NESCAFÉ® has the coffee houses steaming with envy – and coffee lovers everywhere may be saying bye-bye to their barista – as it introduces one of the biggest innovations to ever hit the coffee aisle. New NESCAFÉ® Memento™ (SRP $4.29/box of 8), a groundbreaking, expertly crafted line of foaming, single-serve café beverages, is giving java lovers a true coffee house experience at home. Easy to enjoy while on-the-go, the small powder pack unlocks deliciously creamy cappuccinos – simply by adding hot water. At .54¢ per drink*, NESCAFÉ Memento can help put hundreds of dollars back into the pocket of the average daily coffee house patron and potentially revolutionize the way we drink coffee forever. The delicious NESCAFÉ Memento Cappuccinos, Lattes and Mochas allow the most demanding and devoted caffeine connoisseurs to skip the shop line and whip up their own personalized brew to go, no matter where they are!

NESCAFÉ Memento features long-lasting coffee house quality flavor and foam, and as any cappuccino lover will tell you, the foam makes all the difference. “Until now, instant cappuccinos, lattes and mochas haven’t been able to match the standard of the barista-prepared café creation,” said Sarah Johnson, Marketing Manager, NESCAFÉ. “With NESCAFÉ’s new Instant Foaming Technology, consumers can enjoy instant cappuccinos and lattes with real, frothy, awe-inspiring foam that lasts until the final sip.”

While many coffee house creations can be chocked full of calories, NESCAFÉ Memento’s affordable, guilt-free beverages are 100 calories per cup. Made with real coffee, milk and sugar, three enticing flavors await – delicious Caramel Latte, creamy Cappuccino and rich chocolate Mocha.

“We wanted to provide the enjoyment of a coffee house beverage without the hassle,” explained Johnson. “We’ve developed a dense, long-lasting foam that rivals professional quality cups, so you still can indulge in your favorite drink and leave the long lines and high priced shops behind.”

Crafted by coffee lovers, for coffee lovers and tested on coffee lovers, every packet of NESCAFÉ Memento makes an 8 oz. specialty coffee beverage. With mere seconds to a delicious, frothy coffee house beverage, these portable single-serve packets are convenient enough to travel anywhere. Just add hot water and go!

Found in the coffee aisle, NESCAFÉ Memento is available nationwide at your local grocer or mass outlet store. For more information please visit www.Facebook.com/NescafeUSA.

*Cost per drink calculated with suggested retail price.

About Nescafé
The origins of Nescafé date back to 1930 when the Brazilian government needed help preserving a substantial surplus of coffee. Nescafé coffee specialists worked for eight years to develop a great-tasting cup of coffee made by simply adding hot water. Nescafé first launched in Switzerland in 1938 and was quickly exported around the world. Since then, Nescafé has become the most popular coffee brand in the world, with over 4,000 cups consumed every second. Over the past seventy years, Nescafé has developed many varieties of coffee to suit all tastes and coffee occasions. Today, consumers around the world enjoy the quality, flavor, aroma, convenience and natural goodness of Nescafé coffee exactly how they like it.

About Nestlé USA
Named one of “The World’s Most Admired Food Companies” in Fortune magazine for fourteen consecutive years, Nestlé provides quality brands and products that bring flavor to life every day. From nutritious meals with LEAN CUISINE® to baking traditions with NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE®, Nestlé USA makes delicious, convenient, and nutritious food and beverage products that make good living possible. That’s what “Nestlé. Good Food, Good Life” is all about. Nestlé USA, with 2010 sales of $10.4 billion, is part of Nestlé S.A. in Vevey, Switzerland — the world’s largest food company with a commitment to Nutrition, Health & Wellness — with 2010 sales of $105 billion. For product news and information, visit Nestleusa.com or NestleNewsroom.com.

History
In the beginning, Scott’s was a small store ran by Don Scott that first opened for trade in 1954. The store created a modest turnover for Mr. Scott, but within the decade he wanted to expand the business and make it even more profitable. In 1963, he took on a partner named Bill Reitz and they opened a chain of small stores across the northeast of Indiana. Scott’s Food and Pharmacy was a famous household name to citizens in the area, their first stop shop for groceries and medicine.

In 1991 Scott’s become part of Supervalu, which is the third largest grocery retailer in the United States and stands at rank 51 in the Fortune 100 list. At this point the business consisted of 18 different stores and was later sold to the Kroger Company for a total worth of $33 million. The Kroger Company is the second largest grocery retailer in America owning multiple grocery stores and other retail establishments.

