Forty-five years ago this month, two guys from Boston, Dick Bestany and Jeff Metzger, made their way over the Mason-Dixon line to Maryland and formed Best-Met Publishing Co., Inc., purchasing Food World and then Food Trade News. In the years that followed, they built a strong business delivering, as Jeff puts it, “a combination of news, opinion and humor” to members of the food industry in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast markets of the USA. The industry has evolved; retailer mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, and technological advances (read e-commerce) have kept us on our toes, yet Food World and Food Trade News continue to give you the best we have to offer. Happy 45th Birthday to us…and many more to follow!
So, here we are, 53 years after the first Earth Day, still talking about how to invest in our planet so future generations can enjoy life on Earth. Have we made progress in those years, yes, but there is still so much more to be done. It’s the little things that hopefully make a difference in the future. Last year, New Jersey banned single use plastic shopping bags. Bravo! However, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (also called the seventh continent at 620,000 square miles), the world’s biggest ocean waste repository, with 1.8 billion pieces of floating plastic which kill thousands of marine animals each year, continues to grow. One of Philadelphia’s own manufacturers, Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages (Liberty) is leading the way in the beverage industry when it comes to implementing sustainability efforts. Along with maintaining the Coca-Cola Company’s commitment to creating a “World Without Waste,” Liberty has made significant investments in technology to support its sustainability initiatives across its entire distribution footprint. Liberty is the first local Coca-Cola bottler to produce bottles made entirely of food-grade recycled plastic that can be reprocessed back into the system several times, ensuring a circular economy. They have switched from those plastic rings around cans and bottles that get stuck on sea creatures, to KeelCli paperboard packaging, becoming the first bottler in the United States to replace the plastic ring holders with fiber-based consumer packaging thereby removing 75,000 pounds of plastic per year from the supply chain. They have installed a sustainable compacter, the Xcycler, that significantly reduces Liberty’s carbon footprint and processes large volumes of full plastic and aluminum liquid containers for recycling. Liberty has also committed to lowering emissions, adding 250 new lower-emission trucks to their fleet in 2022. In addition, rooftop solar panels have been installed at the company’s South Brunswick facility. In their largest investment to support sustainability efforts, Liberty has joined with Clarke Energy USA, Inc. a Kohler Company, to create the first quadgeneration production plant in the U.S. The town of Greenburgh’s planning board recently approved the plans, paving the way for installation at the bottler’s Elmsford, NY facility. The quadgeneration process will allow the facility to generate its own electricity, heat, cooling, and recover carbon dioxide (CO2) for beverage production. Generating energy using combined heat and power technology will deliver significant carbon savings versus grid sourced electricity. Additionally, recovering CO2 further improves the environmental performance of the system by reducing the need to source it from the market.
“As a beverage manufacturer driven by ensuring environmental responsibility, we are proud to partner with Clarke Energy to deliver an advanced energy system at our Elmsford facility,” said Paul Mulligan, co-owner of Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages. “Through Clarke Energy’s technology, we will be able to generate our own beverage-grade quality CO2 for our products while simultaneously powering our bottling plant.” Liberty currently imports CO2 to the facility by delivery trucks. The CO2 is injected into the beverages to provide the carbonation or “fizz.” With the installation of the new technology, the company will be able to recover CO2 directly from the engine exhaust systems and clean it to create beverage-grade quality CO2 to be used in Liberty products. The process will eliminate hundreds of trucks annually from the local roads. “This complex technology will substantially reduce Liberty’s carbon emissions through high efficiency local energy production,” said Jamie Clarke, CEO of Clarke Energy. “With the benefits of the recent Inflation Reduction Act and increased price of CO2 globally, this provides many opportunities for carbon capture technologies in the United States.”
“We want to congratulate Liberty Coca-Cola on this ground-breaking announcement. Liberty’s unwavering dedication towards driving innovative solutions across their operations is truly inspiring,” said Kurt Ritter, VP and GM of sustainability for North America, The Coca-Cola Company. “We are proud to partner with Liberty and advance their sustainability initiatives in an innovative and impactful way.”
Thanks for investing in our planet, Liberty!
Retailers are also in the “give Mother Nature a break” mode. This month, Acme is reaffirming its commitment to plastic waste reduction and reminding customers about its newly updated plastic bag and recycling collection bins, now available at all Acme stores across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland and Connecticut. The new bins are made from sustainable materials and include visual graphics to help customers identify recyclables. The upgraded receptacles are conveniently placed near store entrances to encourage customers to recycle the plastic bags and wrap packaging that are typically not eligible for the city’s residential recycling program. The plastic bags and packaging collected at the store are combined with plastic pallet wrap used in the store’s operations and sent to Trex, the world’s largest manufacturer of wood-alternative composite decking and railing. Trex then turns the plastic recyclables into long-lasting composite decking, sustainably made from 95 percent recycled and reclaimed materials.
“We want to provide a meaningful solution to a growing plastic waste problem by giving customers a convenient option for recycling everyday household plastics such as empty bread and cereal bags, food and juice pouches, as well as used shopping bags, so they don’t end up in our landfill and pollute our environment,” said Jim Perkins, president of Acme Markets.
