Gourmet News

Bell Achieves 12th Excellent Safe Quality Food Safety Rating

Published January 5, 2023

Bell Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. has completed its annual SQF Food Safety Program Audit conducted by the Safe Quality Food Institute. This past year marked the 12^th consecutive audit resulting in an Excellent rating (96/100) achieved at its headquarters in Northbrook, Ill.

Each of Bell’s global locations, including Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Germany, Singapore, China and New York undergo this rigorous audit annually. Bell’s additional North American sites – Canada (96/100), Mexico (100/100) and New York (98/100) – also obtained the highest rating of Excellent.

“The SQF Food Safety Program is well-known across the food industry, utilizing a food safety and quality standard that is internationally recognized and emphasizes compliance in the application of HACCP for food safety hazards. Preparation required preparation and collaboration from various Bell departments, including Operations, Production, Quality Control, Safety and more, to ensure that all documents, systems and equipment are compliant to the SQF standard, and we’re proud to be continually recognized for our achievement,” said Kathleen Hoppie, senior quality system manager.

The program, as part of the Safe Quality Food Institute, is a “rigorous and credible food safety and quality program that is recognized by retailers, brand owners and food service providers worldwide. Recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative, the SQF family of food safety and quality codes are designed to meet industry, customer and regulatory requirements for all sectors of the food supply chain – from the farm all the way to the retail stores” (SQF Institute, 2023).

A variety of SQF Programs are available for implementation at the supplier level (e.g., SQF Fundamentals Program and SQF Ethical Sourcing Program), with Bell actively participating in the three-day audit spanning key categories such as waste disposal, water treatment, ventilation, food defense and more.

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Giant Food Urges Communities to ‘Find Your Local’

Published January 4, 2023

Giant Food, the leading greater Washington D.C. regional grocery chain, has launched a brand campaign, “Find Your Local.” Dedicated to all things local, the campaign theme calls attention to Giant’s longtime commitment to the communities it serves across areas of educational programs, partnerships, and product offerings.

Running through the end of the year and featuring four vignettes from real Giant shoppers —Marcellus, Isabelle, Diane, and Courtney, the spots highlight the connections Giant forms with customers through benefits including its Healthy Living programs and its commitment to sourcing local. Giant Food offers over 1,000 items from more than 100 local vendors. All commercials were shot locally and produced using local businesses and a workforce that was over 85 percent from the DMV region.

“We are proud of the community we serve, and it is always a pleasure to work directly with our local businesses and customers,” said Kathryn Kowalzik, director of marketing, strategy and media at Giant Food. “We are continuously pushing to find new opportunities to expand our reach to our community and neighbors, and these commercials highlight some of those efforts and the relationships created through them.”

Working with local DC-Metro area creative shop RP3 Agency, Giant’s agency of record since May 2018, the Find Your Local campaign consists of TV, radio, social media, mobile, digital, in-store and out-of-home.

“Few retailers can claim to be as truly local as Giant. The chain started 86 years ago in downtown D.C. and grew to what it is today—a staple in every neighborhood. No other grocer knows the local unique tastes and traditions as well as Giant and this campaign is a perfect reflection of that,” said RP3 Founder-CEO Beth Johnson.

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Kona Gold La Lemin Lemonades to Be Distributed in Minnesota

Published January 4, 2023

Kona Gold Beverage, Inc., a holding company focused on product development in the better-for-you and functional beverage sector has signed distribution agreements with Dahlheimer Beverage and Michaud Distributing in Minnesota. Dahlheimer and Michaud will be distributing the company’s quickly growing 12-ounce sparkling and 16-ounce non-sparkling Ooh La Lemin Lemonades across Minnesota.

Dahlheimer is a third-generation family-owned business, started over 60 years ago, and it has since grown into a full beverage distributor. Dahlheimer services approximately 4,800 customers across 54 counties in Minnesota, reaching from the northern tip to the southern border.

Michaud Distributing is a fourth-generation family-owned company. Michaud, also started 60 years ago and prides itself on superior customer service and cover both Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin.

“I’m pleased to announce that in our efforts to distribute our Ooh La Lemin Lemonades across the entire state of Minnesota, we have partnered with two top distributors, Dahlheimer and Michaud,” stated Robert Clark, CEO of Kona Gold Beverage, Inc. “Our team is excited to be expanding our footprint in the great state of Minnesota with our Ooh La Lemin Lemonade beverage line. Dahlheimer and Michaud will be key in facilitating growth and give us the coverage we need in their markets as we look forward to growing the partnerships in 2023.”

Kona Gold Beverage recently announced it closed out 2022 with a record revenue month in December compared to all previous Decembers in Company history with approximate revenues of just over $400,000. This is a display of strength in sales as December is generally the slowest month in the beverage industry. Kona Gold Beverage also finished the quarter with approximately $1,190,000 in revenue, its second strongest quarter in Company history.

Kona Gold Beverage, Inc., a Delaware corporation, has created wholly owned subsidiaries, Kona Gold LLC, HighDrate, LLC, and Gold Leaf Distribution, LLC. Kona Gold, LLC has developed a premium hemp-Infused energy drink line.

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