Wednesday Webs: Summer’s Super Foods!

This is such an exciting time of year. Each morning I go out to my garden and find the super food fairies have been hard at work during the night. We’ve had perfect garden weather so far—lots of rain a few weeks ago and now intensely hot sun. This beautiful dill is just biding it’s time, waiting for the pickles growing behind it to burst on to the scene. And they soon will. In just another week, we’ll be making dill pickles galore!

Visual communication is huge for marketing food. So are public relations, the media, and an overall emotional bond to delicacies we eat. Lately, I’ve found so much that supports this theory.

• Here’s a case study for What We Eat and Why It Matters. Case studies are inordinately useful for managing the project, but they’re also educational for anyone looking to learn.

• Earlier this month one of my favorite cheese companies, Crave Brothers, suffered a devastating blow when it had to voluntarily recall three of its specialty cheeses. This is devastating not only for them, but for the whole artisanal cheese industry. I’m watching with interest in how they handle this PR crisis (so far, I think they’ve done well). I’ve worked with owner Charles Crave in the past, and he and his family are wonderful people. I know they’ll come back better than ever. In fact, I’ve ramped up buying their mozzerella and mascarpone—oh, so very good!

• This is fascinating. Americans appetite for organic food is growing faster than U.S. farmers are producing it. Thought-provoking conversations about food, marketing and our nation’s priorities.

• If the milk industry is worried, maybe it needs to rethink its product? Obviously, Americans want healthier milk.

• Speaking of pickles, did you know Wisconsin has a Pickle Bill? It allows food entrepreneurs to sell certain home-canned foods without a license. Perhaps you’ve always dreamed of your own home-based food business? Be sure to check out your state’s Cottage Food Laws.

• Maybe there should even be a National Cottage Food Law? Some entrepreneurs think yes.

• My client, Rock County Historical Society, is well into its year-long Breadbasket: Seed to Spoon Exhibit. It’s a fascinating celebration of the county’s culinary history!