The products made their debut this month at Wholesome Sweeteners’ trade show booth at the Natural Food Expo West in Anaheim, California.

Consumer Marketing Manager Karen Stevenson expects the line to be a hit in the marketplace. “Agave is our fastest growing product type. It’s really unprecedented,” she says.

What’s responsible for the growth? “As consumers become more aware of new sweetener options, they’re more willing to try them,” Stevenson says. “It used to be that we only had conventional white and brown sugars to choose from. Now there are new sweeteners that combine in new, wonderful ways.”

Part of the appeal of agave is that it’s organic and has a low glycemic index, which is a measure of how quickly a body adjusts to sugars. High-glycemic food causes blood sugar to spike. Low-glycemic food gives a body energy, but more slowly. “It’s a slow burn vs. a fast burn,” explains Stevenson.

And like sugar, agave has versatility. This flavored line, for example, can be used to top waffles, pancakes or desserts, in oatmeal, as marinades, in coffee, or in homemade salad dressings.

To make agave, the core of the plant is first harvested then crushed. Juices are collected and filtered then hydrolyzed very slowly. To convert the agave juice into a nectar that our bodies can digest, Wholesome exposes it to low heat over a long period of time to create “raw” agave syrup, or brings the heat up faster to create regular (or “light”) agave. Raw agave is less filtered and has a slightly more complex flavor profile.

Within Wholesome’s new line, three flavors — strawberry, maple and cinnamon — are raw, while vanilla is light.

Stevenson says she’s been experimenting with the new line in her own kitchen, “and they’re so much fun. I made maple oatmeal scones and some ricotta fritters with vanilla agave that were so good they were dangerous to have in the house. I’m delighted to see how versatile they are.”

“The needs in Haiti are enormous, and everyone is touched by the stories and pictures on the news,” says vice president George Muller. “We felt compelled to act.”

Sugar bound for Haiti waits in the Port Wentworth plant warehouse with team members that helped on project. (l-r)Wilkin Cuter, Brenda Rose, Sheila Bryant and Ronell Clark

Those following the earthquake story already know that getting supplies to the people in need hasn’t been easy. The earthquake initially damaged Port-au-Prince’s north and south piers, making the import of supplies by ship impossible. Ten days after the earthquake, Haitian authorities and the U.S. military had finally reopened one pier, allowing one ship to dock at a time.

Working through the logistical challenges of delivering pure cane granulated sugar to Haiti is Brenda Rose, appointment coordinator at the company’s Port Wentworth refinery outside Savannah.

“I’ve been so excited to come to the office in the morning and work on this,” says Rose. “It’s tougher than I thought it would be,” Rose says. “There are so many hoops to jump through, I feel like I’m in the circus.”

Before even contending with the challenge of finding a functional dock in Haiti, Rose had to jump through her first hoop: getting all 2,560 two-pound bags of sugar to a dock in the United States. To solve that problem, she called in a favor with a friend who owns a tractor-trailer line. “He said he’d pull the container wherever we want him to,” says Rose.

Next, she had to find an organization willing to donate a shipping container — which she found through charity group Food for the Poor.

Imperial Sugar team loads truck with sugar bound for Haiti. (l-r)Reggie Simmons, Gary Hendricks, Brendea Rose, Derrick Exely and Sam Gent

Once the shipping container itself is in Haiti, it likely won’t come back. “I’ve seen the news,” says Rose. “I know that once they unload the container, it’s going to be used as housing. We’re good with that.”

The next hoop turned out to the most challenging: finding a ship to take the container to Haiti –which she finally found, after dozens of phone calls to friends in Florida and overseas.

On February 11, nearly one month after she started working on the effort, Rose watched with gratification as 18 pallets of sugar were put on a truck bound for Miami, to be transferred to a shipping container and then sent to Haiti. With the hoop-jumping behind her, Rose immediately began gathering monetary donations from co-workers to give to the Red Cross’s Haiti relief fund.

It’s a huge accomplishment, but Rose doesn’t expect praise. “Someone helped us out at one time, so it’s our turn. I don’t need accolades. God gets the glory out of all this. And I get what I need from God.”

To the casual observer, the sudden uptick in stevia sales may be confusing. Why all the interest in stevia? And what does the world need with another sweetener?

