Back from the Las Vegas Market

I've just returned from the Las Vegas Market, where I visited with Vietri, saw what Charles Viancin is up to this year, and looked at the new items in Jessie Steele's collection. I also talked to tag's national sales director about the company's direction following the death of founder Norman Glassberg. It's too soon to reveal what I learned about that, though -- you'll have to wait for the news in the September issue of Kitchenware News & Housewares Review. For now, suffice it to say that there's definitely a plan, and the company is moving forward under the leadership of Norman's daughter Jessica Glassberg.

Nibblins Celebrates a Decade of Helping its Community Make Great Culinary Experiences at Home

I had the pleasure of interviewing Susan Dolinar and Elise Stine of Nibblins, a kitchenware and gourmet food store in Winchester, Va. for the retailer profile that appeared in September issues of Kitchenware News & Housewares Review and Gourmet News. Read it here. 

Reality TV as a Source of Solid Business Advice

Last week I interviewed Chris Cornyn, a branding expert specializing in the specialty foods industry, who is one of the mentors for a Lifetime network tv program called "Supermarket Superstore." The premise of the show is that contestants who have a product that they'd like to bring to market come to the program to be challenged on the business decisions that must be made along the way. They get advice on how to build a brand, and I gather that they progress through the program based on their success in following that advice. Then at the end, the winner will get a package of services from Cornyn's agency, DINE Marketing, and a chance to pitch their products to supermarket buyers.

In Praise of the Un(der)appreciated Surface RT

I wrote about blogging my way around a trade show for Consumer Electronics Daily News here. The trade show in question was the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York. I started on the first day just by wandering into the exhibit hall and writing quickly about whatever booths caught my eye on a quick tour. When I had several bits, I just headed back to the show's press office to go online, and I posted it as a walking tour through the show.   Next, I went to the New Brands on the Shelf Pavilion, an arrangement that the Specialty Food Association makes for new companies that participate in the association's incubator program for new food businesses. The next day, I started the day by thinking about what I'd seen the previous day and what themes I could use to organize new stories. Then I went back to the show floor to look for booths that were showing great holiday ideas and booths that offered healthy food choices. No shortage of ideas there. I used Scribbler the Surface RT, to take pictures of the products and the booths as I went along, and when I went back to the press room to connect, it was just a matter of copying and pasting from my Word document, adding in the pictures and hitting the Publish button. Couldn't have been easier, and the booth-holders were grateful that I was putting up my stories and sending them out to our Gourmet Newswire readers while we were all still at the show.