E-kitchen. When too much is not good enough.

I've talked about twitter recipes– now there's crowd-sourcing recipes.  That's when a group of people on the internet post and edit recipes wikipedia style.  The idea, as reported in the New York Times today, is that having many chefs review and add to a recipe is better than one.

Recipe Wiki, and Foodista.com are two of the fastest growing sites that encourage everyone to contribute to creating and improving recipes.  But with the democratization of recipes is the quality and reliability assured?  A tour of some recipes on the sites showed that people are quick to add changes that don’t make much sense or add prank ingredients. 

Food52.com hopes to balance the enthusiasm and draw on the participatory strength of crowd-sourcing but adds an editing process to keep out the quirks.  Visitors to the site try the recipe and vote on it.  You can even watch the editors prepare the recipes on videos.

With all the exposure and interest food is getting these days I still think we need a good sourcing component to these highly trafficked sites… I'd like to have the “cooks” tell us about their favorite shop or cooking tools.  Behind the scenes, these recipe sites are being financed by Amazon and other investors eager to get traffic and build a community.  Specialty Retailing needs to do the same--- build a sourcing site, that's peer-to-peer powered to drive people into our stores!

Ron Jakubisin

jakubisin.com

Editor's Pick: Inglehoffer

Who says you can’t teach old dog new tricks? Beaverton Foods, the 80 years old, Oregon based Food Company, has added two Certified Organic Mustards to its Inglehoffer line of sauces and condiments. Already, some 20 strong, the new siblings are all natural and organic.

The two new flavors, Stone Ground and Honey Mustard, were pleasing and had interesting taste profiles. As a mustard lover, I found each to have a true nuance and distinction to most other I use or have tested.

The Inglehoffer Organic Stone Ground Mustard, with its rich brown color and ample cracked and whole brown seeds, is visually and texturally like most Whole Grain Pommery style mustards. It is pleasantly mild with deep flavor and a noticeable hint of garlic. Though, not quite as “robust” as I normally like, due to the small addition of true cane syrup, the mustard is a great foil to  meats, hard cheeses and the occasional “Philly” soft pretzel. I also think it would make a great “secret” ingredient to spiced peaches or Apples for, say, a Holiday ham.

The even and mellow finish to this condiment should also be a good for those only yellow, scared of the “spicy” stuff types.

 

The Inglehoffer Organic Sweet Honey Mustard is, well, a delicious product, which should be called “Mustard Honey”. All Natural Organic Honey, the 1st ingredient of this condiment, is instantly noticeable, when you pop the lid. This light, brownish yellow mustard has the smooth, spread able texture of fresh mayonnaise. It is very squeezable, from the squat, easy to store, plastic dispenser, but not pour-able. The honey adds a depth of flavor and richness rarely seen in commercial Honey Mustards, normally sweetened with other processed sugar products or substitutes. A great snack dip or kids mustard for meals, I also think this would make a great dressing or vinaigrette ingredient.

Started by “Mom, Rose” Biggi(pronounced Bee Gee), in her basement, in 1929, from grinding and bottling fresh horseradish, this 3rd generation family business, currently run by Gene Biggi, is a multi-million dollar business. Beaverton foods continue Rose’s desire of “wholesome” business practices and adhere to the strict HACCP, current guidelines.

Beaverton Foods Inc. Hillsboro, Or. 503-646-8138   www.beavertonfoods.com

A Cow's Life

I read with great interest the recent announcement that Wyke Farms, the UK’s largest independent cheese producer and milk processor, was insuring its cheese expert's nose for $8.3 million. The Somerset-based cheese expert, Nigel Pooley, has worked in the cheese-producing industry since 1963 and has graded cheese for the century-old, family-run Wyke Farms for the past 12 years, where he specializes in selecting good commercial cheese that the rest of us will enjoy.

Richard Clothier, third generation family member & Managing Director at Wyke Farms, is insistent that the quality of their Cheddar is of a consistently high standard and comments: “As an industry veteran with a naturally honed palate, Nigel plays an integral role in ensuring the quality of every batch of Wyke Farms’ award-winning cheddar that leaves the farm. It may seem a bit unusual to go to such great lengths – something that’s typically reserved for celebrities, but then again, we’ve never been afraid to stray from the norm in order produce the best farmhouse cheddar possible. In fact, you could say that Nigel is a bit of a celebrity around our farm.”

