Download Restaurants compete for best menu featuring local ingredients N.C.

Restaurants compete for best menu featuring local ingredients
Fifteen restaurants from across the state have been selected to
compete in the 2016 “Dig into Local” Best Menu competition held
by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services. The competition will judge restaurants’ print and online
menus for their ability to reflect the state’s agricultural diversity,
and for a commitment to using local products.
Competing are: Block & Grinder (Charlotte); Bonterra Dining and
Wine Room (Charlotte); Crossroads Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill);
Gravy (Raleigh); Graze Restaurant (Winston-Salem); Heirloom
Restaurant (Charlotte); Margaux’s Restaurant (Raleigh); Off the
Square (Albemarle); Piedmont Restaurant (Durham); Sitti
(Raleigh); The Refectory Café (Durham); Top of the Hill (Chapel Hill); Trali Irish Pub (Raleigh); Vidalia
Restaurant and Wine Bar (Boone); and Zone 7 Foods (Charlotte).
Winners will be announced in mid-October.
N.C. winegrowers host tasting room profitability seminar
The NC Winegrowers Association will host a two-day “Tasting Room Profitability & Wine
Clubs” workshop to offer N.C. wineries an opportunity to hear from the industry’s leading
expert, Elizabeth Slater, on how to generate long-term customers by creating a positive
visitor experience.
The workshop is June 20 and 21 at Surry Community College, in the Shelton-Badgett
N.C. Viticulture and Enology Center. Pre-registration is required. Cost is $25 and includes
lunch both days.
Exporting seminar, produce buyer meetings coming up
Sept. 2 is the deadline to register for two opportunities to meet one-on-one with foreign buyers. Consider
participating in the Canada Inbound Trade Mission to Annapolis, Md., where you will meet individually with
Canadian buyers on either Oct. 12 or Oct. 13. A second meeting with buyers from Europe and Canada is
scheduled Oct. 14 in Orlando, Fla., before the PMA Fresh Summit trade show. Products of interest include, but
are not limited to, nuts, leafy greens, blueberries, sweet potatoes, corn, melons, cucumbers, tomatoes,
muscadine grapes, apples and strawberries. The participation fee for each event is $25.
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Saturday, June 11
Master Gardener Plant Clinic at WNC Farmers
Market
Wednesday, June 15
SRS Turfgrass Field Day at Sandhills Research
Station, Jackson Springs
Thursday, June 16
Blueberry Day at the State Farmers Market
Friday, June 17
Blueberry Day at Piedmont Triad Farmers Market
Saturday, June 18
Wing Festival at Piedmont Triad Farmers Market
Saturday, June 25
Master Gardener Plant Clinic at WNC Farmers
Market
Tuesday, July 12
N.C. Wine & Grape Summit at UNC-Greensboro
RSVP 919-538-3994 by July 5
Thursday, July 14
Peach Day at State Farmers Market
Friday, July 15
Peach Day at Piedmont Triad Farmers Market
Saturday, July 16
N.C. Peach Festival in downtown Candor
Friday, July 22
Peach Day at Charlotte Regional Farmers Market
Thursday, July 28
Watermelon Day at State Farmers Market
Wednesday, Aug.
10
Lake Wheeler TurfGrass Day in Raleigh
Refrigerated units branded
with the Got to Be NC logo
have begun appearing at
Seymour Johnson AFB and
Camp Lejeune commissaries
stocked with North Carolina
products.
NCDA&CS offers assistance with new labeling guidelines
Navigating the bevy of food labeling regulations can be a challenge for even the most seasoned food business.
Your business may or may not be involved in any current labeling regulations, but don’t assume anything.
Recently passed and upcoming changes to labeling standards may impact your business.
If all of these new rules create confusion, you are not alone. Rest assured that the department is prepared to
assist with your understanding and compliance. Auditing guidelines are already in place – even before the
rules are set for enforcement. Recalls can become more litigious, so bringing your label into compliance is
paramount.
NCDA&CS nutrition marketing specialist Freda Butner, RDN, LDN, can help you with anything related to
nutrition labeling on your product. Freda is available at [email protected] or 919-707-3110.
Want to sell at the NC State Fair? Watch for Got to Be NC
vendor information in your mail this month!
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Reaching new customers through your website
Whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years, one of the greatest challenges for any food
business is finding new customers. This can be even more challenging as mobile device and Internet research
continue to influence consumer behavior. According to a report from IRI, 57 percent of consumers will make
their purchase decisions before they enter the retail store.
So, how can you reach new customers for your food business? It all starts with a solid Web presence,
says Noah Boswell, CEO and founder of Look to the Right, an Internet marketing company based in Raleigh.
