Last month, the Children’s Cancer Foundation held its 30th annual gala – “A Star Spangled Celebration!” This year’s honoree was the very affable Gordon Reid, president of Giant/Landover, who was joined by his lovely wife Gillian. More than 600 tickets were sold, making for a sizeable donation to the charity begun by the late Shirley Howard to help end children’s cancer. As usual, the folks at Valley Mansion by Martin’s did a fantastic job with the food and drink, posting stations of foods from different regions of the country around the ballroom. The entertainment, provided by “Bruce in the USA,” was a big hit and a good time was had by all. CCF president Dr. Jerrold Chadwick and the entire gala committee should be commended for putting together such a successful evening.
We’re very proud to present this year’s Best-Met Publishing Pete Manos Retail Executive of the Year award to Benjy Green of B. Green. Jeff and I have known Benjy since we bought Food World in 1978, and he has been a great friend and a valued business partner. B. Green will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, so this seems like the perfect time to honor Benjy and his family’s achievements in the industry. Congratulation, Benjy!
Last month, more than 22,400 members of the global fresh produce and floral industry’s supply chain convened in Anaheim, CA for the annual Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit. Highlights included thought-provoking general sessions, an expo featuring new products and trends, technologies and innovations, educational workshops that featured hot topics delivered by industry and business experts and presentations and industry engagement with Let’s Move! executive director and senior policy adviser for nutrition Sam Kass, U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) deputy commissioner of foods Mike Taylor and California Secretary of Agriculture Karen Ross.
The summit focused on inspiring kids to eat healthier and on a series of education sessions including topics like global trade, emerging floral trends, talent management and food safety. Attendees who took the conversation online with social media made history for the fresh produce and floral industry when Fresh Summit was marked as one of the most popular social media conversations around the world all day.
We know that many in the Mid- Atlantic food industry spend many days at meetings and shows in New York and have visited the world famous steak house Peter Luger’s. Last month according to a public-opinion poll conducted by Zagat Surveys (owned by Google, Inc.), Peter Luger serves the best burger in New York, followed by Burger Joint. The survey was based on flavor, value and ingredients.
Minetta Tavern, B&B Winepub, Spotted Pig, and Umami Burger followed, all scoring 22 points against 24 for Peter Luger and 23 for Burger Joint. DuMont Burger, Shake Shack and Keens score 21, while Melon took 10th place, with 20. Peter Luger’s Luger-Burger and Minetta Tavern’s Black Label were tops for flavor and ingredients, while Burger Joint scored for value.
According to the survey, the best new restaurant in New York is Sushi Nakazawa, in the West Village, while Eric Ripert’s LeBernardin retained its crown as tops for food for a sixth year, according to Zagat. Daniel led for decor and Gramercy Tavern was the most popular.
By specialty, the winners were: Mighty Quinn’s for barbecue; La Colombe for coffee; Red Farm for dim sum; Ample Hills for ice cream; Pearl Oyster Bar for the lobster roll; Paulie Gee’s for pizza; Chuko for ramen; Il Bamabino for a sandwich. I can attest to the excellence of the lobster roll at Pearl Oyster Bar – it is one of my favorite lunches when Kathy and I make our annual trek to see the holiday displays.
Le Bernardin scored 29 for food. It was followed by Bouley (also 29); Jean-Georges, Gotham Bar & Grill, Eleven Madison Park, Daniel, Sushi Yasuda, Gramercy Tavern, Peter Luger, La Grenouille, Annisa and Sea Fire Grill (all on 28).
New Yorkers report eating out 5.4 times a week (breakfast, lunch and dinner), compared with 5.2 times for diners nationally. The average spend on a dinner out is $48.15 a person, compared with a national average of $39.40, Zagat said. These results are based on a public-opinion survey of 30,592. Ratings and reviews from the “2015 NYC Restaurant Survey” is available at Zagat.com.
Walmart, Target, Coca-Cola and Pepsi are among the top 10 most beloved brands of Millennials, according to the 2015 Top Millennial Brand Ranking Report released recently by Moosylvania (http://moosylvania.com), an independent digital advertising agency. The brand comparison study was conducted with Millennials in two separate surveys over the course of nine months.
In addition to their favorite brands, Millennials participating in the latest study identified key media traits that transform a high-awareness brand into a beloved brand. Important brand characteristics that matter most to Millennials include high-quality products (75 percent), would recommend this brand (61 percent), fits their personality (53 percent), shares similar interests (39 percent), social responsibility (40 percent), and says important things (31 percent).
Norty Cohen, founder and CEO of Moosylvania said, “Millennials are not just consumers – they’re friends. They trust friends who listen to them, are open and honest, remember their names, are consistent and stay true to who they are.”
The soda giants – Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and PepsiCo have pledged to reduce beverage calories consumed per person nationally by 20 percent by 2025. The “Balance Calories Initiative” was announced by the companies at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York as part of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
“I’m excited about the potential of this voluntary commitment by the beverage industry,” President Bill Clinton said in a statement. “It can be a critical step in our ongoing fight against obesity.”
The beverage companies will leverage their marketing, innovation and distribution capabilities to increase consumer interest in and access to beverage options to help consumers reduce calories consumed. Through these efforts, water and other lower-calorie beverages are expected to grow significantly.
Each beverage company will provide calorie counts, and promote calorie awareness on all beverage company-controlled point-of-sale equipment nationwide, including more than 3 million vending machines, self-serve fountain dispensers, and retail coolers in food stores, restaurants and other locations. Among other efforts, the companies’ end aisle and checkout displays will feature only reduced-calorie beverages; reduced-calorie beverages will be repositioned on shelves; and coupons will be provided for no/lower-calorie options.
The beverage companies will retain an independent, third-party evaluator, in conjunction with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, to track progress and interim benchmarks toward their commitments.
Five female convenience industry veterans were named Women of the Year at the Top Women in Convenience by Convenience Store News during an awards breakfast last month in Las Vegas.
The event also honored other outstanding women leaders, “rising stars” and store managers.
The five honored were Kim Bowers, president and CEO of CST Brands Inc.; Gwen Forman, vice president of marketing at Cumberland Farms Inc.; Allison Moran, CEO of RaceTrac Petroleum Inc.; Barbara Poremba, vice president of national retail sales at Coca-Cola Refreshments; and Jennifer Rhodes, CEO at Ohio Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Association.
Congratulations to Beverly Lynch on being appointed president of the Food Industry Association Executives (FIAE) effective April 1, 2015. Lynch has a 34-plus year career working in all aspects of association management. She currently serves as a consultant to her former company – the Advocacy and Management Group (AMG), which manages 14 state-based associations and lobbies for a variety of professional clients. She has held a variety of positions with the National Grocers Association, the New Jersey Food Council, New Jersey Food Processors Association and the New Jersey Department of Commerce and Economic Development.
A very Happy Birthday wish is extended to of all things, The Panama Canal, which is 100 years old this year.
Happy Thanksgiving!