The most recent piece of history with regards to the business is the company founder, Mr. Scott dying back in December 2008 after living to a ripe age of 91. Before his death, he saw five of Scott’s lower performance stores being closed down. Now the company only has 13 stores and whether more are going to open in the future is yet to be announced.

The company goes by the slogan “better shopping, better prices” targeting their products at the budget shopper. The company aims to provide good quality products, a pleasant shopping experience and cheaper groceries compared to other leading grocery retails. This is a common theme with all of the chains owned by the Kroger Company.

Stats
The company’s company headquarters in the following location: Fort Wayne, Indiana. Other important statistics about the company can be found listed below:

Ownership: The Kroger Company
Public / Private: Privately Owned
Mergers: None
Number of Stores: 13 stores
Annual Revenue: N/A
Store Location: North East Indiana
Demographic: Value Shoppers
Special Services: Pharmacy

Banners
Kroger
Ralphs
Fred Meyer
Food 4 Less
Fry’s
King Soopers
Smith’s
Dillons
QFC
City Market

Brands
N/A

Important Links
Corporate Home Page

I have a secret.

She is an extraordinary baker, cook, and chef herself. Call her Emeril or Betty Crocker. She is European, so she knows how to cook and how to make a cake. In fact, I have had made from scratch croissants, and different breads at her house when she has hosted play dates. Delicious is an understatement.

How do I keep up? How do I make perfectly baked, super tasty goodies without being a baker? What is my secret, you ask?

The extraordinary delicious, wonderfully simple, easy to prepare Dassant International mixes.

Play date looming, I grabbed a Dassant’s vanilla bean cake mix, and within 45 minutes I was ready, I even had the fresh brewed coffee ready.

The cake was light, moist and delicious. It tasted like made from scratch, from a recipe handed down from my elegant great aunt Harriet, who not only had family recipes, but had a chef to cook them.

It was just me. Just my oven and all I needed was water, oil, and milk.

Other than the just-from-the bakery-taste, what I really like about Dassant is the directions are easy to use. The packaging is bright and cheerful and takes you by the hand, step by step. Really, step by step.

There are three boxes outlining the directions and the materials you will need on the back of the box. One box is the step by step directions that are very clear and easy to understand, broken into numbered steps:

1. Prepare
2. Mix
3. Pan
4 Oven

Above the steps is Dassant’s message:

Dassant International Baking Mixes represent fine baking traditions from around the world. Each recipe is rich in history, oven-fresh flavor, and the irresistible aroma of home style baking. Quality, convenience, satisfaction – that’s Dassant.

There is a vertical box next to the directions that show visual images of what you will need, titled appropriately, Quick, Easy, & Fun Baking, listing out each needed item for easy-peesy planning.

Underneath the two vertical boxes, is the third box which gives you an extra recipe to add that finishing touch. In this case, butter cream icing, which was easy to get ready while the cake was baking.

On another box side, Dassant outlines simple Secrets for Success, with sub headings such as, Avoid Over Mixing, Ovens, Alternative Beverages, and Muffins. So you not only get a recipe, a gourmet quality product, but you also get an alternative item to bake.

I highly recommend this product for any mom on the go or any mom who has baker’s phobia – bake one of these items and you will look like a Parisian baker!

You can view their full product line at: www.dassant.com

By: Megan Oteri — Megan Oteri is a stay-at-home-mom, writer, photographer, and toddler wrangler. Follow her blog at www.memomuse.wordpress.com and on facebook at www.facebook.com/memomuse

History
Arcobasso Foods, Inc. was established in 1987. The founders created the company with customization on their minds, a goal that they definitely achieved. Today, Arcobasso Foods is considered one of the companies that are recognized for producing great quality custom sauces and custom dressings.

Arcobasso Foods believes that timing is very important in the success of any food business. To keep costs low for its customers, the company processes orders that are at least 160 gallons. Arcobasso Foods is also proud of its fast speed-to-market capabilities, as well as its flexibility to produce custom sauces and dressings for a number of companies in the food industry.

Although the company is capable of processing large quantities of orders, it focuses more on customization, good quality service and product quality than quantity. Whatever kind of food business the customer is, Arcobasso Foods has the talented staff capable of delivering the kind of product each of its customers want. The company is also equipped with a Samples and Testing Laboratory, meant for finding the best ingredients and creating better dressings and sauces. As soon as the company has finished creating and testing the mix of ingredients, it then sends out product samples to its customers. These samples already have all the necessary information about the product such as nutritional content, shelf life, pH values, ingredients list, water activity, color and viscosity. As for shipping, Arcobasso Foods has a network of distribution warehouses and shippers that it utilizes in order to deliver all orders anywhere in the country.

