Kate Harper is the chief brand curator for Hive Brands which finds and vets everyday products while validating their social and environmental commitments.
Harper will sit on a retailer panel titled Disruption and The New Normal: Selling Specialty Food, at noon EST, part of the SFA’s virtual event Specialty Food Live!
Can you tell me about Hive and its mission?
We’re building an online shop for sustainable and socially-conscious grocery/pantry and home goods brands that will launch in October. Our marketplace will be powered by brands creating exceptional products and whose businesses also work to improve the world, either by directly supporting their communities and/or by investing in responsible and eco-friendly business practices. We’re excited to shine a light on all the brands making this effort, but particularly smaller, new brands whose businesses we can help grow.
Your title is chief brand curator. Please tell me about your role.
In this role, I’m heading up our merchandising effort, which means I’m scouting for new brands, leading our team tastings to curate the category assortment, and tackling the ongoing assignment of optimizing that assortment for our customers’ interests and needs.
What are some of the most innovative products you’ve tried lately?
Union Snacks’ Charcuterie Crisps, Pan’s Mushroom Jerky, VINA sparkling apple cider vinegar, and Elmhurst 1925’s “milked” nuts and oats.
How has the pandemic impacted demand for specialty food?
Shopping was turning to online channels before the pandemic, but the immense reliance on online shopping in the past six months is greater than anyone would have imagined. I’ve seen statistics that e-commerce has advanced 10 years since the pandemic began, which is both astonishing and believable, and there has been an increase in more advanced home cooking, from the sourdough craze of the spring to interest in more unusual ingredients.
Where do you see the future of specialty heading?
Specialty is becoming more and more accessible, both because products are more readily available outside of specialty retailers but also because customers are excited to discover these brands in their homes. It’s exciting to see how that is interacting with the increasing availability of previously niche categories (plant-based and allergy-friendly, for example), which means the category is available to nearly any type of consumer.
Related: 12 Under 35: Gabrielle, E.W. Carter; How to Break Into Club.
from Specialty Food News https://ift.tt/3mCX2B3
No comments: