In this month’s issue, we bring you the first group of honorees in our Gourmet Retailer Industry Innovator awards. We want to thank everyone who sent in nominations and the scores of companies that took the time to apply. Thank you. With so many companies worthy of recognition, it was a difficult task for us to narrow down the field of nominees to the 20 Industry Innovators profiled in this issue.

We had many worthy nominees, and we could have easily filled the pages of a year’s worth of issues with the stories of innovative suppliers who have been truly essential to the gourmet market. Moving ahead, we will make this an annual feature, and we’ll look forward to receiving your input again next year—if not sooner.

Innovation is the lifeblood of the gourmet retail market. Sure, you can carve out a niche specializing in the gourmet classics, but there’s no mistake that the gourmet industry is loaded with passionate, creative people. On the supplier side, we get to see the fruit of their labors at every tradeshow. They do more than launch new products; they launch products that simplify and streamline. They fill a niche. And sometimes they devise unexpected, new ways of doing old things—and new things that we’ve never done. And sometimes they’re back-to-basics—working to preserve unique culinary traditions and traditional foodstuffs. For us working in the media, there is an abundance of stories to tell and we look forward to telling you more stores in The Gourmet Retailer, both online and in print.

Speaking of innovation, we’ve teamed up with our friends at Kenmore Live and Sterling Silver meats to organize a very special culinary demo on August 6. If you are in Chicago and would like to attend, please email me to reserve a spot. Seating is limited. And for those of you not in the Windy City, you can tune in online and watch the event live over the internet at Kenmore Live’s Facebook page and on The Gourmet Retailer website as well. See page 43 for more information about this event.

Later this year, we’ll be honoring retailers—in our Top 50 Retailers feature. Just as with the Industry Innovators, we welcome your suggestions, and you can submit your nominations on www.gourmetretailer.com/top50 or simply send me an email.

Sincerely,

Anna Wolfe

awolfe@stagnitomedia.com