The world may not need just any old sweetener, but stevia offers something special that no other sweetener has so far: zero calories, no bad after-taste and a natural provenance. That particular combination is the “holy grail” for beverage makers and others, an editor of Beverage Digest told the Chicago Tribune.

So it should come as no surprise that stevia is gaining a broader audience, moving beyond health-food circles and into the general public — and enjoying sweet success.

“Right now what I see is that it’s replacing artificial sweeteners like Splenda,” says Andy Briscoe, president of The Sugar Association.

The natural sweetener’s flock of fans can thank an ingredient called rebaudioside A – or Reb A – for the good taste of recent stevia-based sweeteners, such as SweetLeaf and Truvia. Reb A is what gives these stevia-sweetener brands a better taste profile than the ground-up stevia powders one used to find in health-food stores. Processors extract Reb A from the leaves of the stevia plant, which has been used for centuries by the natives of Paraguay.

The FDA approval of stevia is perfectly timed to take advantage of a recent food-and-beverage trend toward simplicity and away from complicated ingredient lists. Consumer research group Innova Market Insights notes, “The downturn is making people nostalgic for simpler times and simpler foods. The interest in ‘back to basics’ has driven interest in natural and clean-label foods.”

At a San Francisco food show earlier this month, for example, one could see the impact of stevia: One of the busiest stands belonged to a new enhanced-water beverage, sweetened by – you guessed it – stevia. And as food-and-beverage producers tap into stevia’s possibilities, that’s just a taste of what’s to come.

Home bakers love Imperial Sugar's new individual brown sugar packets, Redi-Measure.

Work-saving appliances and pre-packaged ingredients are just a few of the conveniences that bakers appreciate when they’re whipping up something delicious in the kitchen. That’s why Redi-Measure™ brown sugar pouches have been such a hit since their introduction last November. Sold under both the Imperial Sugar and Dixie Crystals brands, Redi-Measure™ contains twelve premeasured pouches of firmly packed light brown sugar in ¼ cup servings.

Easy open individual packets keep the brown sugar soft and fresh.

The easy to open pouches are perfectly suited for most recipes and the individually sealed pouches keep the sugar fresh for each baking occasion.

“We evaluated hundreds of recipes and talked directly with consumers and found that most bakers prefer having quarter-cup increments of sugar on hand,” says Sally Zehnal, Imperial Sugar’s Packaging Development Manager. “The packaging keeps the sugar fresh, and it’s easy to use in any recipe.”

“Redi-Meaure brings innovation to the stagnant sugar category, especially for baking,” says Imperial Sugar Brand Manager Hyuna Lee. “Thanks to the product’s ease of use, good word of mouth among consumers and the upcoming holiday season, we’re expecting to see a healthy increase in sales. Redi-Measure is a great product that was based on consumer inquiries. It is a perfect fit for the busy lifestyle of today’s baking families.”

Getting the product from conception to development was equally sweet: Zehnal says a high performing cross functional team was assembled to expedite the product into the marketplace. “We involved folks from product development, logistics, planning, operations, sales, marketing, finance, accounting, purchasing and quality in the project and the team worked very closely to execute within the given timeline.” she says. “We were all pleased that everything came together so seamlessly and that we have a hit on our hands. It’s a good feeling.”

Season four is now underway, and episode five features famed chef Richard Sandoval, who operates Modern Mexican Restaurants group, a leader in the upscale Latin culinary movement, with locations in New York, Dubai, Las Vegas, Denver, Tyson’s Corner, VA, Washington, D.C., Mexico City, and Acapulco.

Sandoval journeys to the outer reaches of Mexico, from the dense jungles of Quintana Roo to the mountaintops of Jalisco to the Pacific cliffs outside Acapulco. He explores how the world’s first organic fair-trade honey is harvested by native Mayans, and shows how to tap the rare blue agave for its syrup. Back in the kitchen, he prepares a Mexican feast of Salmon Terrine with Chile Guajillo a la Blue Agave, and Camarones de la Vera Cruz.

The extra special ingredients? Wholesome Sweeteners’ Organic Fair Trade Honey and sweet Blue Agave Nectars are featured on the PBS program.