NCDA&CS Business Development Specialist Annette Dunlap recently sat down with Noah to discuss Internet
marketing and how food businesses can use SEO, social media and website development to grow their
businesses and increase their revenue. In the first video, Noah gives an overview of creating a solid presence
on the Internet and the basics of search engine optimization. Noah discusses how building relationships online
is as important as building relationships offline in the second video. He also offers tips on boosting your ranking
in search engines. Finally, Noah offers three tips food businesses can use today to improve their search
rankings and help customers find them online. Find the videos at http://bit.ly/1rvqQCj
International Bluegrass Festival vendor deadline nears
Vendor applications are still being accepted through
the end of June for the Got to Be NC pavilion during
the 2016 International Bluegrass Festival in Raleigh.
Many of the booth spaces in the GTBNC Pavilion are
free to Got to Be NC members.
For more information, contact Tony Haywood at
[email protected].
Over 180,000 people, many from out of state, attend
the annual event scheduled for Sept. 30-Oct. 1.
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NEWS BITS
Jeff Jennings has returned to the NCDA&CS marketing staff as the new Assistant
Director for Domestic Marketing. Jeff had been serving as a Program Officer with the
N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. He replaces Joe Sanderson, who was promoted
to Director of Marketing last year.
Jeff can be reached at 919-707-3150 or [email protected]
Applications for the American Farm Bureau Federation’s third Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge are being
accepted online until June 30. Entrepreneurs who enter can earn the chance to compete for $145,000 in
startup funds. The competition provides an opportunity for individuals to showcase ideas and business
innovations that benefit rural regions of the United States. Competitors are invited to submit for-profit business
ideas related to food and agriculture online at www.strongruralamerica.com/challenge.
USDA is now accepting applications for its Value-Added Producer Grants. The VAPG program helps
agricultural producers enter into value-added activities related to the processing and/or marketing of bio-based,
value-added products. Generating new products, creating and expanding marketing opportunities and
increasing producer income are the goals of this program.
Maximum Grant Amount: $75,000 for planning grants, $250,000 for working capital grants
Matching Funds Requirements: 50% of total project costs
Deadlines: June 24 for electronic applications, July 1 for paper applications
The next round of Got to Be NC Competition Dining takes place June 20-23 in Greensboro, featuring teams
from Undercurrent Restaurant (Greensboro), Hobnob Restaurant (Brevard), Native Kitchen and Social Pub
(Asheville) and Sedgefield Country Club (Greensboro). Tickets available online.
A Forbes article ranked Slawsa No. 1 on its Shark Tank summer grilling must-haves.
Tastin' Jamaican Caribbean Style Salsa of Louisburg earned second place in the Fruit Salsa category at the
2016 World Hot Sauce and Extreme Foods Awards for their Blueberry Peach salsa. The event was held in
conjunction with the Louisiana Hot Sauce Expo in Lafayette. Tastin' Jamaican won third place last year in the
X-hot salsa category with their Carolina Reaper salsa, Lethal SE.
Most recently, Tastin’ Jamaican has been approved and is now live on Amazon Prime.
Burntshirt Vineyards in Hendersonville has won medals at the 31st annual Pacific Rim International Wine
Competition. Awards were for: 2014 Sunset Sippin’ – Gold Medal, Best of Class for European Hybrids by
varietal; 2014 Apple Wine – Gold Medal; 2014 Riesling – Silver Medal; 2014 Chardonnay – Silver Medal; and
2013 Merlot – Bronze Medal.
Piedmont Custom Meats has added a breakfast sausage link to its product offering. The product will use a natural
casing and is available in a mild, hot and maple seasoning.
Have news to share? Send it to [email protected].
The Federal-State Market News Service provides current, unbiased price and sales information to assist in the
orderly marketing and distribution of farm commodities. Reports include information on prices, volume, quality,
condition and other market data on farm products in specific markets and marketing areas. The data is
disseminated within hours of collection via the Internet and made available through electronic means, printed
reports, telephone and radio recordings, news media and trade publications.
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Marketing or selling? Rethink your customer encounters
by Annette Dunlap, NCDA&CS Business Development Specialist
I recently read an article in a farm magazine titled, “Marketing Versus Selling Hay.” Reading the article got me
to thinking. Much of that article applies to any business. If I were to change the technical words, I could have
titled it, “Marketing Versus Selling at Store Demos.”
Marketing versus selling is a key distinction when you’re trying to build a business. It’s particularly true when
trying to build a food business. You have limited encounters with your customer base during which you need to
build their loyalty and their trust. Store demos are one of the best places to market your product, but many
people see it as a selling opportunity. It’s time to rethink those encounters.