Some of the customers that the company supplies its products to include food manufacturing companies, grocery stores, supermarket chains, restaurant chains (multi-unit) and other types of foodservice operators, single-unit food retailers, and food distributors.

Some of the custom sauces that it produces include parmesan garlic sauce, parmesan peppercorn sauce, tequila lime sauce, and cabernet vinaigrette. These custom sauces can be packed in 12-ounce bottles, one-liter bottles, 16-ounce plastic bottles, portion cups, half-gallon containers, portion pouches, one-gallon containers and different kinds of polyethylene pouches.

Headquarters: Hazelwood, Missouri
Ownership Type: Private
Geography: USA
Demography: Foodservice companies, food retailers, food distributors

Brands/Banners
Arcobasso Foods, Tapeko, Sun Zen

Important links
Arcobasso Foods Corporate Home Page
Products
Contact Information

Being an all-natural snack food, these fruit bites are promoted to be ideal for kids (and kids at heart), especially those who love eating fruit. This fruit snack is also great for those who are trying to lose weight, or are conscious about gaining weight. “Buddy Fruits Pure Fruit Bites” are available in four varieties: Apple, Raspberry, Orange, and Acai/Pomegranate. One pack of this snack item is equal to a complete serving of fruit, plus it contains only 95 calories.

Buddy Fruits assures consumers that this new product is not only all-natural, it is also free from artificial colors and flavors. It does not contain any preservatives and is dairy-free. It is also free from ingredients that have undergone genetic modifications.

“Buddy Fruit Pure Fruit Bites” is perfect for road trips, lunch boxes, and sports activities or any outdoor event. According to Buddy Fruits’ co-founder Fabian Milon, this new fruit snack product is fruit that you can “eat anytime, anywhere.” Milon added that since the fruit bites are made from a combination of all-natural fruit ingredients, kids and adults alike will surely love this healthy and delicious product.

“Buddy Fruits Pure Fruit Bites” are now available in the produce section of various grocery stores and other food retail businesses all over the country. Retail price for this product is from $0.88-$1.29.

History
Originally Ralphs was a family owned grocery store started by an unemployed bricklayer and his brother, who ran the store under the name “Ralph’s Bros. Grocers” from 1873 until 1909 when the name changed to Ralph’s Grocery Company. The first Ralph’s Grocery was opened in 1911 with an additional hundred stores being opened across Southern California over the next 40 years.

The company was sold to Federated in 1968 for $60 million and was one of the first stores to get laser price scanners at the checkout points. In the 1980s, the company took a turn for the worst and only just escaped bankruptcy and spent the following decade merging with other companies in order to expand. They merged with Food-4-Less in 1994 and only 4 years later merged again with Fred Meyer Inc., which is a division of The Kroger Company umbrella.

Their current mission statement is that the customer should receive the very best, whether this is the best customer service, best quality or best price. They also share the Kroger Company motto, which is “Fresh Food…Lower Prices” aiming their products at the value shopper demographic. They have also helped the most in need in the community by donating millions to causes and charities; including relief for hurricane victims, abused women and drug prevention programs. This has given the company an edge that not many other companies have and that is a degree of humanitarianism, as well as finical stability.

Stats
The company’s customer service team can be contacted at the company headquarters at the following address: Ralphs Grocery Company, PO Box 54142, Los Angeles, California, CA 90054. Other important statistics about the company can be found listed below:

Ownership: The Kroger Company
Public / Private: Privately Owned
Mergers: Food-4-Less and Fred Meyer Inc
Number of Stores: Over 440 stores
Number of Employees: Estimated 30,000
Annual Revenue: N/A
Geography: Southern California
Demographic: Value Shoppers
Special Services: Pharmacy, Gas Station, Phone Services and Pet Insurance.

Banners
Ralphs Fresh Fare
Food-4-Less
Cala Foods
Bell Markets
PriceRite

Brands
Fresh Selections
Ralphs Own Brand
Kroger

Important Links
Corporate Home Page
Online Shopping N/A
Circular and Specials
Jobs and Careers
Store Locations

History
The company was founded in 1904 by brothers, Sam and Wolf Waldbaum and they were soon joined by their nephew Izzy to run the business. When Sam and Wolf retired, Izzy took over the running of the company. Sadly he died at the young age of 55 and the 6 stores were passed down to his son, Ira. The company was sold in 1986; however Izzy’s wife still stayed involved in the company by doing guided tours, recipe books and grand openings.