Chefs A’ Field has received wide critical acclaim as well as an Emmy Award nomination and has been awarded two prestigious James Beard Awards , including Best National Television Cooking Program. The series has also received two CINE Golden Eagle Awards, two White House Photographers Awards, The Chicago Film Festival’s Gold Hugo Award, and has been recognized by Food & Wine Magazine with their annual Tastemaker Award.

Chefs A’ Field airs on public television stations nationwide. Please check your local listings for broadcast times in your area. The programs are also available on DVD at PBS.org.

For more information:

www.chefsafield.com

www.modernmexican.com

Wholesome Sweeteners, a joint venture between Imperial Sugar and Edward Billington & Son, Europe’s leading importer of natural and organic unrefined sugars, chose the Expo to introduce new products.

1) Gourmet Organic Flavored Blue Agaves

The multi-purpose sweeteners are made with mild nectar from the renowned Blue Agave (or, “Weber azul”) plant from central Mexico and are now available in gourmet flavors such as Vanilla, Strawberry, Maple and Cinnamon. These syrups are the perfect topping for pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, beverages, and as an ice cream topping.

2) Billington’s USA Sweeteners

Billington’s unique, unrefined cane sugars are produced naturally on the Island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, where high quality specialty sugars have been made for decades. These artisanal sweeteners are proclaimed by many chefs and home bakers as probably the best in the World.

Billington’s is now available in new bag-in-box packaging that features a heat-sealed inner lining that keeps the sugars fresh, soft and moist.

Gourmet Organic Flavored Blue Agave and Billington USA Sweeteners will be available at stores where Wholesome Sweetener brands are carried.

“Consumers can finally have a great-tasting frosting that’s easy to make and easy on the pocketbook, too,” says Imperial’s New Product Development Manager, Darrell Gerdes, PhD Food Science. “We’ve created three frosting flavors: Gourmet Chocolate, Creamy Vanilla and Classic White. Classic White is a perfect base for customizing with colors, flavor extracts or your own unique ingredients. Given the product’s flavor, consistency, ease of preparation and price point, we think we’ve cracked the code on what home bakers have been wanting for years — cake frosting like grandma used to make.”

This holiday season, Bi-Lo stores in the southeastern U.S. will carry all three flavors under the Dixie Crystals brand, while HEB stores in Texas will carry Imperial Sugar branded Classic White and Gourmet Chocolate frostings. Special “HEB Showtime” demonstrations of the new products will be held on November 21st in 128 HEB locations throughout the San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Waco, and Corpus Christi areas, as well as in stores in the Texas Rio Grande Valley and Midland-Odessa area.

Preparations are simplicity itself: all a baker needs is a stick of softened butter, a quarter-cup of water and an electric mixer. The result: a delicious taste sensation that’s literally the “icing on the cake”.

Each box contains two packets of frosting mix. Using both packets of mix allows a baker to frost a two-layer round cake, a 9″ x 13″ sheet cake, or 18-24 cupcakes. Baker’s Supreme mixes offer a unique alternative for consumers in that they can make just one pouch of frosting mix, which will be enough for a single layer round cake or 9 to 12 cupcakes.

During in-home tests, the product proved to be child- friendly, so the baking experience lends itself to the “good ol’ days” when kids learned how to bake from mom and grandma.

EASE OF PREPARATION

It only takes 5 minutes and 3 simple steps to make a great frosting with Baker’s Supreme Premium Frosting Mix. Here’s how:

• Step One – Cream butter on low speed in a 2.5 to 3 quart mixing bowl.
• Step Two – Add contents of one pouch and ¼ cup water to creamed butter. Blend on low for two minutes, then scrape bowl.
• Step Three – Add contents of second pouch to bowl and blend on low for one minute, then on high for two minutes. Voila, perfect frosting!

(For fluffier frosting, simply mix at high speed for an additional two minutes).

CUSTOMIZED FROSTING FLAVORS

Baker’s Supreme Premium Classic White allows home bakers to customize frosting for whatever celebration or event they like. Here are some examples of customizations developed at the Imperial Sugar test kitchen.

Peppermint Frosting

Add ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract in step three.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Add 4 ounces of cream cheese but only ½ stick of butter in step one. Only add two tablespoons of water in step two.

Vanilla, Lemon or Orange Frosting

Add one teaspoon of preferred extract in step three.

Cinnamon Frosting

Add ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon in step three.

