Everyone knows the ritual: morning coffee, music in the background, skimming headlines in the local newspaper. All right, maybe this ritual only applies to those over 50. In any case, I was flipping through the Chicago Tribune yesterday when a headline, “Selling standards” and especially its deck, “Meat labels address welfare of animals, consumer concerns,” grabbed me.

 

Briefly, the article talks about Whole Foods Market testing a humane meat-rating system that was developed by the Global Animal Partnership, a nonprofit group consisting of farmers, scientists, sustainability experts and animal welfare advocates.

 

According to reporter Monica Eng, the five-step approach “establishes baseline standards for all meat sold in the store,” whereby consumers can choose meats based on how the slaughtered animals have been raised. Products that have a higher rating - it goes from 1 to 5 - will have a higher price tag than those with a lower rating.

 

Whole Foods, along with suppliers that are participating, is betting that its customers are willing to pay more for the gentler, kinder treatment of animals from the moment they’re born to their final dispatch. Several years ago, I probably would have responded rather sarcastically to such an experiment. Not today.

 

It’s important to note that the typical customer at a Whole Foods store has a higher average income than most mainstream supermarket shoppers. He or she can afford the higher price tag. And, in the end, he probably feels good about buying a chicken that hasn’t had its beak trimmed or has hock burns from walking about in cramped quarters filled with waste from fellow birds.

 

 When it comes to confections, particularly chocolate, there’s a growing - albeit relatively small - movement toward using only ingredients that reflect responsible sourcing, which encompasses sustainable agricultural practices, adequate farmer compensation and community involvement in the growing areas.

 

Lately, many of the major chocolate manufacturers have embraced certification as a means of demonstrating good stewardship. From my perspective, it’s a good first step, but as our November cover story on the Agostoni family in Lecco, Italy, details, direct involvement goes much further.

 

Earlier this week, I received an e-mail informing me about the finalists for the Good Food Awards (www.goodfoodsawards.org), a newly created designation that celebrates “the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic and responsible.”

 

It was a collaboration of food producers, farmers, food journalists and independent grocers organized by Seedling Projects that established the Good Food Awards, which will go out to 130 outstanding food producers. This group nominated judges from across the country to select finalists and then winners in specific categories, all of whom will be honored in a special ceremony hosted by Alice Waters in San Francisco on Jan. 14, 2011.

 

Chocolate, of course, was one of those categories. As the Good Food Awards organizers note, “A growing number of American chocolatiers are working closely with cacao farmers around the world and creating a transcontinental food community that is raising the bar on quality while stimulating farming economies around the globe.”

 

Segregated into milk and dark categories, the “Good Chocolate” must be free of “genetically modified soy lecithin, and made by chocolatiers who seek to know their cacao farmers.”

 

The committee overseeing the chocolate category consists of Gary Guittard, president and ceo of Guittard Chocolate Co. and Candy Industry’s 2008 Kettle Award recipient, Seneca Klassen, founder and co-owner of Bittersweet Café in San Francisco as well as the man behind Kokoleka O’Ka Aina in Oahu, the largest cacao plantation in the United States, and David Salowich, chocolate buyer and merchandise manager of the same Bittersweet Café.

 

Looking at the finalists detailed in today’s newsletter, I’m excited about all the companies named, some of which I’m very familiar with and some I hope to get to know better in the coming months. What’s particularly encouraging is that there’s quite a few non-West Coast chocolatiers, a sign that artisan chocolate isn’t just a hip and trendy phenomenon limited to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle or Portland. It’s as that classic ZZ Top rock song says, artisan chocolate is “bad” (in the good sense, of course,) and “nationwide.”

 

So do I think that this kind of socially responsible marketing will continue to grow within the confectionery sector? Without a doubt. Is it for everyone? Not necessarily. I know plenty of consumers who won’t be swayed in their purchases by a “Good Food” seal of approval. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if a large group of chocolate lovers take it under consideration.

 

Regardless, it’s all a “good” thing for the further development of the industry.

Four nominees for Candy Industry’s 2011 Kettle Award were selected by the magzine’s Kettle Committee. Nominees vying for the prestigious honor next year are as follows: Pierson Clair, president and ceo of the Brown & Haley Co. in Tacoma, Wash.; Judy Cooley, principal scientist, The Hershey Co., Hershey, Pa.; Dave and Rick Drehobl, co-ceos, The Georgia Nut Co., Skokie, Ill.; and Douglas Simons, owner and president of Enstrom Candies, Grand Junction, Colo.

 

Established by Candy Industry’s founder and publisher, Don Gussow, in 1946, the Kettle Award was meant as "recognition of the contribution for ‘great or good’ of the industry, not only on the part of the person selected for the distinction, but of every member of the confectionery field who has devoted himself in whatever measure to make the business of candy making and selling a more profitable and happier one."

 

Cognizant that the supplier community is intimately involved with the confectionery industry, Gussow created the Kettle Committee consisting of representatives from leading suppliers to the industry. The Kettle Committee was charged to first nominate candidates and then, through a balloting process involving readers and culminating with a final vote from the Committee, select a recipient. Russell Stover, president of the Russell Stover Candy Co., was the first to receive the cherished copper Kettle Award in 1946.

 

Readers of Sweet & Healthy, Candy Industry and Retail Confectioner -as well as confectionery industry professionals - can vote for the candidate of their choice by visiting the Kettle Awards Web site (www.kettleawards.com) or mailing or faxing the ballot included in the November issue of Candy Industry magazine. Full details about the candidates, committee members, past Kettle Award recipients and receptions are also on the Web site.

 

The 2011 Kettle Awards Reception will be held May 25, 2011 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Union League Club in Chicago during the Sweets & Snacks Expo. The reception is open to all involved in the confectionery industry.