In the 1970’s, the company purchased fellow supermarket, Foodmart. Together the companies developed and expanded to a combined 160 stores. It was in 1986 that the company was bought out by The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A & P) and this turned out to be a poor business choice. The stores were mismanaged and did not receive the necessary investments leading to a large number of store closures. The remaining stores were renamed “Super Foodmart” and then “A & P Super Foodmart” to try and increase customer interest through branding.

In 2005, Waldbaum offered online shopping to their customers in another bid to increase consumer interest. It was the first business owned by the A & P parent company that offered this service. It was a success as many other companies under the banner of the The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company have followed suit.

Despite this positive development, The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company is going through a financial crisis and Waldbaum’s now known as A & P Super Foodmart are also feeling the effects.

Stats
You can find the company headquarters at the following address: Hemlock Street and Boulevard Avenue, Central Islip, New York, 11722, U.S.A. Other important statistics about the company can be found listed below:

Ownership: The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
Public / Private: Public
Mergers: Foodmart
Number of Stores: 27
Number of Employees: 224
Annual Revenue: N/A
Geography: New York
Demographic: Value Shopper
Special Services: Pharmacy

Banners
Super Foodmart
A&P Super Foodmart

Brands
America’s Choice
Kashia
McCain
Always
Colgate
Crest
Pampers

Important Links
Corporate Home Page
Online Shopping
Circular and Specials
Jobs and Careers
Store Locations

This article, however, is not a discussion on health insurance. There are a panoply of advice websites out there about that particular topic. We are discussing how best to invest in your body to insure you will be able to reap the fruits of personal well-being for many years to come.

As everyone knows, nutrition is a key part of keeping your body healthy: this is where nutrition fact labels come in. They are powerful tools for gauging fat intake, calories, salt, and other ingredients. Since 1994, the FDA has required these labels be added to most food products. This has been done to help combat unhealthy eating habits and the obesity epidemic that threatens to overwhelm the health of the county. Research has shown that consumers who take notice and understand nutrition labels consume less fat than those who do not, and were more likely to eat a diet high in fruit, vegetables, and fiber.

Early last month a new rule created by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service came into effect, requiring nutrition labeling on cuts of raw meat and poultry products, giving consumers more power to choose their dietary intake, and therefore influence their health. When we enter a supermarket, the burden of choice can often be overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to empower yourself with knowledge of how the nutrition labeling system works.

Dietary Guidelines

The labels operate under a set of assumed rules for the intake of nutrients an average person needs to  consume on a daily basis in order to function well (It’s worth mentioning, however, that these rules assume the person in question is a reasonably active male.) The first thing you’ll notice on the label is the serving size (located at the top). This is considered by the manufacturer to be the average amount consumed per person, and the following information concerns the composition of this amount of food or drink. It’s worth recognizing that many pre-made foodstuff packages contain more than one serving (soft drinks and juices are often guilty of this). Even modestly sized bottles or packets can often pack a decent calorific punch.

It’s important to know healthy intakes of fats, protein, calories, and carbohydrates per day. You don’t need to count every single calorie, but knowing average amounts can be helpful in sorting the junk from the healthy, nutritious food. The IOM has a useful table of micro- and macro-nutrients that provide information on average intakes for every stage of life, from infancy through to adulthood, including pregnant and lactating mothers.

Flaws in the labeling system

There’s a few things to watch out for when it comes to nutrition labels. As always, no two people are alike. Differences in muscle and fat distribution mean food will be metabolized at different speeds, as will differences in height and gender. If you are serious about losing weight and/or getting fit, it may be a good idea to seek out a qualified nutritionist or dietician who can give you more concrete information about your recommended dietary intake. They will measure your fat-to-weight-to-height ratio, record your daily diet patterns, and work from there. A one-size-fits-all system is never going to suit everybody, but nutrition information labels are still powerful tools for understanding nutrition, helping to insure your health against illness for years to come.

Another thing to watch out for is misleading claims on the front of  food packages. The FDA is currently cracking down on these claims, often printed in eye-catching, colorful text on the front of packets of food. One look at the cold, hard data available in the nutrition labeling of these foods, however, and you may discover that health-food bar full of ‘natural fiber’ with ‘immune boosting’ ingredients, is little different to a candy bar. Be wary of splashy advertising claims, especially on processed foods.