Strawberry Frosting

Add ½ cup of Strawberry Jam to Step 1 of mixing instructions. Only use 2 teaspoons of water in Step 2 of mixing instructions.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Add 1/4 cup of peanut butter but only ½ stick of butter in Step one. Only add 5 tablespoons of water in step two.

Black Frosting (perfect for Halloween cupcakes and cookies)

Use two tablespoons of black liquid food coloring and two tablespoons of water instead of ¼ cup water in step two.

Red or Green Frosting (Perfect for Christmas baking projects)

Use two tablespoons of red or green liquid food coloring and two tablespoons of water instead of ¼ cup water in step two.

Purple Frosting

Replace ¼ cup water in step two with 2 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon of red food coloring, and 1 tablespoon of blue food coloring in Step 2 of mixing instructions.

Pink Frosting

Use four tablespoons of water and one teaspoon of red food coloring instead of ¼ cup water in step two of mixing instructions.

Yellow Frosting

Use three tablespoons of water and one tablespoon of yellow food coloring instead of ¼ cup water in step two of mixing instructions.

]]> http://www.iscnewsroom.com/2009/10/05/icing-on-the-cake-%e2%80%93-it%e2%80%99s-a-snap/feed/ 0 http://www.iscnewsroom.com/2009/06/17/years-ahead-of-the-trend-to-trade-fair/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=years-ahead-of-the-trend-to-trade-fair http://www.iscnewsroom.com/2009/06/17/years-ahead-of-the-trend-to-trade-fair/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:27:54 +0000 isc http://www.iscnewsroom.com/?p=654 Corporate social responsibility is a banner more and more companies fly these days. It’s popular to say and looks good in slick magazines and promotions. But, how many companies actually live corporate social responsibility when producing their products?

Drop by your local supermarket and scan the shelves for brands of organic sugar or honey, for example. Spot any products with the words “Fair Trade Certified™” on the bag? Do you know what the black-and-white label stands for?

Simply put, it means the farmers who produced the food you’re holding in your hand – usually poorer farming communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia – are being given a fair shake in the marketplace.

The impact is far-reaching because this Fair Trade label on a product signifies a lot more than just a fair price. It also stands for fair labor conditions, eliminating middlemen wherever possible, environmental sustainability and control over investing revenues.

Coffee farmers first benefitted from this fair trade empowerment. Today, the Fair Trade Certified mark is appearing on more food products – such as rice, vanilla, chocolate, fresh fruit and sugar.

Out in front of this movement in the sugar industry is Wholesome Sweeteners, an Imperial Sugar joint venture. It’s the first major U.S. sweetener company to receive Fair Trade certification for sugar, and that distinction came four years ago.

Since then, the company has expanded its line of Fair Trade Certified products. In 2008, Wholesome Sweeteners introduced the first Fair Trade Honey to the USA: Organic Fair Trade Amber Honey and Organic Fair Trade Raw Honey.

Pauline McKee, a senior executive at Wholesome Sweeteners, explains: “Our unique honeys are produced by Mayan beekeepers in Southern Mexico, who are continuing in the traditions of their ancestors. The hives are located deep within the jungle and the bees forage on wildflowers. We worked directly with the farmers for two years to obtain Organic & Fair Trade certification for the co-ops.”

She points out: “We are the first company to export their honey to the USA and this brings much needed additional funds to the farming community.”

Wholesome Sweeteners’ Fair Trade Certified presence in the marketplace keeps growing. They have contributed more than $1.5 million in additional income to support sugar cane farmers and beekeepers of Malawi (Africa), Costa Rica, Paraguay and Mexico.

With the additional income, growers can compete with so-called “factory farms,” develop the quality of their crops, send their children to school and build thriving communities. That’s what a fair shake in the marketplace looks like, many times over, as its benefits resonate throughout these growers’ communities.

“Wholesome Sweeteners holds fast to a ‘Fair Trade, Not Aid’ philosophy,” says McKee. “This resonates well with our customers, who continue to choose Fair Trade products in increasing volumes. We believe it is important to have a successful dynamic business and still be a bastion for corporate social and environmental responsibility.”

It seems that a fair shake and good business do go hand in hand, as McKee says: “You really can make the world a sweeter place; one spoonful at a time.”

Read more about Wholesome Sweeteners. Click here.