Acme recently introduced the upgraded recycling bins as part of the company’s efforts to increase the circularity of its private label Own Brands’ packaging. At the end of 2022, Acme parent Albertsons Cos. achieved its goal to provide recycling instructions on more than 7,000 Own Brands packaged products through the use of the How2Recycle label and QR codes. In addition, more than 40,000 store-made items now feature recycling information on scale labels and other packaging, directing customers to an informative new recycling page. What is your company doing to reduce waste and increase recycling?
Saint Joseph’s University Academy of Food Marketing hosted its second annual Future Food Industry Leaders (FFIL) Rising Star Training Conference at the end of March. Kudos to Alison Nolan, director of events and sponsorships at the Academy of Food Marketing, for putting this education packed weeklong conference. During the kickoff dinner, Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger of Notre Dame football fame, gave an inspiring speech to the attendees, titled “Dream Big!” He had some good advice, having been down and out at times during his life, telling the guests to not live in regret, believe in yourself and be open to change/ eap out of your comfort zone. Photos from the event are on page 30 of this issue. For those of you who do not know, the FFIL is hosted by the East Coast Retailer and Supplier Coalition on behalf of the Academy of Food Marketing at Saint Joseph’s University. Retailers, wholesalers and foodservice providers are welcome to join the coalition at any time. Food, beverage and consumer packaged goods manufacturers and third-party vendors that support the industry are invited and encouraged to participate. FFIL is an annual program delivering three key benefits for your organization: recruiting entry-level talent, continuing education for current employees, and industry networking. Two events, the Industry Networking and Recruitment Reception on SJU’s campus and the Rising Star Training Conference held off campus are held annually for sponsors and their company representatives. For more information, contact Alison Nolan at [email protected].
In other St. Joe’s news, this fall, SJU’s Haub School of Business will introduce a Doctor in Business Administration (DBA) to its academic portfolio. The practice-focused doctorate program is designed for industry executives and senior management professionals looking to advance their careers and devise innovative solutions to complex, real-world business problems. Dr. Joe DiAngelo Jr., EdD, dean of the Haub School of business said, “I am proud of our first doctoral degree. The response thus far has been very good. The program is for experienced practitioners/executives and for practitioners who wish to transition to a career at the university level.” He continued, “Professionals who graduate with a DBA are able to differentiate themselves from the many MBA-holders in the competitive landscape. By expanding their knowledge and skill sets, they become leading experts in their fields who are primed for c-suite positions.”
The DBA is a three-year, part-time cohorted program offering a hybrid of online instruction and intensive, in-person residencies. “The residencies are high-level, executive-style opportunities in which students have the opportunity to network not only with other students and faculty, but also with industry leaders,” says Deborah Haak, director of Haub’s graduate programs. To learn more and inquire about enrollment, please contact her at [email protected].
Heaven gained another angel on March 23 when Nick Loggia Sr. retired from Bimbo Bakeries, passed away at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital just four days shy of his 66th birthday. Nick’s full obituary is on page 31. He was a loyal employee, staying with one company for his whole career. That loyalty carried over to his family life on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. He cherished every moment spent with them, be it teaching them his legendary furniture making skills, or taking them on trips to the Outer Banks or Sicily. His son Nick Jr. lovingly spoke of his dad at the funeral Mass. He reminded all in attendance what he learned from his father: what matters most is how you make people feel; and he made sure his family was respected, cared for, and loved. Nick Sr. always had a lesson, joke or story you could take with you and facts should never get in the way of any good story. I will especially miss seeing Nick and Val’s cooking adventures on Facebook (they would make anyone’s mouth water), hearing about his trips, and his friendship of many years. Nick was an amazing conversationalist, and we spoke mostly about business, food, and of course, our beloved Sicily. Riposa in pace, amico mio.
Love was in the air on March 18 as Emily Kolhas, John Vena, Inc., and her long-time love James DeMarsh, Mid-Atlantic Regional Cooperative (part of Feeding PA) tied the knot surrounded by family and friends in Massachusetts. We send them a lifetime of happiness as they embark on this new chapter. Best wishes!
Hot off the IDDBA press comes the announcement of this year’s speakers at the IDDBA 2023 being held in Anaheim June 4-6. Award winning actor Tom Hanks will be the keynote speaker along with bestselling author Alton Brown and Emmy-nominated food expert Padma Lakshmi. If you haven’t registered yet, go to https://www.iddba.org/iddba-show/about/iddba-2023.
Celebrating another trip around the sun this month are: Lou Eni Jr., Dietz & Watson; Ed Herr, Herr Foods; Theresa Lowden, JOH Produce; Ron Benjamin, Affinity Group; Scott Vicari, PromoPoint Marketing; and Dominic Botto, Botto’s Sausage. Buon compleanno a tutti!
Quote of the month: “Don’t react…respond.” Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger
Maria can be reached at 443.631.0172 or [email protected]