You know, there are some networking events where I go in, have a moderately not sucky time, and leave with maybe a couple of good contacts. There are others where I go in, meet maybe a couple of people, but leave wondering why the heck I signed up for it.

Then there’s Expo East. Where I walk onto a tradeshow floor, throw my hands to the sky in gratitude, and know that I have landed among My People. I had about the same reaction to this summer’s Fancy Food Show, but Expo East has the added benefit of including organic specialty care items, so I got a double whammy of “oh, shiny!”

Some education highlights:

• I’ve learned that while organic clothing and bath products (still thought of as “luxury” items) are feeling a strong hit with the economy, people who choose to buy organic produce are still buying it, despite the push to save money on food. The reason for this is that the impulse to buy organic comes from the “avoidance” factor; the consumer is looking to avoid pesticides, hormones and such in their food, and aren’t going to go back to the pesticide-laden stuff just because it’s more expensive. The bamboo towels, they can live without. The apples, notsomuch.
• Organics in general, while they are seeing a hit from the economy, are still seeing significant growth - it’s just moderating itself from the 20% yearly threshold it had been hitting since the 90’s.
• While more folks are eating in now and preferring to cook at home, they still want the great, gourmet food they would normally get at restaurants; as such, sales of specialty/gourmet foods are actually seeing pretty strong sales right now.
• In order to inspire more stay-at-home chefs and strapped consumers, while still giving them a way to eat natural, organic food, grocers are starting to create programs that help consumers work with organics in a lower-cost way. For example, a couple of chains (including Whole Foods) are instituting meal programs, where you can pay a certain amount of money and get a great organic meal. One chain had a $5 lunch program that they implemented near high schools and colleges that went over like gangbusters; another (think it was Whole Foods) did a $20 dinner package for 4.
• Other grocers are starting to do merchandising gimmicks with recipes - you have a pamphlet with a week’s worth of meal recipes with a shopping list, all using ingredients you can get for about $20. Position that alongside a display of the ingredients, and even portion some of them out so the consumer can pick up just what they need. How cool is that, I ask you?

And now (because I know you want it), the foodie highlights:

• More food - and YUMMY food - than I can possibly imagine. *cue choir of angels*
• Free bars in abundance from Larabar, Kind and Boomi Bar (by the way, Larabar has now come out with a Coconut Cream bar that is To Die, and Kind has a mango nutty thing that is, well, yeah. YUMMMMM.)
• Additional samples from Twinings, Yogi Tea, and Mighty Leaf, as well as a free bottle of iced white green from Teas Tea (my absolute favorite iced tea). Yogi Tea has a new Sweet Mexican Chili tea that is completely amazing, in the most incredibly odd way.
• The best frozen Indian food I have ever tasted in my life from Tandoor Chef. Their frozen chutneys are amazing, and the newest product in their line - it hasn’t even been released yet - is Masala “pizza” and Palak Paneer in a pastry crust. Yes, folks, it’s an Indian Hot Pocket. *Why* has nobody thought of this before? I went back for thirds.

Other highlights:

• Getting into a LONG conversation with someone from Avalon Organics about the Dr. Bronner’s, ahem, situation. According to the rep, the offending ingredient has already been formulated out of the product (it was only in one of the products). I also talked to a rep from Dr. Bronner’s, but forgot to ask him about his take. Interestingly, though, I did find out that their Sal Suds (my all time favorite dish soap) was removed from Whole Foods because it contains Sodium Laurel Sulfate as its primary ingredient.

Overall, I had some great conversations with folks about their products; what I’m loving about these tradeshows in general (aside from the full contact networking aspect of it, which I always enjoy - rather masochistically, I might add) is that it’s a concentrated group of people, and it’s *exactly* the people I want to meet - the people responsible for selling and marketing Tasty Things, and Fancy Things to Put on My Body.

I’m sure there’s more than this, but honestly, I’m wiped. That said, I will say something that I often say: my job *rocks.* Another day of fabulous starts tomorrow.

It’s fall again, and as can be expected, my tastes are changing. My obsession with berries, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes from the summer has given way to wanting apples, pears and winter squash. There are few things that I crave more in the month of October than the taste of pumpkin *anything,* so it didn’t surprise me that I was intrigued enough by New Hampshire-made Sweet Scoops Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt to pop it into my shopping cart at Russo’s, despite the fact that I’m not generally a frozen dessert kinda gal this time of year.

I don’t know if I can adequately describe how incredibly yummy this stuff is, except to say that it reminds me of really great, extra-molassesy pumpkin pie, but cold. Being a frozen yogurt, it also has the distinct advantage of being rich without being heavy, and it has only 140 calories per serving. Plus, unlike some other ice creams sold in pints (are you listening, Ben & Jerry’s?), the smooth texture and intense flavor makes it easy to enjoy without the temptation to overindulge or mistake the entire pint for one serving.

The Sweet Scoops brand is pretty interesting. Using a simple yet bold and distinctive color palette and a friendly but elegant script for the wordmark, the packaging combines old-school ice cream shop feel with a bit more of a high end look to it. What I really appreciate about it is the color scheme; while the dark blue of the background stays the same, each flavor has its own distinct (and very nicely chosen, I’ll add) accent color to designate it from the others. This serves an important purpose - it allows you to easily find your favorite flavor, while keeping the packaging simple, elegant, and interesting. Well done. 

Now I have to try the Wild Blueberry. Yum!

This week, BusinessWeek writer Karen Klein answered a question posed by a specialty food importer: How can I expand my business nationally without breaking the bank?

Klein offers a number of good options, but offers the following warning:

Just having an exclusive arrangement with your supplier doesn’t mean much unless you can convey that what you’re selling is highly desirable, says Ron Paul, president and CEO of Chicago-based Technomic, a food industry research and consulting firm. “You must convey why being exclusive is important. Say you have recognizable products tied to a well-known chef, or an interesting piece of geography,” he says. “For instance, just saying that you have an exclusive deal with a wine shop in Rome isn’t going to do much” for your marketing efforts.

This goes back to a fundamental rule of branding: before you can convince your audience why you’re worth it, you have to step into their shoes for a moment and consider what they’re realistically going to care about. Exclusivity isn’t fancy enough; “from Rome” isn’t fancy enough. When customers are going out of their way to buy imported food, they’re buying it because it’s super-special, or super-good.

The rest of the article has some really good nuts-and-bolts ideas for how to expand your specialty food business.