I have my own adoration for Wyke myself. You see, it's where my alter-ego resides. The calm lady of England who can relax in the fields and enjoy time with friends and family. Yes, my namesake Michelle the Cow resides on Wyke Farms, the folks there were generous enough to name a young Heifer after me. Actually I stand corrected, her name is actually Michelle of Somerset and I just received word this past week that she's grown up quite nicely and is even expecting a baby.

So, I have to say that I must work harder to support and buy Wyke Farm cheddars - and it's a great thing they are of such good quality - because I need to be sure the new young Heifer to my growing herd is well-cared for and enjoying life. In this wildly crazy world of publishing and retailing where the human Michelle resides, it's nice to know that someone is getting the chance to stop and smell [or eat] the roses. Perhaps someday I will get the chance to meet my four-legged extended family in person some day and chat about the farming and dairy industries. It's always nice to compare notes.

                                                                             

Unprecedented Moves

Members of the press were invited to a joint call Sept. 14 to discuss an unprecedented partnership between the International Housewares Association (IHA) and George Little Management (GLM) to survey vendors on industry shows.
 
Alan Steel, EVP of White Plains, N.Y.-based GLM commented, “These [surveys] are the kind of activities that IHA and GLM have taken independently before. This seems like a point in time to address the industry collectively to solve the issues we identify collectively.”
 
The objective for joining forces, according to Phil Brandl, president of the Rosemont, Ill.-based IHA, is a strategic evaluation as to how trade shows can best serve the industry. The first phase of the joint survey work will be to reach out to gourmet industry suppliers to receive their input on trade events. The survey asks how many shows are needed and when they should occur within the calendar year. Both organizations provide marketing, merchandising and educational opportunities to the industry through trade events, and both want to make certain that the needs of the industry are properly met.

The focus of the survey -- GLM’s Gourmet Housewares Show -- was not a surprise to those on the call. The viability of the show has been quietly questioned for the past few years. For those of us in the specialty industry, the connection to vendors and opportunity to speak to both large and small manufacturing entrepreneurs is an essential part of gourmet retailing, and so the loyalty to the show remains strong.
 
Still, the numbers have been waning, and with the present economy, the ability for vendors and retailers to attend the quantity of shows currently scheduled annually can be an economic burden.
 
“We are always looking at our shows, and we are looking at the gourmet show particularly,” said GLM’s Steel. “We want to extend our commitment to the show.”
 
I’d like to congratulate GLM and IHA on their efforts to poll the vendor community to determine if there’s a need for a second show, and further qualify the time and location of the second show.
 
The survey, which will be e-mailed to IHA members and gourmet show exhibitors who aren’t association members, asks for a response within seven days. After reviewing the results, Brandl said he expects the two organizations will reveal the findings by the end of September.
 
The survey, which vendors can answer online, is at www.housewares.org <http://www.housewares.org>.

Face it: Is Facebook Effective?

I was helping promote the Great Coconut Grove Bed Race over Labor Day weekend and we had our PR firm survey the crowd of about 14,000 to find out how they heard about the event.  More than 40% said they heard about it on Facebook.  We didn't have a Facebook page for the event… but did have an online presence through blogs and ads on various web event calendars. 

Of course, people often mention the last thing they remember when they are asked "how did you hear about us?" and they don’t mention all the factors that may have primed their decision to come.  For example, we got more than 70 mentions in the media including all the TV stations, newspaper event calendars and blogs, (valued at $587,000) but the last contact for many people was a prompt from a friend on Facebook.

Social media can help spread the word about events and may help specialty retailing because people often go to events with other people and are using tools like Facebook to make it easier to communicate… you don’t have to call someone, just post an update on Facebook.  People saw the ads and news items for the bed race, then decided to tell their friends through Facebook.

