I just returned from the National Restaurant Association convention in Chicago. I walked miles among—what—2,000 booths? I confess, I didn’t study every booth. I was on the fruit and vegetable beat for The Packer newspaper. But I was impressed in many non-produce ways. So from my scope, I’ll give you the convention winners:
Best Drink: Bill’s World Famous Lemonade Shake Ups. A form of the lemonade has been around at county fairs for 60 years, but only recently did the company, Barkley Beverage LLC, revise its sugar mix to fewer calories and partner promotionally with Sunkist, using its sectionizer equipment (and of course its lemons). Those who buy in get to use the Bill’s World Famous brand name and logo and agree to use the proper equipment, supplies and recipe. It was simply the best lemonade!
Best Try: Savory Tea from Numi Organics. The vegetable tea and spice infusions tasted ghastly, but that doesn’t matter. It is such a unique idea, I’m sure someone loves them. They told me that for a 90-day exclusive, Whole Foods has been selling them since March. Maybe Whole Foodies would like the flavors: beet cabbage, spinach chive, tomato mint, broccoli cilantro, carrot curry and fennel spice. I told them the tea needs sugar. They laughed a horrified laugh.
Around Every Corner: I couldn’t get away from waffles or coffee. That should tell me what article ideas to pitch to editors. I’m talking waffle irons, waffle batter mix, waffle cones, waffle trucks and the best waffle business story involving two college guys. That’s fodder for another blog post. And coffee? That’s generic for mocha latte, caramel latte, mocha frappe, etc., mixes. Ghirardelli and others were there pushing their mixes. The frozen drinks were worth going back for. Then I came across a touchscreen machine that makes it all—FoamMaster from Franke Coffee Systems. Its greatest ability is to fill the glass with milk foam to make lattes and cappuccinos. It’s all a dream for Millennials, who probably wouldn’t touch plain old black coffee.
Best Kid Entertainment: Wikki Stix. They probably aren’t new, but I was drawn to them, and if that’s the case, kids who would otherwise be screaming through the restaurant are bound to sit still and work on their art project. It’s a package of colorful twistable plastic sticks that also stick to paper, so kids can form 3-D art, or stick them to a connect-the-dot picture.
Something I didn’t try: Mini herb and flower crystals. After everything else I ate on the show floor, I just wasn’t in the mood for flower crystals. But I brought some home: Fresh basil; fresh mint; fennel flower; and rose petals. They’re for the rim of the glass, but surely there must be other delicious applications. That’s something for the company to explore and promote.
Tell me what you think.
Jody
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