How do you handle your in-store demos? Are you marketing, or are you selling? Do you really know the
difference?
Let’s take a look. Here’s the typical approach when selling:




Make the sale fast
Have a high customer turnover rate (i.e., you don’t have a lot of repeat customers)
Are a price taker
Have to reduce your price in some way (such as bundling) to move your inventory
Here’s the typical approach when marketing:




Focus on long-term sales (i.e., build customer loyalty)
Communicate with your customers
Have some control over setting your price
Have a relationship with your customers
If you’re selling rather than marketing, what needs to happen to change your focus?
First, get a handle on who your ideal customer is – what is that person looking for in an artisanal product? Why
are they generally willing to pay more than they would for a commodity product? How do they shop? (Online?
Direct? Through a third party like Amazon? In store?)
Next, build up your communications network. If you haven’t looked at the Food Business Almanac blog post
videos yet, take some time to view them. The three together run about 15 minutes. They have tips on how to
build a Web presence and make good use of social media. But, beyond the Web presence and social media,
you need to get contact info so you can send emails or postcards – and do it with regularity!
Third step – Talk to your customers during demos and through email. Find out what they really want or need.
Maybe you need to adjust your container size up or down. Maybe your customers need more recipe ideas, or
maybe they have a suggestion for a new flavor for you. Customers can be your best friends, if you encourage
that two-way communication.
Finally, provide service. That starts with attitude. If someone contacts you with a problem, respond promptly
and figure out the best way to “make it right.” If you’re hiring someone to do your demos – or if you’re sending
a family member – you need to check up on them when they don’t know you’re looking. Nobody cares about
your business as much as you do. I’ve seen some interesting behaviors at demos that have turned me off of
even trying the product.
So, you tell me, you’ve been doing all of this, and you’re not growing the way you would like. There could be a
lot of reasons for slow growth – a discussion well beyond a brief email. But here’s the important thing – if you
just “sell” to someone, there’s no incentive for them to feel loyal to you. If you “market” to someone they begin
to feel a connection. It’s that connection that you want to establish, and it’s one that takes time to build.
Take a look at what you do to determine if you’re more of a seller or more of a marketer. Then start to tweak
your approach to customers and to prospective customers so that you’ll consistently be the latter.
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Snapchat Story: A video-sharing app to reach a younger
audience (They will love your farm story)
by Annie Baggett, NCDA&CS Agritourism Marketing Specialist
The majority of people using Snapchat's application are making videos, fueling a boom in
watching them. More than a third of Snapchat’s daily users create “stories,” broadcasting
photos and videos that last 24 hours. Now users are watching 10 billion videos a day on the
application, up from 8 billion in February.
Snapchat is sharing the new stories statistic to help explain that its app is focused on serving people who
create and broadcast content, not just consume it. The first screen of the app is a camera, prompting users to
share what they’re seeing or doing. Users can decide whether to send their snap directly to friends, where it
disappears after it’s watched, or post it to their Snapchat Story, where it can be viewed for 24 hours by a
broader audience.
By trying Snapchat, you may increase the opportunity for visitors to capture the experience of a lifetime on your
farm. There are over 100 million daily active Snapchatters and the number is growing, including millennials. Is
Snapchat a fit for your farm?
STAFF DIRECTORY
Annette Dunlap
Agribusiness Development
919-707-3117
[email protected]
Annie Baggett
Agritourism
919-707-3120
[email protected]
Peter Thornton
Exports
919-707-3153
[email protected]
Ron Moore
Farmers Markets/ Ag Centers
919-707-3135
[email protected]
Tim Parrish
Food Service Marketing
919-707-3137
[email protected]
Jamie Hall
Got to Be NC
919-707-3152
[email protected]
Horticulture & Seafood
919-707-3125
[email protected]
Jack Nales
Meat Marketing, Newsletter
919-707-3106
[email protected]
Paul Jones
Media Marketing
919-707-3105
[email protected]
Nutrition
919-707-3110
[email protected]
Pork & Poultry Marketing
919-707-3116
[email protected]
Tony Haywood
Randy Maness
Retail Marketing
Retail Marketing
919-707-3140
919-707-3133
[email protected]
[email protected]
Myrtle Earley
Whit Winslow
Specialty Foods
Wine
919-707-3118
919-707-3108
[email protected]
[email protected]
Nick Augostini
Freda Butner
Kim Decker
Got to Be NC is the official marketing program for North Carolina agriculture.
North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
2 West Edenton Street Raleigh, NC 27601 919-707-3100
For newsletter questions or comments, contact Jack Nales at 919-707-3106
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