It is tempting to just use social networking to market your business because it is very cost-effective (FREE)!  And I did just that for a 10^th Anniversary event in August which flopped…  even with 347 posts from fans over two weeks and a guest list that exceeded 500, the client did less business than the previous year where we included traditional advertising and promotion.  He didn't lose money but now has asked that we incorporate media in future promotions.

Like most tools in your marketing arsenal, Facebook works best in combination with other tried and true methods.  Think of it as the icing on the cake… after you've properly baked the cake.

Ron Jakubisin

Jakubisin.com

Leaving MACEF: Final Thoughts

By: Nancy Krabill


Italians do things differently; but then we knew that. What’s interesting is learning how many things are different, in so many ways. At this show, I’m impressed with the willingness to experiment, comfort with change and in taking a chance. These are not qualities that you normally associate with traditional Italy, but if you stick with that paradigm and you lose out.

Addressing the realities of the changing retail environment head-on, MACEF did the following:
. Reached out to small companies using “incubator projects” that allowed them to experiment with exhibiting at a large trade show at a reduced cost.
. Tapped the talents of set designer Anna Congiu to create two thematic displays “The Infinite Time of Food” and “Stories Around the Table” in areas that might have otherwise stood vacant. Using products from the show arranged in a whimsical manner, these areas stopped shoppers in their tracks and caused us to reflect, seeing new possibilities for the items on display.
. Focused on Italy’s core artisanal base. While items from China certainly carry a lower price point, consumers are increasingly interested in the stories and the people that make the products they place in their homes. Will that cause them to spend more money to buy the products, or is this just curiosity? Time will tell, but here at the “Made in Italy” area, a justifiably proud focus on Italy’s artistic past and potential for the future seemed the heart of the show. A dramatic diagonal heart-shaped walkway cut through the large exhibit and fairly pulsed with white light and energy.
. Created interactive, if sometimes messy “Made in Macef” activities at the entrance to the fair. These included a bakery, free internet, a “chill out” area with hammocks on wheels, and a chrome foosball table. I’m not sure it created the sense of community for which it aimed, but it was certainly a nice diversion and a very useful area. Also after hours, buyers, exhibitors, and professionals were invited to interact in discussion sessions together on topics such as innovative materials, technology, lifestyles, and the changing definition of the home.

Some things worked a little less well. The “US Home Style” exibits that I saw scattered in several areas consisted primarily of cleaning products and gadgetry, causing one to wonder if we have no “US home style” at this time. Also, the “Flexible Store” exhibit that was part of the “Crisis as an Opportunity, Flexibility as a Condition” conference was engaging, but lacking in impact. A neon “green” carpet drew you in to a large multi-media cube with four life-size videos on display concurrently. After an interesting start, the message was a little mundane: get some new products, have sales that don’t look desperate, and target new markets. Okay.

But, here’s the thing. In the American markets, we’re trying to look cheery, while at the same time hunkering down and waiting for things to get back to “normal”. Inside, we know that “normal” might look very different a few years from now. At MACEF, I appreciated the upfront acceptance of these hard times and the energy spent in encouraging new ways of doing business. Rather than drifting through display after display, worrying about price points and merchandising tactics I felt I learned something new. Will that translate into hard dollar sales? Time will tell. Maybe so, just maybe so.

Pictured above: A great product that exemplifies a tradeshow pitfall. I love this thing. It’s colorful, versatile, can be used to prop open windows or doors. We need a doorstop for the store, and I brought home a spunky blue one. The owners are young and interesting, and going to the Housewares Show in Chicago. I told them I thought that was great, but then started thinking. Do Americans have windows that open out? Noooooooo. When we do open them, they open up, and only the broken ones need a stop. Do we open our doors? Well, yes, at the store on nice days, but at home? With the bugs? I don’t think so! So I love this thing, and wish the owners the best. Maybe it will generate tons of interest in our doorway and we’ll end up selling them. But for the moment, I’ve avoided the trap of “trade show infatuation.” Gary can breate a sigh of relief.

MACEF International Home Show: Buying From the Right Side of the Brain

By: Nancy Krabill

I’ve got a new attitude. Yesterday I began by searching for new products for the store with a migrane-like tunnel vision. Later, I pulled back and focused less on the products themselves and more on the skills and intent behind them. I skipped over booths with cute, but mass-produced goods (after all, it’s a shorter, less expensive distance from China directly to the US than from China to Italy to the US).

