Arielle Feger

You've got mail! Check your inbox for this month's #TheDigestif. We're updating you on #SpecialtyFoodLIVE, #SFABasics, #FancyFoodShow, the Community Hub, and much more!

Join attorney Sophia Castillo, Downey Brand LLP, as she explores issues that affect makers who create baked goods, roasted and crunchy snack foods, nut products and other products that contain acrylamide and are regulated in California under Proposition 65. She’ll cover the current status of the law, recent claims regarding alleged acrylamide, the types of products that are frequently targeted, discuss new pending regulations in California and answer your questions. Thursday, May 6 1 p.m. ET This webinar is free for SFA members and $19 for non-members. Register now.

Join the SFA for another informational webinar on Thursday, April 29 at 1 p.m. ET. How can brands connect with the press and get noticed? Join Jennifer Lea Cohan from the SFA’s PR team for this informative webinar where you’ll learn when and how to create a press release, how to research and pitch the media, and how SFA can help along the way. Bring your questions! Register now.

This free on-demand Cision webinar provides tips and best practices for SFA members about how to work with press and social media to better promote their presence at #SpecialtyFoodLIVE. Access the recording here. Register for Specialty Food LIVE! May Questions? Contact press@specialtyfood.com.

Will April showers bring May flowers? Weather the storm with new resources and solutions as you embark on the start of Q2! Share ideas with your fellow members at our April Share Group on April 20 at 5 p.m. ET. How It Works: After you register, you'll receive your personal login information. At 5 p.m. ET, on April 20, you login and are welcomed by the SFA host. There is a short orientation, then the larger group splits up into breakouts; you’ll meet one another and discuss topics of common concern for about 40 minutes. Everyone then rejoins the full group for feedback. The Share Group is open to all SFA members, but participation is limited - registration will stay open until an hour before the event if space remains available. Register here.

April is Diversity Month, and to celebrate it, the SFA will be highlighting our diverse membership throughout the month. We're digging deeper and learning more about our specialty food maker members.

SFA's The Basics Live is taking place virtually Tuesday, May 4 and Wednesday, May 5, 12:00 pm - 5:00 p.m. ET with an optional chat session from 5:00 - 6:00 pm ET Tuesday, May 4. To succeed in the specialty food business, you need a great recipe. An outstanding brand. A motivated team. And a lot of knowledge. Complete this two-day intensive workshop with SFA, and you’ll have the tools you need to take the next steps. Learn about key topics like pricing, selling, understanding the specialty food consumer, trade promotions, and much more. If you are new to the industry or looking to take your product to the next level, this event is for you. The price for SFA members is $99 and $199 for non-members. (Special discount for new SFA members -- email education@specialtyfood.com for details!) Register here.

The Specialty Food Association condemns all acts of racism. Violent attacks against the Asian community made during this pandemic are heinous and must be prosecuted. We have been reaching out to our AAPI members and will continue to speak out against hate and violence. As an Association, we are committed to do the work necessary to foster fundamental changes that address racism and exclusion in our industry. We believe positive and collective action is possible, can impact change, and ultimately bring an end to race-based inequality. We encourage our entire community to join us in helping to address these inequalities wherever we find them. We have a history of supporting each other through extraordinary and transformative times and this moment calls for that support again. There is no place for racism in any form in a successful future. Everyone must be welcome to the table. #StopAsianHate

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA suspended many of its inspection activities and experimented with new modes of inspection – leaving many food companies wondering what’s next for food safety in 2021. Meanwhile, FDA’s thinking on the prevention of foodborne illness outbreaks, inspections, using new technologies, and engaging consumers has been changing rapidly. Last year, FDA announced its New Era for Smarter Food Safety Blueprint, including four core elements: 1) Tech enabled traceability, 2) Smarter tools for outbreak response, 3) New business models and retail modernization, and 4) Food safety culture. Attorney Jeni Lamb Rogers will recap enforcement trends for 2020, reflect on the Blueprint, how it interacts with FSMA, and what changes food companies can expect in their interactions and engagement with the FDA prior to and during facility inspections this year and beyond. Thursday, April 15 1 p.m. ET This webinar is free for SFA members and $19 for non-members. Register now.

The Specialty Food Association is continuing its weekly webinar series to support and educate the specialty food industry. Webinars are held live with recorded versions available for download in the specialtyfood.com Learning Center. Webinars are free for SFA members and $19 for non-members. Here are highlights from some of the latest webinars: In The CARES Act’s ERTC: Retaining More Cash for Employers Who Retain Their Employees, Jeffrey Tate, tax partner at Arent Fox LLP, discussed the Employee Retention Tax Credit, which provides fully refundable tax credits to employers affected by COVID-19 business disruptions. Jeff walked through the ins and outs of the ERTC, addressing how SFA members can obtain immediate and substantial benefits from the ERTC, enabling them to maintain focus on delivering innovative products in the specialty food space. In Co-Packing Agreements: The Key Elements, attorney Jeni Lamb Rogers discussed the basic elements of a co-packing agreement, including confidentiality, intellectual property, setting expectations, food safety, and recall responsibility. Peter Guyer, CEO and founder, and Bob Jones, vice president of international sales, at Athena Marketing spoke about Increasing Your Sales in High-Growth Export Markets in this sponsored webinar. The speakers went over what you need to do to become export-ready, how to use data to make smarter export decisions, the importance of website localization and social media, and much more. Visit the Learning Center to download these and many other webinars in the series.

Exhibitor registration has opened for Specialty Food Live! May, taking place May 10 to 14, 2021. This is our third digital marketplace and we hope you’ll be there. The event brings makers and buyers together to get business done. Learn more and register today!

