The Prospector

What’s Next at Blue Mountain Station? From Highway 12 it was pretty easy to see the physical progress of the installation of infrastructure for the first phase of Blue Mountain Station this spring and summer. But the number one question being asked of Port staff these days is “What’s happening at Blue Mountain Station now?”

While the site itself may not look very exciting right now with its sprouting weeds and occasional dust cloud, a lot is going on behind the scenes.

The Port has an active business recruitment and development plan. Marketing consultants have attended 3 trade shows in 2011 made up of exactly the type of businesses we are trying to attract to the site: natural and organic specialty foods processors. Several local start-up companies are also interested in the site. We have a business lead matrix of about 40 businesses we are working with to expand their product development into the Northwest. The most interest we’re seeing at this time is from companies on the east coast looking for a presence on the west coast. There is also a great deal of interest in “co-packing,” the common practice of one food processor packaging products for multiple companies and putting individualized labels on the products. We think this has good potential for our site, and are working to bring companies and co-packers together to make something work. The Port will attend the Private Label trade show in Chicago in November as well.

To put things in perspective, keep in mind that Blue Mountain Station is the Port’s LONG TERM business development strategy. We don’t expect this to happen overnight, especially in the stagnant economy we are currently facing. Our goal was to be prepared, with land purchased and infrastructure in place, so that when the economy does break loose we’ll be ready.

And we’re ready!

Washington D.C. in July is hot and humid. In 2011 it was also hot politically, as politicians and pundits wrangled, hassled, coerced, pleaded and negotiated to come up with an agreement to raise the country’s debt ceiling. While all eyes (well, some, at least) were focused on this national tug-of-war, thousands of businesspeople converged on the nation’s capitol to wheel and deal on something equally important to the nation’s future – business. In this case, the specialty food business. The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) produced the 57th Summer Fancy Food Show, July 10 – 12, 2011 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The Show is advertised as the “largest marketplace for specialty foods and beverages in North America” and it might well be with 2,400 exhibitors, 18,000 attendees and over 60 countries represented.

What is exciting about the Fancy Food Shows is the wide assortment of exhibitors from mom & pop start-ups with stars in their eyes and visions of entrepreneurial glory to multi-national corporations represented by battle-hardened veterans and everything in-between. The specialty food business is a hotbed of start-up activity and product innovation. While walking the show floor I had the pleasure of meeting some companies representing various stages of development that I found to be most impressive and inspiring.

Cherith Valley Gardens, Fort Worth, Texas – This company represents triumph over adversity. Because of an economic collapse in 1987, Alan Werner and family discovered a desire to “return to the land”. What began as tilling the soil, harvesting and canning products for their own consumption and survival evolved into “why don’t you market these products?” (you know how annoying friends and relatives can be). On May 8, 1993 the Werner family officially produced the first Cherith Valley Gardens product. Today their “hot ‘n spicy” line of pickled vegetables, salsas, hors d’oeuvre jellies, spirited fruits, grille and dipping sauces, and assorted condiments are sold to over 2,500 specialty stores in the USA, Canada, Europe and Japan. Their products are hand-packed with no artificial preservatives, colorings or flavorings.

Tokies All Natural & Gluten Free Mixes, Richmond, Virginia – Deborah Tokarz, Founder and President (I wonder where the name Tokies came from) is a ball of fire with entrepreneurial energy surging through her veins. Their product line of brownie, chocolate cake and maple baking and pancake mixes is built on passion, a commitment to excellence, and a desire to please the palate. As they say, “Here are mixes that go beyond the ordinary…Brownies that explore the deep, dark chocolates of Europe…..Chocolate cake that tastes too good to be good for you…..Maple pancakes so full of maple sweetness, you won’t ask for syrup…” Yummy!

Texas Tamale Company, Houston, Texas – Hold on pardner, we’re talkin real tamales here! With the old fashioned tamale vendor rapidly sharing the fate of the dinosaur, what is now the Texas Tamale Company launched a street corner business to fill the gap with their homemade recipes for gourmet tamales and delicious salsas. They now have over 100 products including home style chile, chile con queso, quality drink mixes and BBQ and finishing sauces under several labels including the well-known Brazos Legends brand. Keeping good health in mind, they choose to make their tamales with pure vegetable shortening (instead of artery clogging lard) and the highest quality meat/chicken and cheeses.

Alimentos Finistere S. de R.L. de C.V., Tequisquiapan, Queretaro, Mexico – Talking tamales got me wandering “down Mexico way” (at least mentally). I had the great pleasure of meeting Sr. Carlos Sánchez-Mejorada of Alimentos Finistere. This FDA-Certified Mexican company produces a variety of all-natural honey, milk caramel, salsa, marinades, condiments and stuffed olive products. They also provide a full service product development and manufacturing program as a co-packer for the above listed products as well as RTD beverages. ¡Fantastico!

