Category: Wine & Beverage

BrewExpo America 2016: A Stake In Philly, Not a Rocky Commitment…

logo@1xAs Nelson-Jameson continues to supply the craft beer industry with a mixture of laboratory products, maintenance/repair/operations supplies, and processing products, we are always on the lookout for resources that can help us anticipate our brewery customers’ needs. If you haven’t been before, the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America® is a prolific place to take in the newest developments in the industry from a rich array of industry professionals and suppliers.

Nelson-Jameson will be in attendance this year at Brew Expo America® in Philadelphia. Whether you are talking lab supplies, instrumentation and equipment, color-coded offerings, hosing, or even engineering products and services through our sister company Kaestner, we’re here to help!

I personally will be sitting in with Nasco, maker of the very popular Whirl-Pak® bag, on Wednesday, May 4th. If you will be attending the show, I would like to invite you to booth #3714 to check out an array of Whirl-Pak products, as well as discussing any supply needs that your brewery may have that Nelson-Jameson could provide.

Then, on Thursday, May 5th, Jeff Turnbull, Technical Sales Specialist, will be sitting in with Allied Purchasing (booth #3521).  Jeff will be there to discuss how Allied and Nelson-Jameson can help you with an array of products, including processing and flow control offerings.

For more information on the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America® click here.  To sneak a peek into our Whirl-Pak offerings before the show, click here.  To check out Allied Purchasing, click here.

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Happy Planuary

Source: American Institute for Cancer Research

Source: American Institute for Cancer Research

Although January isn’t the beginning of our fiscal year, it’s still a month of forecasts, resolutions, predictions and plans. Lots of plans. Basically, it’s Planuary. The strategic mapping of the future can seem tedious to some, but as trend-watchers, it’s one of our favorite months of the year. Planuary’s the time when industry media, food experts and food processors cast their predictions for what food and beverages will be hot in food service and food retail. So, what will we be eating and drinking in 2016?

Building Blocks
Two of the cornerstone components of balanced nutrition will be in the spotlight this year: fat and protein. The consumer view on fat has come “full-circle”, according to one industry expert. Fat is no longer looked at as necessarily unhealthy, as consumers look towards cleaner labels, more natural ingredients, increased satiety and maintaining balanced diets. Nuts, seeds, avocados and plant-based oils are increasingly popular, as are full-fat dairy products. In fact, butter sales over the last couple of years have been the highest in decades. Rendered chicken fat, beef tallow and pork fat are also gaining traction. Basically, fat is back in all its glory, and our taste buds couldn’t be happier.

Protein, a hot trend over the past decade or so, shows no sign of slowing down. Plant-based protein will be especially big in 2016, with oat-, pea- and soy- proteins all gaining market favor. Nuts, seeds and grains will also be big. The Middle Eastern staple Freekah and the ancient grain Amaranth are vying to be the new quinoa. Mushrooms, an often overlooked source of protein, are set to have a big year as well—domestic production and value are currently at an all-time high. Look for our favorite fungi to be blended into both meat- and plant-based dishes and products with more frequency. Looks like 2016 will be protein-packed and health-focused!

Playing Cooking with Fire
Grillmasters rejoice—this is your year. “Charred”, “burnt”, “grilled” and “fire-roasted” will popping up on menus and in stores across the US. Cocktails, entrees and desserts are all getting their smoke on, as consumers gravitate toward more unique and stronger flavors. Look for this fire-fad to develop into a full-on trend, as it can be applied to almost any food or beverage in various ways.

Take Your Pulse(s)
No, not that pulse. In culinary terms, pulses are lentils, dry beans, beans, and chickpeas. The United Nations is so certain that pulses will soon peak in popularity that it has dubbed 2016 the “International Year of Pulses”. Pulses already make up 75 percent of the average diet in developing countries, but only 25 percent in developed countries. The UN is hoping to change that with increased awareness, as pulses pack almost as much protein as meat per ounce, use less water to produce than meat and are relatively inexpensive. So, it’s a nutritional, sustainability and economic win-win-win.

Pop Pop Fizz Fizz
Bubbly beverages and tangy drinks are predicted to be quite “pop”-ular in 2016. Fermented beverages containing probiotics like kefir and kombucha are carving permanent space on grocery shelves, and hard sodas and ciders are increasing in popularity with the millennial generation. Drinking vinegars are even gaining a strong following. Sounds like sour pusses and puckered pouts will be a frequent expression for many consumers this year.

All of these macro- and micro- trends boil down to three main drivers: flavor, adventure and health. We’ll be watching these and other trends closely over the next year so that we can better anticipate the needs of our customers. Nelson-Jameson’s looking forward to a successful and productive 2016!

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Nelson-Jameson Pulls Up a Chair for this Round: BrewExpo America 2015

Source: Brewers Association

Source: Brewers Association

Over the past several years, Nelson Jameson, Inc. has had the good fortune to work with an array of breweries across the United States. Though historically situated in other areas of the food industry, NJ has come to be a trusted source of maintenance, safety, lab, cleaning, process, and material handling supplies for a wide array of customers, including breweries.

The craft brewing renaissance has exposed us to new customers, but thankfully our understanding of how to meet the needs and creative vision of craft and artisan cheesemakers has prepared us well for working with the craft beer industry.

We’ll be attending BrewExpo this year in Portland, Oregon, April 15th-April 17th and sitting in with our friends at Nasco, makers of the Whirl-Pak bag the afternoon of Thursday, April 16th from 1-5pm.

