Cocktail Classics in Jelly Bean Style

Jelly Belly’s newest flavors are based on Classic Cocktails – so if it’s 11 am and you’ve just had a totally rotten meeting at work, you can at least down a Pomegranate Cosmo. The new Jelly Belly flavors include Mojito, Pomegranate Cosmo and Peach Bellini. These new flavors join the existing cocktail flavors already in Jelly Belly’s  flavor portfolio: Margarita, Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri. The Jelly Belly Cocktail Classics are packaged in pretty black and silver. You can purchase single flavors or mixed flavors in 10lb bulk cases, 4.25 oz. Cocktail Classics Gift Box, 7.5-oz. Clear Classics cylinder packages and 3.5-oz. bags. For more info, go to http://www.jellybelly.com/about_jelly_belly/wholesale_customers.aspx.

Flat Flowers from OOTS!

I received a press release on the new “Flat Flowers” from OOTS! this morning – and like most flower deliveries, it made me smile. Ok, it made me laugh.  Flat Flowers are window stickers of bouquets of flowers.  They are brightly colored and visible from both inside and outside.

Since I am a notoriously bad gardener, I’m thinking these might work for me. The pressure to garden in Maine during the summer is unyielding. I believe everyone in the state has wonderfully overfilled window boxes, spilling over with pansies, petunias and other items I know nothing about.

Since my house sits back and high up from the street, I’m thinking something like the Flat Flowers will give all of those joggers a double take as they run by on their way to the local bakery.

Flat Flowers are made of a static material with no adhesives, so they can be used over and over again. Sizes include 11.8 x 11.8 inch and 11.8 x 14.5 inch. Available in seven different designs with a retail price of $14.95. Flat Flowers are designed and made in the Netherlands. New to the US and Canada, distributed by OOTS! For more info, go  to: www.madebyoots.com/flatflowers.html

Flat Flower decal from OOTS!

Flat Flowers in Use

GLM Moves Gourmet Housewares Show to Summer 2011 NYIGF

GLM just announced that Gourmet Housewares Show will move to the Summer 2011 NYIGF, not the Winter show as previously announced.  The move from Winter to Summer NYIGF was based on retailer surveys that clearly indicated a preference for a fourth quarter buying opportunity for specialty retailers.

GLM surveyed some 10,000 retailers, which I think is an amazing commitment to assessing the needs of the industry.

I like the idea of an August Gourmet Housewares Show. My only concern is that the Gourmet Housewares Show would be gone for  essentially 2 years at that point.

The good news is that by 2011, the industry should have shaken off the malaise of the 2009 economy and be on the right track to accept a trade show that provides quality exhibitors, innovative new product, great location and a conducive business environment.

Frieling’s French Press Timer

Frieling USA just released info on a new preprogrammed timer for French presses.

The timer, which can be clipped to the plunger of the French press, is preset for four minutes. According to Frieling, four minutes is the perfect time for coffee to release its full flavor.The timer can also be attached via a built-in magnet.

And for those of us with sensitive natures – at least in the morning – the timer’s alarm is “discreet, yet noticeable.”  I would think this little timer is a perfect addition to a retailer’s coffee accessory line. I know that I have often lost track of time when using a French Press – maybe it’s the morning fog that sets in before my first cup of coffee?  A dedicated timer attached to the plunger makes sense to me.

I don’t have the suggested retail price yet.  I’ll get back to you on that piece of info.

For more information – go to www.frieling.com.