 

For more information, visit www.kettleawards.com.

Sixteen artisan chocolatiers were selected as finalists for the Good Food Awards, a designation for foods that are "tasty, authentic and responsible." Established by a collaboration of food producers, farmers, food journalists and independent grocers organized by Seedling Projects, the Good Food Awards will hand out "Winner Seals" in seven food categories (including chocolate) at a special ceremony hosted by Alice Waters in San Francisco on Jan. 14, 2011.

 

Within the chocolate category, Good Food Award organizers emphasized that they were looking at American chocolatiers who "are working closely with cacao farmers around the world and creating a transcontinental food community that is raising the bar on quality while stimulating farming economies around the globe." Segregated into milk and dark categories, the "Good Chocolate" must be free of "genetically modified soy lecithin, and made by chocolatiers who seek to know their cacao farmers." T

 

he 16 chocolate finalists for the Good Food Award are: Charles Chocolates in San Francisco; Chuao Chocolatier in Carlsbad, Calif.; Jade Chocolates in San Francisco; Lillie Bell Farms in Central Point, Ore.; Madécasse in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Mindo Chocolate Makers in Dexter, Mich.; Olive & Sinclair Chocoalte Co. in Nashville; Patric Chocolate in Columbia, Mo.; Poco Dolce in San Francisco; Potomac Chocolate Co. in Woodbridge, Va.; Rogue Chocolatier in Minneapolis; Taza Chocolate in Cambridge, Mass.; Theo Chocolate in Seattle; Vice Chocolate in Oakland; Xocolatl de David in Portland; and Zoes Chocolate in Waynesboro, Pa.

 

The committee overseeing the chocolate category consists of Gary Guittard, president and ceo of Guittard Chocolate Co. and Candy Industry’s 2008 Kettle Award recipient, Seneca Klassen, founder and co-owner of Bittersweet Café in San Francisco as well as the man behind Kokoleka O’Ka Aina in Oahu, the largest cacao plantation in the United States, and David Salowich, chocolate buyer and merchandise manager of the same Bittersweet Café.

 

For more information, visit www.goodfoodawards.org.

Southern Candymakers, an 18-year-old New Orleans confectionery business specializing in Southern pralines and other candies, has formed a partnership with the Audubon Institute to steer 10% of its proceeds from the sale of the 2010/2011 Gulf Coast Wildlife Rescue Gift package to the Institute’s Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program.

 

Consisting of nearly two and a half pounds of Southern Candymakers’ favorite confections, including pralines, assorted tortues and toffees, and glazed pecans, the Wildlife Rescue Gift package also features three charming, hand-painted solid chocolate novelties – a dolphin, a sea turtle and a Louisiana pelican. All three represent Gulf of Mexico marine life in need of aid following the BP oil spill disaster. The Wildlife Rescue Gift retails for $47.95.

 

Like all of the confections at Southern Candymakers, these candies are handmade in small batches with absolutely no preservatives, so quantities are very limited.

 

"The man-made oil spill disaster has been cruel and punishing to coastal communities, the fragile wetlands and the wildlife that makes its home there," said Pete Tompkins, president and co-founder of Southern Candymakers. "This is our effort to make a difference through the medium we know best-candy!"

 

For more information, visit www.southerncandymakers.com.

Jack Link, ceo of Minong, Wis.-base Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 national winner in the Retail & Consumer Products category. Link was recognized for growing Jack Link’s Beef Jerky from a small beef deboning operation in 1986 to the No. 1 U.S. meat snack brand.

The award was presented to Link at the Entrepreneur Of The Year gala, the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs. Awards were given in nine additional categories. All Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year winners were selected by an independent panel of judges from approximately 300 regional award recipients.

 

Now in its 24th year, Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year award encourages entrepreneurial activity and recognizes leaders and visionaries who demonstrate innovation, financial success and personal commitment as they create and build world-class businesses.

 

"Entrepreneurs are characterized by a willingness to disrupt traditional ways of seeing the world, a willingness to draw on new ways of thinking about familiar problems, and a willingness to fail," said Bryan Pearce, Americas director, Entrepreneur Of The Year, Ernst & Young LLP. "Jack Link embodies this willingness and more. By constantly pushing the envelope, and responding to consumers’ needs and changing behaviors, Link has grown Jack Link’s Beef Jerky into a snack food powerhouse."

 

"This is an amazing experience, and I share it with the entire company," said Link. "Truly, Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. I am so proud to share this recognition. I feel like I am living the American Dream."

 

 For more information, visit www.jacklinks.com.

Turning to a classic seasonal flavor combination - dark chocolate with mint - Indianapolis-based Endangered Species Chocolate (ESC) unveiled its new all-natural Holiday Collection line. Available in chocolate bars, bite-sized treats and drinking chocolate, the holiday line emphasizes the cool, winter-like flavor with a new design that features snowflake graphics and wintery blue accents.

 

Known for spotlighting at-risk species on their products, ESC highlights the plight of the emperor penguin in its Holiday Collection.

 

"This collection offers a great way to ignite holiday spirit, supporting species, habitat and humanity with gourmet gifts that give back," says Monica Erskine, communications coordinator. "Our ongoing collaboration with conservation tourism partner, SEE Turtles, inspired us to spotlight yet another species that can benefit from responsible, green tourism."

 

A 3-oz ESC Holiday Collection chocolate bar, which contains 72% cocoa content and is certified kosher and gluten-free, retails for $2.99. All cocoa used in the bar is sourced from ethically traded cacao farms ensuring fair trade, responsible labor practices and sustainable farming.

 

For more information, please visit www.chocolatebar.com.