from p. 1) Terrapin Ridge Farms is introducing a pretzels, graham cracker sticks or
Double Chocolate Sauce /Dip at the Summer
vanilla wafers makes a quick and
became a natural choice to add to Terrapin
Ridge Farms new line of epicurean
chocolate sauces and dips. Creamy Coconut
is blended with bittersweet chocolate
and chocolate liquor to create an
undeniably rich chocolate sauce and dip.
Fancy Food Show in Washington DC.
Double the chocolate, double the decadence,
rings true with this luxurious sauce
and dip. Using chocolates as dips and
sauces adds versatility to the product and
convenience for customers. According to
easy treat.”
• Double Chocolate Sauce/Dip: 11 ounces,
MSRP $7.50
• Chocolate Coconut Sauce/Dip: 11 ounces,
MSRP $7.50
This is sure to become a bestseller. Along O’Donnell, “serving these chocolate Sample these new sauces at the Summer
with the Chocolate Coconut Sauce /Dip, sauces right out of the jar with salty Fancy Food Show booth 5621.
About Terrapin Ridge Farms, LLC
Terrapin Ridge Farms, LLC is a creator,
marketer and seller of gourmet food products
headquartered in Clearwater, Fla. The
company’s product line consists of dips,
sauces, dressings, gourmet condiments and
jams which can be found in high-quality
specialty food and gift stores across the
U.S.A. and Canada. For details, visit
www.terrapinridge.com.
Dave’s Gourmet (Con’t. from p. 1)
we started out making hot sauces, like our
Insanity Sauce, and that most of our sales
are now from pasta sauces, like our Butternut
Squash Sauce or our Organic Red Heirloom.
We also have many other sauces and
spices and have the capability and desire to
expand into other categories.
GN: What is the reason that your company
exists?
DH: Our company exists to make people’s
lives incrementally better in one or more of
several ways. We want to either bring them
more pleasure from their food, amuse them
and/or make them healthier. We accomplish
this by making natural and organic products
that taste better, have new and interesting
flavors, and sometimes by making funny
products like Lucky Nuts (every tenth nut is
hot but they all look the same) or the Adjustable
Heat Hot Sauce.
GN: What do you anticipate to be your
greatest challenge in the year ahead?
DH: Our company lives and dies on our
products and our R&D. We are now
launching a huge R&D initiative to
find/create the best possible sauces anywhere.
We are working with our inside
R&D and outside contractors. We are collaborating
with other producers. We are
launching contests for both home cooks
and professional chefs.
GN: What is your company’s place in the
market?
DH: In the hot sauce world, we are the creator
and one of the leaders of the super-hot
sauce niche. In the pasta sauce world, we are
one of the leading, and maybe the fastest
growing, specialty pasta sauce brand. Our
innovative flavors and great taste helped us
win the Sofi for Best Pasta Sauce in both
2009 and 2010.
GN: Once you have these great products,
how does a smaller producer like you effectively
promote and sell?
DH: When you are small, you can’t afford
consumer direct advertising and end up focusing
a great deal on trade marketing and
driving distribution. We know that this is not
enough. Our PR efforts have always been a
focus and have always been really effective.
This is still not enough, so we are really
pushing to expand our in-store promotions
through creative demo programs and pushing
more off-shelf display promotions.
GN: How do you see the next year in terms
of economy, sales and product evolution?
DH: The irony of the last couple of years is
that everyone has been pushing discounting
and value, but some specialty segments
have done really well at premium prices.
This is where you can really see for what
consumers are willing to pay more. This is
also where retailers can focus and make
more profits. I guess that consumers value
our innovative items because we have been
growing quickly during this period. We
don’t focus on what the economy is doing,
but on developing items that consumers really
like and value. We will continue to do
this, and we anticipate good growth over
the next few years.
For information, call Dave at 415-401-
9100, email dave@davesgourmet.com, visit
www.davesgourmet.com or stop by booth
5224 at the Fancy Food Show.
Belmont Peanuts (Con’t. from p. 4)
an amazing journey and one that we are
proud to be a part of year after year.
Belmont Peanuts is designated a
“Virginia’s Finest” company which carries
a approval from the Virginia Department of
Agriculture, and they also carry the
Virginia/Carolina Grown Peanuts logo on
their products, insuring the consumer that
their products are, in fact, grown locally.
If you are also a connoisseur of peanuts,
and are looking for another product to add to
your offerings, or want to have a fundraiser,
do yourself a favor and give David and Patsy
a call or check out their website. I promise
you will be glad you did! They offer
quantity discounts, as well as wholesale and
distributor pricing. The motto around here is,
“We believe in Fresh, Fresh, Fresh!” “Taste
the Difference and You Decide!”
For more information, call 800-648-4613,
visit www.belmontpeanuts.com or stop by
booth 3024, located in the Virginia Pavilion.