One final thing to keep in mind is that beer, wine, and spirits are not required by law to publish their nutritional data on the bottle, just their alcohol content. Alcoholic drinks often contain a lot of sugar, carbohydrates, and fat. Calorie King has an excellent selection of nutritional information on most mainstream alcoholic beverages.

———

Imogen is a foodie, a fitness fanatic and a borderline calorie-counting obsessive. She practices yoga in her spare time, and works as a freelancer on behalf of a landlord insurance comparison service and other of life’s little necessities.

History
The history of the company goes back to 1919 when the company founder, Louise Daitch, opened a diary company originally selling butter and eggs. Between opening and 1955, a total of 34 stores opened in New York City, Long Island and Connecticut as a result of the merger with Shopwell Foods. This store differs from others in the area as they had an in-house chef and catered to up-market customers rather than value shoppers and had specialty shops.

The company peaked in 1962 with a total of 103 stores, but the company claims that their growth is not their main priority. In 1979, they decided to reduce the number of stores across the company by closing down the stores in poorer areas. They revamped the stores gradually over the years to make them appear more up market by mixing gourmet products with regular products rather than having a small gourmet section like other supermarkets and formalizing the uniforms of store clerks by adding ties.

It was not until the mid 1980s that The Food Emporium came under the ownership of The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, when it was sold by Rosengarten. There were no key events in the rest of the eighties other than a few store openings and closings here and there. However, in the 1990s the company expanded from New York into New Jersey and opened another 20 stores.

Recently, the company has been sharing the financial trouble of their parent company.

Stats
The company headquarters is located at the following address: 20 Livingstone Avenue, Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522 U.S.A. Other important statistics about the company can be found listed below:

Ownership: The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
Public / Private: Public
Mergers: Kohl’s Food Emporium, Shopwell Foods and Waldbaum
Number of Stores: 17
Number of Employees: 4,000
Annual Revenue: $720 million in 1999
Geography: New York
Demographic: Upscale Market
Special Services: Catering and Gifts

Banners
Kohl’s Food Emporium
Dominion Food Emporium
Waldbaum

Brands
Fine Food
FE Private Label
America’s Choice
Kashia
McCain
Always
Colgate
Crest
Pampers

Important Links
Corporate Home Page
Online Shopping
Circular and Specials
Jobs and Careers
Store Locations

History
Jay C was founded by John .C. Groub, in 1862. He and his wife Elizabeth migrated from Switzerland to Indiana. They opened the first Jay C store in Seymour, Indiana, on South Chestnut Street. The business turned out to be very successful, so they expanded their business and opened a large wholesale department store. The company grew very fast and by 1885, the profits peaked to $80,000.

John .C. Groub passed away in 1888. Before his death, he handed over the company to Theodore Groub and William Masters. Theodore was his son and William Masters was his son-in-law. William Masters also had good experience in managing supermarkets, as he had grocery stores of his own. Before his death, Theodore handed over the management of the company to his two sons, Thomas and John.

During the 1910s and 1920s the profits of the wholesale store business reduced considerably. So, they decided to leave grocery stores and tried their luck in retail industry. In 1927, the name of the company was changed to Jay C Food Store of Scottsburg. By late 1940, the company acquired 44 retail stores in Southern Indiana, which was a major expansion for the business. During 1960s and 1980s, the company stopped expanding its retail stores. Instead, the existing stores were renovated and made bigger to sell different varieties of food. The products they sold included bakery, dairy, deli, general grocery, frozen foods, meat, drugs, produce, seafood, snacks and liquor.

In 1994, the company had 900 employees. In 1997, Jay C had the largest number of employees among the retail stores in Indiana, with around 2700 employees. Due to financial struggles, the company was sold to The Kroger Co. in January 1999. Currently, Kroger maintains the 31 retail stores in Southern Indiana. The Kroger Co. also changed the name of some of their Food Plus stores to Jay C Plus Food stores.

Stats
Company headquarters: Seymour, Indiana, United States
Ownership: Owned by The Kroger Co.
Number of Stores: 31
Annual revenue: $2,356,000,000
Geography: Southern Indiana
Demography: Organic and green shoppers, value shoppers
Special Services: pharmacy, specialty grocery, personal finance, phone services, pet insurance.

Brands
Private Selection Organics
Comforts
Naturally preferred
Active Lifestyle
Value Brands
Kroger Brands
Mirra
Fresh Selections

Important Links
Corporate Home Page
Online Shopping N/A
Circular and Specials
Jobs and Careers
Store Locations