Increasing exports can be an important part of your business recovery and resilience strategy. Join SFA and Athena Marketing to learn what you need to do to become export-ready, how to use data to make smarter export decisions, the importance of website localization and social media, and much more. You’ll also get key resources to support your export sales growth. Speakers include Peter Guyer, CEO and founder, and Bob Jones, vice president of international sales, at Athena Marketing. Thursday, March 25 1 p.m. ET This webinar is free for SFA members and $19 for non-members.

Join attorney Jeni Lamb Rogers as she discusses the basic elements of a co-packing agreement, including confidentiality, intellectual property, setting expectations, food safety, and recall responsibility. Bring your questions! Monday, March 15 1 p.m. ET This webinar is free for SFA members and $19 for non-members. Register here.

Join Jeffrey Tate, tax partner at Arent Fox LLP, discussing the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), which provides fully refundable tax credits of up to $19,000 in the aggregate per employee to employers affected by COVID-19 business disruptions. The ERTC was broadly expanded as part of the 2020 year-end stimulus package, which retroactively made the ERTC available to recipients of PPP loans. Jeff will walk through the ins and outs of the ERTC, addressing how SFA members can obtain immediate and substantial benefits from the ERTC, enabling them to maintain focus on delivering innovative products in the specialty food space. Thursday, March 11 1 p.m. ET This webinar is free for SFA members and $19 for non-members. Register here.

As a member in good standing, you’re entitled to use the SFA logo on your website and/or in your marketing materials and packaging. Promoting your affiliation with the SFA notifies those visiting your website or seeing your marketing or packaging materials that you are a business sharing our common passion to Shape the Future of Food. The SFA logo was updated about a year ago. The pandemic threw a lot of plans into disarray – including our full logo roll-out, slated for the 2020 Summer Fancy Food Show. With that show canceled, you might have missed our re-branding news. If you’re already using the SFA logo on your materials, check to see that you are indeed using the new branding. If you’re not yet using our logo, jump on in! Use these links for helpful tips:SFA Logo: What Not to DoLogo Variations: What to UseDownloadable versions for your use can be found online. You will need to log onto the membership section of our website to access the logos.

The Specialty Food Association is continuing both its Ask the Experts and Rise to the COVID-19 challenge webinar series as the pandemic continues to impact the specialty food industry. Webinars are held weekly with recorded versions available for download in the specialtyfood.com Learning Center. Webinars are free for SFA members and $19 for non-members. Here are highlights from some of the latest webinars: In Tackling Your E-Commerce Trifecta, Lou Nicolaides, president of Ludwig Marketing & Sales, shared best practices to help you launch, optimize, and grow on today’s key online e-commerce platforms: Amazon, Walmart Marketplace, and your company website. PPP Forgiveness is not granted automatically. It is the borrower’s responsibility to submit the correct form with the accurate calculation and information with all required documentation to your PPP lenders. In PPP Forgiveness: Round Two Update, Man-Li Lin, economic development specialist, Small Business Administration, spoke about PPP Forgiveness if you have received the first PPP or will be applying for the PPP2 First Draw PPP/Second Draw loans. Consumers have become increasingly interested in the environmental, health, and social implications of the foods they buy. In Launching a Sustainable Food Brand: Combing Business and Impact, Linda Appel Lipsius, co-founder Teatulia Organic Teas, as she explains the “why” and “why nots” behind launching a sustainable food brand. The coronavirus has shaken up all segments of the specialty food industry – where people are eating, how they are cooking, what new ingredients they are using, and the powerful social consciousness driving brand choices. In Talking Trends in ’21, SFA Trendspotter Panel members Melanie Bartelme, global food analyst, Mintel, and Jonathan Deutsch Ph.D., CHE, CRC, professor, Drexel University and director, Drexel Food Lab, discussed the reverberations of these changes and the trends that will dominate 2021 and beyond. Visit the Learning Center to download these and many other webinars in the series.

The Specialty Food Association will accept applications for its annual sofi Awards now throughout the month of March. The sofi Awards have been honoring the best in specialty food for 48 years. Winners get exposure to thousands of retail, foodservice, and distributor buyers through trade media, consumer press coverage, and special events. All SFA maker members in good standing may apply to have their product(s) in the sofi competition. More information and how to apply here!

The coronavirus has shaken up all segments of the specialty food industry – where people are eating, how they are cooking, what new ingredients they are using, and the powerful social consciousness driving brand choices. Join SFA Trendspotter Panel members Melanie Bartelme, Global Food Analyst, Mintel, and Jonathan Deutsch Ph.D., CHE, CRC, Professor, Drexel University and Director, Drexel Food Lab, as they discuss the reverberations of these changes and the trends that will dominate 2021 and beyond. Thursday, March 4 1 p.m. ET This webinar is free for SFA members and $19 for non-members. Register here.

Consumers have become increasingly interested in the environmental, health, and social implications of the foods they buy. Join Linda Appel Lipsius, Co-Founder, Teatulia Organic Teas, as she explains the “why” and “why nots” behind launching a sustainable food brand. Thursday, February 25 1 p.m. ET This webinar is free for SFA members and $19 for non-members. Register here.

PPP Forgiveness is not granted automatically. It is the borrower’s responsibility to submit the correct form with the accurate calculation and information with all required documentation to your PPP lenders. Join Man-Li Lin, Economic Development Specialist, Small Business Administration, to learn about PPP Forgiveness if you have received the first PPP or will be applying for the PPP2 First Draw PPP/Second Draw loans. Thursday, February 18 1 p.m. ET. This webinar is free for SFA members and $19 for non-members. Register here.