|
Register for our Conference
| |
Whole Grains: Breaking Barriers
in Boston
Nov. 9-11, 2014
Learn more by clicking this button
First registration from each WGC member company is free! |
Oldways is a nonprofit food and nutrition education organization, inspiring good health through cultural food traditions and lifestyles.
|
|
|
Dear Whole Grains Council members,
What a pleasure to visit with more than 50 WGC member companies at the School Nutrition Association show in Boston this month! Whole grains were everywhere, in every aisle -- a sea change from just a few years ago. We were very impressed by what we saw at the show, as we detailed in a recent blog. Companies are making some great whole grain products - and new research shows kids will indeed eat them. Check out this study done at the University of Florida (with funding from WGC member General Mills) that shows that middle school kids offered pasta, rice, bread and snacks will eat the same amount, whether the foods are made with whole grains or refined grains. We're on our way to a whole new generation that is growing up seeing whole grains as the accepted norm.
|
| We'll Help Customers Find Your Products |
| |
Lately, the WGC staff has been fielding more and more questions about how to find your plain-grain products. To meet this need, we're adding two new directories to the WGC website, so that we can make sure to feature all interested members equally. The two listings are:
Ingredient Sourcing Page (B2B)
Companies call and email us asking where they can find sprouted grains, or organic quinoa, or whole white wheat flour or any of many other grains and flours. Although we'd like to help, we don't always know which of our members offer bulk quantities to the trade. If you offer grain ingredients wholesale, tell us the details and we'll add you to our new list. When the list launches, it will be located in the About Us section of the website, where we also maintain a Private Label list.
Mail Order Grain Sources (B2C)
Consumers also contact us, with questions like, "I live in Miami. Where can I buy sorghum grain?" Of course we're in no position to suggest a retailer in Miami, so we always steer such questions to mail order sources. If you sell plain whole grains -- just single ingredients or blends of single ingredients -- by mail order, tell us which ones and we'll add you to this list, with a link to your mail order offerings. When this list launches it will be in the Find Whole Grains tab of the WGC website.
Here's how your plain grains (or plain grain blends) can be added to either of these new lists. Simply click here to access our Join Our Sourcing Lists page which explains what information we need from you. Then email your information to Mallory Cushman as directed on the page.
|
| Be a Conference Sponsor - It's Not Too Late! | | There's still time to add your company's name to our growing list of sponsors for our November 9-11 conference in Boston. Called Whole Grains: Breaking Barriers, this Oldways/WGC conference will address all the most controversial topics now affecting WGC members, with a special emphasis on gluten-free, grain-free, and low-carb diets.
To borrow a phrase from conference sp eaker David Katz, we'll be "separating sound science from sound bites" - and spreading our messages through a great group of journalists signed up to attend. (Our Press Corps already includes writers for The New York Times, Parents, Prevention, SHAPE, WebMD, Food & Nutrition, FoodNavigator, Milling & Baking, Cooks Illustrated, Better Homes & Gardens and U.S. News & World Report, with more to come.)
You need to be there personally, for sure. Think how much you can learn about everything from consumer trends to marketing successes -- information you need in your job, every day. Click here to see our full agenda, and to register to attend -- remember, the first registration from each WGC member company is free and additional registrations are heavily discounted.
Yes, you should attend. But how much better to have your whole company represented, as a sponsor! This is the time and the place to have extra visibility with our press corps, health professionals, and other attendees. As a sponsor, your products will be part of our meal plan and will be in our gift bags, and you can even have a display table (like those shown here) to tell your story. Click here for more information on sponsorship costs and benefits, or call Cynthia Harriman (617-896-4820 or [email protected]).
A big thanks to the sponsors who've already signed on including Event Sponsors -- Bob's Red Mill, Grupo Bimbo (Arnold, Brownberry, Orowheat), and King Arthur Flour; Benefactor Sponsors -- Barbara's Bakery/Weetabix, Bay State Milling, Frito-Lay/Quaker, General Mills, International Pasta Organisation, Riviana, Uncle Ben's; and Supporter -- Mestemacher Bread / Carl Brandt.
|
| FDA Gluten-Free Guide for Small Business | |
 At the end of June, FDA released a guide entitled "Guidance for Industry: Gluten-Free Labeling of Foods; Small Entity Compliance Guide." Yes, the title is a mouthful -- but it may help you make sure that people with celiac disease don't get a mouthful (or a crumb!) of gluten.
August 5, 2014 is the date when all FDA-regulated foods labeled "gluten-free" must comply with FDA's final rules, so we suspect you've already come up to speed if you're selling GF products. Nonetheless, we wanted to bring this new (June 25, 2014) document to your attention. You can download it on the FDA's website here.
Although the WGC does not give legal advice on regulatory matters, we have many links on our Government Guidance page that may be helpful to our members in locating regulatory documents that apply to the United States.
|
|
| What Is YOUR Company Doing for Whole Grains Month? | |
 We're just a little more than a month away from Whole Grains Month. If you have any special plans for Whole Grains Month, tell us, and we'll help you spread the word on the WGC website and in " Just Ask for Whole Grains," our consumer newsletter. Are you running a sweepstakes or contest? Offering special coupons on your website? No matter what your plans for capitalizing on the fact that September is Whole Grains Month, we can highlight your efforts to the 2,000,000 people who visit our website annually. Email [email protected] and tell us your plans. And here's a little secret: If you totally lost track of the fact that September is Whole Grains Month, just tell us about any promotions you have going on during that month, and we'll wave our magic wand, call them "Whole Grains Month" events, and feature them!
|
Best regards,
Cynthia Harriman
Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies
[email protected]
Mallory Cushman
Stamp Program Manager
[email protected]
... and from all of the Oldways and Whole Grains Council staff
|
|
|
