05.14.12
Water, water everywhere, and finally a drop to drink!
Michael Szyliowicz

 

I flew in to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) recently and was very impressed with this water dispenser. 

Designed to fill reusable water bottles, and located directly after security, it makes lots of sense for travelers to easily get their own water bottles filled without having to buy the disposable kind.

Clean drinking water is good, healthy, and, often taken for granted, which is a bit of a problem since we don’t attach enough value to it. 

Even better is the fact that the number of plastic bottles being sent to landfills is being reduced. America currently has an obsession with water, but too much of it is either being wasted or the containers are simply not being recycled. 

This is a great alternative, and I hope we start seeing more in other public spaces.

Have you seen these water dispensers at other airports or other public spaces? Share your experience in our comments field! 

Beverages, Diary of a Chocolatier, Travel
INNOVATION, san francisco, water
05.08.12
A great day for GoodDrinks
Michael Szyliowicz

As The Blend readers well know by now, I am all about innovation. Once we develop products for customers, I’m already looking at the next one. Over the years I’m proud of the fact that as a company we have introduced a number of “firsts.” I created the first co-branded, non-alcoholic chocolate sauce, partnering with Kahlua. We introduced both the first certified fair trade chocolate sauce and the first single-origin chocolate sauce. We’ve hosted industry events dedicated to innovation and creativity. Innovation is at the center of nearly every conversation at our office, from R&D to Sales to Marketing and Operations, and in many ways, it’s the single most important thing we do. 

Today, we’re introducing another industry first: a complete line of sauces, drink mixes and concentrates made completely free of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a sweetener that has been linked to obesity and other health related issues. 

Today, we introduce GoodDrinks. 

GoodDrinks is a bold new choice that aims to lift our entire industry, asking all of us to strive for something better—better for our bodies, better for our customers, better for our children and better for the...

Beverages, Diary of a Chocolatier, Innovation, News
bevolution, clean water, gooddrinks, INNOVATION, population services international
03.06.12
Commitment to innovation
Michael Szyliowicz

 

Innovation is at the center of everything we do. It has shaped our company’s heritage, laid the groundwork for our bright future and even influences our daily decisions at Mont Blanc Gourmet. 

We’ve proven to the food and beverage industry time and again that we’ll take a chance to bring about positive change for the industry. 

Mont Blanc Gourmet was the first in the industry to introduce fair trade chocolate sauce, a decision we made because it was the right thing to do. We also were the first to bring the industry single-origin chocolate sauce. We dared to develop the industry’s first dairy-free blender mix, and at SCAA 2011 we hosted the “Invitation to Innovation,” a wildly successful breakfast with creativity coach Artie Isaac that helped industry leaders start looking at creativity and innovation as tools to improve business. 

For an industry that traditionally waits for the largest companies to change before following behind, Mont Blanc Gourmet stands out from the pack, constantly driving industry ingenuity and imagination. 

We’re deeply committed to innovation, and in the next year, Mont Blanc Gourmet will again prove that commitment through some very exciting announcements. That’s all we can formally announce so far, but stay tuned for some stirring innovations in 2012. 

 

Beverages, Diary of a Chocolatier, Innovation, News, Sustainability
dairy-free, fair trade, INNOVATION, scaa, single origin
10.24.11
Sowing their Oats
Michael Szyliowicz

I am a big believer of innovation and am continually frustrated by the lack of innovation in the specialty coffee industry. There have been no significant new product introductions for years, and every trade show I visit has the same roster of exhibitors showcasing the same products for beverages.

At long last, there is a product that is taking the industry by storm, and I see it popping up in many cafes. And it isn’t a drink—it’s breakfast.

Oatmeal has burst on the scene in the last several years and has become the must-have menu addition. Stores are embracing it as consumers ask for healthier and protein filled options to accompany their morning drink. Distributors are selling it both on its own merits and as a way to sell other items to cafes that are seeing increased sales.

One coffee roaster told me that his coffee sales increased because his customers now want better coffee to wash down the oatmeal. I never expected innovation for specialty coffee to be steel cut, but at last something is spurring new ideas in an industry starving for new ideas.

Beverages, Diary of a Chocolatier, Innovation
cafes, INNOVATION, oatmeal, specialty coffee
10.17.11
Recycling Cups
Michael Szyliowicz

Recycling has become mainstream in America. Special colored containers sit curbside in front of garages and behind houses on garbage day holding newspaper, glass, plastic, Styrofoam and cardboard to be hauled away and recycled. Restaurants, too, have their special containers next to dumpsters. But one item bedevils every seller of hot drinks, and that is the ubiquitous coffee cup.

Because it contains a hot liquid, the inside has a lining that simply isn’t recyclable. And with billions of beverages sold annually in the U.S., that amounts to a lot of paper that is simply being thrown away and not reused in any fashion.

In the last several years the larger companies have collaborated to try and figure out solutions to the cup challenge. The collaborative cup summits have been held to analyze and discuss the problem. The largest players have publicly declared that the cup issue is their number one priority, and much time and energy has been expended brainstorming and trying to solve the problem.

I know that this will ultimately be solved. It won’t be easy, and it will take investments by everyone. Suppliers will have to invest in new technology for new processes and products. Companies will have to...

Beverages, Diary of a Chocolatier, Innovation, Sustainability
coffee cups, INNOVATION, recycling, sustainability