The Summer Fancy Food Show was a great experience. A number of companies expressed interest in relocating or expanding to Blue Mountain Station (www.bluemountainstation.com). The opportunity for co-packers continues to grow. Many companies expressed interest in working with a co-packer located in Blue Mountain Station to serve their West Coast and Asian markets. Phase One infrastructure construction is finished. We are ready for innovative natural and organic specialty food processors, including co-packers, that wish to relocate or expand to the Great Pacific Northwest and take advantage of this very exciting opportunity. Call me at 509-539-3575 or send me an email at gary@pchelle.com to discover how Blue Mountain Station and its very unique marketing program can help your business grow.

It’s in! The infrastructure for the Blue Mountain Station Phase 1 is in the ground and the construction project is complete. Another big step forward for Blue Mountain Station!

POW Construction of Pasco completed the project in mid-June. The site is now connected to the City of Dayton water system, water and sewer connection points have been extended to 6 building sites, a paved parking lot is complete, and a preliminary road system is in place. Anderson Perry provided construction oversight for the project.

One of the most interesting aspects of this first phase was the installation of an on-site storm water treatment system. Bioswales were created throughout the site, allowing storm water to naturally infiltrate instead of entering the sanitary sewer system. These swales are now planted with a natural grass but will be landscaped in future phases. And recent rains show these swales to be working perfectly!

Another opportunity to “go green” presented itself partway through construction. The Port had the opportunity to utilize warm-mix asphalt vs. the traditional hot-mix asphalt. The end product is the same, but the process used is more environmentally friendly. Compared to traditional hot-mix asphalt, the warm-mix method results in a 40% reduction in diesel consumption, a 31% reduction in CO2 emissions, a 29% reduction in CO emissions, and a 62% reduction in NOx emissions. In addition, there is also less potential to overheat the binder, the contractor can enjoy longer hauling distances due to a slower heat loss curve, and there is increased compatibility.

The Port is extremely pleased with the final product. We are one very important step closer to the location of our first food processing business at Blue Mountain Station.

According to a recently released report from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), consumers are increasing spending of their hard earned dollars on specialty food products. Sales of specialty food and beverages rose 7.7 percent in 2010 to $70.32 billion at retail. This compares to a 4.5 percent increase in 2009. Market researchers Mintel and SPINS also participated with NASFT. The report monitored sales of specialty food through supermarkets, natural food stores and specialty food retailers, including interviews with food retailers, distributors, brokers and others involved in the supply chain. Highlights of the report are as follows:

• Specialty foods represent 13.1 percent of all food sales at retail.
• Natural food stores are the fastest growing retail channel with sales rising 14.7 percent between 2008 and 2010.
• Cheese dominates the specialty food category with 2010 annual sales of $3.23 billion followed by meats, chips and snacks, bread and baked goods and condiments.
• Functional beverages are the fastest growing specialty food category, followed by yogurt and kefir.
• Mediterranean and Indian are the most influential emerging cuisines.
• Seventy-six percent of specialty food manufacturers reported a sales increase in 2010, with 36 percent up more than 20 percent.
• Gluten-free introductions showed sharp gains, with 119 new products in 2010 versus 67 in 2009.
• Supermarkets remain the largest seller of specialty foods, with 72.3 percent of sales, but their share is dropping as specialty and natural food stores grow.
• The average specialty food manufacturer produces 51 different items and has $2.3 million in annual sales.
• Specialty food processors focused on existing items in 2010, with new product introductions about even with 2009. Launches of premium private-label products, such as store brand cookies and sauces, declined to 455 in 2010 from 518 in 2009, highlighting a return to branded products.
• Eco-friendly, Fair Trade and sustainable are product claims that are expected to give the current “hot labels” all-natural, organic and local a run for their money in the future.
• The Fancy Food Shows, customer recommendations and trade magazines are the most important sources for discovering new products.

Speaking of NASFT, I will be attending the NASFT Summer Fancy Food Show, July 10 – 12, 2011 in Washington, D.C. If you are interested in learning more about the most innovative specialty food processing business model to come down the pike in ages, let’s get together and chat. Of course, I’m talking about Blue Mountain Station (www.bluemountainstation.com). Phase One infrastructure construction is finished. We are ready for innovative specialty food processors, including co-packers, that wish to relocate or expand to the Great Pacific Northwest and take advantage of this very exciting opportunity. Call me for a meeting prior or during the Show at 509-539-3575 or send an email to gary@pchelle.com. I am looking forward to meeting and working with you to grow your business.