What Consumers Searched for in 2014
Chia seeds and goji berries topped the list of health foods searched on Google in 2014, kicking last year’s kale and quinoa to the curb, according to the search engine’s review of the year’s trending topics. “New health foods may have increased in search this year, but old favorites remain huge,” Google said in its Year in Search report. “Pizza was searched more than the World Cup.” MORE>>
Sparkling Wine Drives Industry Growth In 2014
Due to a still sluggish on-trade environment, the total U.S. wine market is estimated to have inched ahead a mere 0.3% in 2014, to volume of 321.8 million nine-liter cases, according to the current edition of The U.S. Wine Market: Impact Databank Review and Forecast. The sparkling wine segment paced industry growth, with an estimated volume gain of 3% to 16 million cases, accounting for a 5% share of the total wine market. MORE>>
Restaurant Marketing Ideas for January
For restaurant owners and operators, there’s no better way to start off the New Year than with a tasty selection of restaurant marketing ideas. It’s the right time of year to explore your creative side as January is International Creativity Month and International New Year’s Resolution Month for Business. MORE>>
Alcohol Beverage Flavor Trends 2015: The Buzz on Honey
Swiss flavorings and fragrances maker Firmenich is out with its annual Flavor of the Year proclamation, and the company’s top taste for 2015 is…honey. Within the alcohol beverage world, pure honey has been a sweet addition to specialty drinks and to flavored spirits in recent years, but you could be forgiven for thinking that honey’s crowning as FotY seems a year or two overdue. MORE>>
What the Restaurant Business Can Expect in 2015
The restaurant industry looks poised for higher sales and profits in 2015, thanks to falling prices for gas and food and an economy that finally appears to be accelerating after years of painfully slow growth. The profits should keep elevated the values restaurant chains can fetch on the public markets, which should continue to provide incentives for companies to go public while limiting the number of leveraged buyouts. MORE>>
International Spirits, LLC Undertakes Newly Adopted Strategic Plan
International Spirits, LLC, the owner and importer of Ivanabitch Vodka, Gin and Brandy, announced today the formation of a new Board of Directors and select additions to its management team. The new Board unanimously confirmed its intent to pursue a strategic plan to establish itself as the first African American-owned, vertically-integrated alcoholic beverage operation in the United States. MORE>>
Resveratrol…Not for Heart Health but to Preserve Wine in Cans!
Australia's Barokes Wines has applied to patent a process whereby beverage containers are coated with a layer including resveratrol - not to boost heart health but to better preserve wine. MORE>>
Bad Barley Crop Probably Won't Affect Beer Prices
Problems with the 2014 malt barley crop in the western United States have resulted in the worst year for malting production in the nation, but beer drinkers likely won't have to shell out extra dollars for their favorite brews. Much of the nation's large-scale brewing is in the Midwest, says Collin Watters of the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee, but barley growing has been pushed farther west as corn and soy have become more profitable to grow. MORE>>
Get Juiced this Winter with Fresh Citrus Cocktails
Conventional bar wisdom calls for hot toddies in the winter, fruity margaritas come summer. According to Daniel Shoemaker, owner of the Pearl District’s Teardrop Lounge, that’s bunk. We should be tapping the fresh, juicy bounty of winter citrus—the season when oranges, lemons, and limes from California, Florida, and tropical regions are actually ripe—to lend a crisp, complex tang to our cold-weather cocktails. MORE>>
Bartenders Go DYI with Craft Syrups and Bitters
Bartender Max Messier couldn’t find the cocktail syrups he wanted, so he made them. He’s among a number of do-it-yourself New Orleans bartenders crafting products with a local flair and finding a wider market. Several said they started because stores offered homogenous, non-local products made with dubious ingredients, including chemicals. MORE>>