Instead, I visited a hall dedicated to “Made in Italy” and did a little “right brain” shopping. (For those of you who weren’t around or aware in the ’80’s, Ned Hermann came up with a popular theory that said our brain has an analytical “left” side and a creative “right” side, with the idea that the more we integrate the two thought styles, the better off we are.) I looked at the products as art, rather than evaluating in the context of whether they would fit in our store. I met the producers and owners, who were mostly here at the show, practiced my Italian while they practiced their English, and learned their stories.

This is working for me, right now, in this time. Thinking back on our “killer app” (to borrow a term from my tech days) products that we’ve had in the store, the ones that sold out quickly, they were all surprises. Two good examples are The Wine Clip and Lazy Susans from Vintage at Heart. We didn’t find them in the usual places, they didn’t really “fit”, but we tried them out and they continue to be strong sellers today.

So, in this moment, here and now, I’m taking a step back and opening my mind to the creativity on display here. I’m stopping to visit the exhibits intentionally assembled by MACEF to help new young designers and artisans. And maybe, just maybe, if I don’t think about it too hard, out of the corner of my eye, I’ll catch a glimpse of something really special.

Pictured above: Left, handpainted scarves and “barberi” (wooden balls used to choose who’s up first at the Palio) from Siena. Right, a jeweler from Sardegna crafts tiny villages piece from piece out of rock, and decorates with silver jewels.

MACEF International Home Show: First Thoughts

By: Nancy Krabill

Fiera Milano is one of the best trade show spaces ever. Eschewing the view that buyers need to be sequestered indoors with little light and air, a la Las Vegas, Fiera Milano instead consists of an outdoors central Corso Italiano lined with blocky buildings on both sides. Contrary to that other viewpoint, the opportunity to walk outside between buildings provides a bit of a rest and energy, a change from the usual “show fatigue”. The sunny Corso is lined with cafes, benches, WiFi points, and is framed by swooping glass and steel decor, so Milano-modern.

I’m here to get a fresh look at trends, at this intersection of my old love: traditional majoliche ceramics, and the ever-fashionable contemporary “new” of Milano. I’m looking for a next great thing (aren’t we all?), something that will take customers from passive comments like “isn’t that cute/sweet/pretty” to “I’ve got the perfect place for this at home. I’ll take two!”. We’re in a communal funk here in the US, a funk with overtones of puritan virtue, that is justified on many levels. So, out of all these products, which ones set the right tone, are useful or exciting or virtuous? Where is the ball on this roulette wheel going to settle? What is that next new thing?

News! News! Newsletters!

I subscribe to just about every gourmet shop newsletter I can find.  The best of them inform about what is going on food wise in the shop as well as tips and market specials.  Obviously a newsletter is a self-promotional vehicle but it should not be a "sale" sheet.  It should have things that are "news" for your customers like cooking class schedules, new product arrivals, events in the store and neighborhood, samplings and recipes.

The most common form of newsletter is an online version sent out monthly.  You can create one using a service like constant contact, which provides layouts, ideas and list storage for a small monthly fee.  For those who are time-pressed, create an ongoing blog and update it every few days… a few short entries will add up over a year and blogs also appear high up in search results.  And, of course there’s a printed newsletter that you can give out to everyone in the shop… I have seen versions with the news on one side and specials on the reverse--- an ad sheet/newsletter hybrid.

 Newsletters make your customers feel that they are part of your store, part of community of like-minded foodies and because they give you their personal contact information to get it, they are great prospects for repeat visits.

Need ideas?  Keep a folder handy and tear out articles in the local paper, put brochures from food shows, product literature and info from your suppliers in it.  These will be enough to draw on so you can create 4-5 news worthy items for the newsletter… and don't forget to add photos and anecdotal comments… like the fact you catered a family reunion or company picnic. 

Take nothing for granted…  I'm always impressed with comments I hear from people who get newsletters and say they found out something new!

Ron Jakubisin

jakubisin.com