Please feel free to stop by the Nasco’s booth (#536) to check out an array of Whirl-Pak products throughout the show, and on the afternoon of the 16th to see how Nelson Jameson, Inc. might be able to help you reduce POs, while supplying a wide-array of competitively-priced products for your operation.

Or, to find out more about what we have available for your brewery, including products from suppliers like Nasco, 3M, Mettler-Toledo, Carlisle, Rubbermaid, and Remco, along with a whole host of other services and supplies, click here.

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Now Trending

At the beginning of each calendar year, The Wide Line publishes a blog summarizing upcoming food processing, restaurant and grocery trends. In preparation, we comb through industry journals, blogs, briefs, articles and websites for the latest and greatest in the world of food. We then whittle it down to the pacesetters, the sure-bets and the must-knows. So, without further ado, here are the food fads that will most impact what we produce and consume in 2015:

Asian Invasion

Matcha Tea (Source: Japanese Green Tea)

Matcha Tea (Source: Japanese Green Tea)

Through travel and tech, the world’s population is becoming increasingly culturally-savvy. Consumers have developed more sophisticated palates, wanting to experience bold and exotic foods and flavors reflective of their curiosities and interests. Look for regional Asian cuisine, like Japanese and Fillipino, to make appearances on menus and in grocery aisles. Japanese matcha tea, praised for its antioxidant and metabolic properties, will flavor everything from ice cream to sushi; while binchotan, an odorless, smokeless Japanese charcoal, will cook foods quickly and cleanly. Fermented foods (like Korean kimchi) will also continue to gain popularity, while coconut sugar will gain market traction with health and sustainability claims.

Eat Local & Read the Label

Prep Pad (Source: The Orange Chef Co.)

Prep Pad (Source: The Orange Chef Co.)

As opinions on sustainability, food ethics and ingredients become more culturally-pervasive, consumers increasingly want to know exactly what they’re eating and from where it came. Look for more locally-sourced meats, locally-grown produce and locally-crafted foods popping up in restaurants and supermarkets. Grains milled on-site for use in pasta, bread and pizza will also gain momentum. Along similar philosophies, food packaging will begin to move toward “clear” labeling, making package claims simpler and more transparent for the consumer. “Prep Pad”, a new countertop scale that links with an iPad, can also give its owners more detailed nutritional information.

Artisan Everything

Artisan cheeses (Source: Saveur)

Artisan cheeses (Source: Saveur)

The coveted consumer group known as “Millenials”—those born from 1982 to the early 2000’s—have embraced the artisanal food movement through their love of unique foods with authentic origins. For years, craft breweries have been at the forefront of the trend. Look for them to continue to lead the way by experimenting with ingredients known as “gruits” (herbs, spices and aromatics) in order to broaden taste profiles. Microdistilled spirits are also gaining popularity in the artisan beverage category, while artisan cheeses and ice cream are trending in the dairy category. Artisan butchery and house-cured meats are becoming increasingly popular in foodservice.

Protein’s Still King

Protein sources in food (Source: Functional Fitness)

Protein sources in food (Source: Functional Fitness)

A recent industry report concluded that “protein is the hottest functional food ingredient trend in the United States”. Protein is being added to food in order to “deliver a large range of benefits” from “promoting satiety” to helping with “weight loss and management”. Protein-rich grains and seeds, led by the ever-popular quinoa, will continue their impressive popularity. Rice, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, kamut, spelt, freekah and farro will also become increasingly pervasive. In the meat and poultry category, quality and origin are increasingly important, while dairy is finding its way into new snacks, beverages and savory products. Eggs, Legumes and Nuts are also growing in popularity as alternative forms of protein.

Smokin’ Hot

A smoker used to make a cocktail (Source: New York Times)

A smoker used to make a cocktail (Source: New York Times)

Consumers will increasingly seek bolder, more intense flavor experiences. Smoking food “deepens flavor and aroma, adding richness to meals and drinks.” Based upon the rise of hot sauces such as sriracha, smoked food is predicted to be everywhere—from vegetables and butters to cocktails and cheese. Watch for home-cooks using backyard smokers and adding liquid smoke to recipes.

 
Despite increased awareness of health and nutrition and a growing appetite for adventurous cuisine, consumers still rely on three main factors when making decisions regarding food: convenience, taste and price. So, food processors—anticipate the trends, but remember the motivators. People may change what, how and why they eat, but they still gotta to eat.

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Nelson-Jameson Release 2014-2015 Edition of Buyers Guide

NJ_2014_15BG_cover (1)MARSHFIELD, WIS., June 5, 2014 – Nelson-Jameson, Inc. announces the release of the much anticipated 2014-2015 edition of their Buyers Guide.

Customers will notice that the new edition includes more than 50 additional pages of new and innovative products for the food and dairy industries including expanded offerings in the popular color-coded and metal detectable product lines. The easy-to-use “How to Order” boxes, terminology, and other guides were expanded to help provide customers with a one-stop source to find the right product for their applications.

The newly designed color-coded insert also includes eight additional pages of products to expand Nelson-Jameson’s already extensive color-coded offering. In an effort to give customers even more options, Nelson-Jameson now has many more color-coded products available in pink. The catalog offers many hard-to-find and specialty products exclusive to Nelson-Jameson, as well as hundreds of supply items used daily.

Customers can request a FREE copy of the Nelson-Jameson Buyers Guide by calling 800/826-8302, or visit nelsonjameson.com.

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