Getting Started in the Food Specialty Business Basics of Food Product Development
Ingredient Functions and Selection
Food Processing
Fermentation ...
Additional Reading
Americans are consuming more than $13 billion of specialty foods a year, reports Frost and Sullivan, a New York marketing consultant group, in the completed study "Gourmet Foods in the U.S." This report cites a 20 percent per year increase in specialty food sales over the last four years. With such an explosion in popularity, it is no wonder that there has been a nationwide surge in entrepreneurship and the development of many regional food handling and processing companies. In 1989, a group of statewide cottage industries specializing in the manufacture of gourmet foods formed Georgia's Specialty Food and Wine Association. This association was established to provide a foundation for improving the promotion and marketing of specialty foods processed from Georgia's agricultural commodities. The definition of a specialty food is somewhat vague according to the National Association for Specialty Food Trade. Typically, specialty foods are low-volume manufactured from the highest quality ingredients to produce a uniquely marketable product commanding a high price. Specialty foods include, but are not limited to, fancy jams, jellies, sauces, relishes, nut and bakery products, confections, fine wines, exotic cheeses, specialty meats (pates, sausages, smoked turkey, salmon) and assorted beverages (natural sodas, sparkling water and teas). Specialty foods are marketed by mail order and through gourmet food stores, gift shops and deli departments of chain stores. | |
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