Happy February! I just ordered a book that I think you might be interested in, too. But first, let me tell you where I bought this book – at bookshop.org. While Amazon is my go-to for books to listen to (and I listen to a lot of books), if I’m going to buy a hard copy, I prefer to support independent bookstores. However, I’m not always sure the book I want will be available at my local shop (we have a few in this area), so I often go to bookshop.org. This website connects readers looking for books to local bookstores, in order to help them stay alive against Amazon and the big retail chains. The organization donates profits directly to bookstores—both the funds from direct purchases and their profit pool that’s split between their more than 1,600 member stores. There’s really nothing better than browsing through books in person, but when I don’t have time, bookshop.org is the next best thing. You can get pre-orders as well as already published works, both hardbound and in paperback. And, egift cards are available as well.
Anyway, the book I just ordered, “The Joy of Costco: A Treasure Hunt from A to Z,” was written by David and Susan Schwartz, a couple from the Upper East Side of Manhattan who decided to take on the task of learning as much about the club store operator as possible. I discovered the book when reading a story in the February 1 issue of the New York Times, which included an engaging interview with the couple.
Their quest to learn all things Costco-related began after David had completed his manuscript for “The Last Man Who Knew Everything, The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age” which was published in 2018. He was brainstorming subjects for his next venture when Susan, a long-time Costco shopper, came up with the Costco idea (after nixing several subjects her husband had proposed as potentially too boring). When they agreed the Costco book couldn’t possibly be boring – after all it would be about treasure hunting – they began a two-year journey that encompassed 222,000 miles and more than 200 Costco units in 13 countries. Plus, they managed to meet with the warehouse operator’s co-founder and then-CEO Jim Sinegal, who disagreed with the Schwartz’s opinion on the level of interest such a book could generate. However, the would-be experts were able to convince him to meet them, and Sinegal bought them lunch in a Costco store near the company’s Issaquah, WA headquarters. While he had pooh-poohed their concept, he did respond to many of their emails during their fact-finding trips, and ultimately read and reviewed their manuscript for accuracy.
Among the tidbits included in the book is the fact that Costco is the world’s largest importer of olive oil and cashews. Something else I didn’t know – Costco’s business centers sell even larger sizes than regular Costco warehouses do — such as 56-gallon cans of maple syrup, five-pound jars of curry powder and 32-pound containers of sour cream, for example. I look forward to digging into the pages of the tome when I get my copy. From the preview pages I could see at bookshop.org, the pages are laid out like an actual treasure hunt – lots of graphics and fun facts.
I remember when Newman’s Own was launched by the late actor Paul Newman and author A. E. Hotchner in 1982. The concept of the brand was started by a homemade salad dressing that the two of them prepared themselves and gave to friends as gifts. Later, Newman and Hotchner decided to commercialize the dressing for sale, financing it with $20,000 each to get started. Following the dressing’s initial success, they added spaghetti sauce, lemonade, popcorn, fruit cocktail juices, frozen pizza, salsa, grape juice, and several other products. Newman’s Own premium wines was launched in 2008.
What makes the brand different from so many others is the fact that the company donates 100 percent of its after-tax profits to charity through Newman’s Own Foundation, a private nonprofit established to support child-focused programs, which it still does today.
Last month, the brand announced it has entered into a partnership with the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) to become the associate sponsor of the 2024 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship.
Newman’s Own will be featured on-site at the CAA Women’s Basketball Championship from March 13-17 in the nation’s capital, as the winning program clinches a spot in the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. The partnership includes Newman’s Own branding on social media graphics, TV visible signage, and features on the CAA Women’s Basketball website. Additionally, Newman’s Own will enjoy multiple promotions during the CAA tournament on FloSports, culminating in the women’s championship title game to be played in front of a national television audience on the CBS Sports Network.
“As a proud sponsor of the CAA Women’s Basketball Championship and Monmouth Hawks Women’s Basketball program in the Northeast, Newman’s Own celebrates the extraordinary talent, resilience and teamwork exhibited by women and girls in sports,” said Nicole Malcolm-Manyara, chief marketing officer at Newman’s Own, Inc. “Over the years we have witnessed the imbalance in coverage and sponsorship for women’s sports and are excited to help reduce that disparity and support young female athletes just as our founder, Paul Newman, supported women in cinema throughout his career.”
The CAA has established itself as one of the nation’s top collegiate conferences both athletically and academically for nearly four decades. It has produced 18 national team champions in five different sports, 33 individual national champions, 15 national players of the year, 15 national coaches of the year and 13 Honda Award winners. Just as impressive are the honors its athletes have accumulated away from competition, which include five Rhodes Scholars and 25 NCAA postgraduate scholars.
Membership in the conference has reached its highest point in the league’s nearly 40-year history, with 14 institutions spread across nine states, including several in the Food World marketing area, including University of Delaware (Newark, DE), , Hampton University (Hampton, VA), Towson University (Towson, MD) and William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA).
It’s great to see a national brand supporting women and girls in sports – well done, Newman’s Own.
This month’s cross-branding opportunity, reported last month by FoodDive, finds a new lip balm line being introduced through a partnership between two Clorox brands – Burt’s Bees and Hidden Valley Ranch. This is another limited time offer and the lip balms come in 4-packs featuring the flavors of your favorite chicken wings – Ranch, Buffalo Sauce, Crunchy Celery and Crunchy Carrot (where’s the blue cheese?). This follows last year’s collaboration between Hidden Valley and Van Leeuwen on a ranch-flavored ice cream and a 2021 partnership that featured a holiday edition of eggnog flavored with the signature seasoning. What will they think of next?
FoodDive also brought to my attention the fact that Kraft Singles is launching three new flavors of its sliced cheese, the first time it’s done so in nearly a decade. They are Jalapeno, Garlic & Herb and Caramelized Onion. According to Kraft Heinz, about 25 percent of U.S. households have Kraft Singles in their refrigerators, and the company has identified innovations as the single biggest contributor to help it generate its goal of $2 billion in incremental net sales by 2027. It seems likely the new flavors will help Kraft Heinz meet that benchmark – the popularity of flavored cheeses has led sales in the category to rise 20 percent from 2021 to 2022. The new flavors will be in addition to the current flavored varieties available, Sharp Cheddar and Pepper Jack, both introduced in 2017.
I might give the Caramelized Onion flavor a try next time we do burgers on the grill – when it’s warm again!
Let me know what’s on your mind – drop me a note at [email protected]. More to come next month.