Upper Midwest Gourmet

As the days grow shorter, the nights grow longer, and that first cold snap hits the air, two things are certain. Fall is coming and apple cider season is upon us. Cider has long been a staple of the fall and winter seasons and is also a profitable coffee alternative for any menu board. To ensure a successful cider season, Upper Midwest Gourmet has compiled the following list of five tips that will help boost your sales and please your customers.

1. In-store Promotion is a Must

Due to the seasonal nature of cider, customers must be informed of its availability as a menu option. Highlighting cider drinks as specials, putting up a counter sign and table tents, or even advertising can be used to get the word out. These promotional materials should not only bring awareness to the avid cider drinker, but will also help tap into the nostalgic demand of regular coffee drinkers.

2. Steam + Cream = Green (It Almost Rhymes)

Rather than simply handing over a basic mug of cider, it helps to add some ambiance to the preparation. Using the steam wand on an espresso machine to churn the mug of cider will not only make it frothier and release its aroma, but it will also make the drink more special for the customer. The more special a drink is, the more you can charge for it. Another nice value-adding touch is to top the mug with a dollop of whipped cream and a cinnamon stick.

3. Get Creative

Along similar lines, the more unique a drink is, the more you can charge for it. By creating signature drinks you can differentiate yourself from the other players in town. By adding orange rind, ginger, or any other final touches of your choice, you can create excitement for your seasonal offering. “Hey Jill, I hear Café XYZ is doing their ginger twist cider again. Bring the kids… and your wallet!” (Ok that was cheesy but you get the point)

4. Suggest Food Pairings

What better way to increase the average customer’s order than by selling complimentary products together. Cider will pair very well with scones, pies, pastries, and other baked goods. As long as you’re offering a cider special, why not also offer a “cider and slice of apple pie” special.

5. Reduce Waste (Warning: Shameless Plug for the Mountain Cider Company)

Cider can sometimes be a handful because of the refrigerator space it requires and the fact that it spoils within a week. By throwing away bad cider you are throwing away profits. This may tempt some to buy those powdered cider packets you see in the grocery store. Here at the Mountain Cider Company we refer to that as “chemical water”. Instead, we suggest you use the Mountain Cider Company’s all natural Hot Spiced Apple Cider concentrate. Our cider is just like what you would get from the orchard only it has been spiced and boiled down, giving it a shelf life of a year and a half without any preservatives. Even after our jugs are open they maintain shelf stability without having to be refrigerated. If you prefer to make cider in batches, a container of our cider can be reheated daily for a week without losing its flavor integrity. Talk about cider made easy!

So there you have it, five surefire tips for getting the most out of your cider season. We love to hear how our customers use our products, so if you have any other good tips feel free to let us know.

Get them while they’re hot, Sweet Maria is mixing up seasonal batches of Pumpkin Spice Biscotti from now through Thanksgiving.

Each of Maria’s yummy Pumpkin Biscotti  are topped with a luscious cinnamon sugar.

You can mix a dozen in with any assorted case of Sweet Maria’s.  You know you want one!

Cé Fair Trade Organic Syrup

Just in time for Fall, we are having a sale on our Cé Fair Trade Organic Syrup inventory.  For September and October take $2.45 off per bottle on all flavors, including Pumpkin Spice and Chai Tea! That’s a discount of $14.70 per case! Keep your FTO Lattés and Cappuccinos FTO even on seasonal holiday flavors by using Cé Fair Trade Organic Pumpkin Spice and Chai Tea syrups.  Add a pump of either to your whipped cream canisters for a killer seasonal garnish too. Chai Tea and Pumpkin Spice wont last long so get them while you can.

Upper Midwest Gourmet now sells Mozo Shoes!

What is a “mozo”?

What is a “mozo”? In the time of pack trains and cattle roundups, a mozo was hired to help out with heavy work around the ranch, and was always on his feet. The spirit of the mozo inspired a footwear craftsman and entrepreneur to start MOZO®  in 1996. Today, MOZO makes revolutionary footwear for creative, passionate and talented professionals, shoes for culinary professionals who are artists, athletes and creators—not just cooks or servers. Any shoe that bears the MOZO name must be a shoe that we are personally willing to stand in and wear for 10 to 12 hours a day. Since making that promise, MOZO has set new standards for comfort, safety and durability for culinary footwear. MOZO is an approved footwear vendor for several leading industry partners. It is the combination of safety, comfort, and quality, which has advanced the brand rapidly since Deckers’ acquisition. 

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

We are very happy to have our relationship with Papa Gelato at the Minnesota State Fair. He started at the Fair many years ago with his amazing pizza at The Pizza Palace and decided to stay in the authentic Italian theme when he introduced gelato to the State Fair and most of Minnesota, for the matter, back in 2005. He has been producing gelato/Italian ice cream at the MN State Fair for seven years now and it continues to get better and more creative every year. This year he has introduced new flavors like the super popular “Sea Salt Caramel Gelato” and the savory “Bacon Gelato!” Yes, BACON GELATO!

 You have to make sure to stop and get some gelato or sorbetto on your next visit to the MN State Fair and tell them that the Beanheads at UMG sent ya! Remember, you can always ask for a sample of a flavor to try first if you just can’t decide which flavor you want.

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

We are very happy to now be able to offer a few new cafe equipment options to our customers. Currently in our showroom and available through us is a Sharp commercial microwave, an Ascend under-counter cooler, and an ITV ice maker. These are all NSF certified and perfect for cafe use.

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

You’ve been asking for them and we have listened. Upper Midwest Gourmet now is stocking 12, 16 and 20 ounce Blue Stripe RPET Recycled content Cold Cups and RPET flat lids. We can ship these all year long so you can lower your inventory and not worry about running short on a hot week when we can’t ship; you can pour HOT espresso into the cup without it turning into a balloon; they are easier to recycle than PLA cold cups and go into your common plastic recyling bin; THEY ARE MADE WITH A MINIMUM OF 50% RECYCLED CONTENT!!! Using recycled PET saves resources, keeps waste out of landfills, and lets you make a smart choice without compromising performance. Did I mention they are a little less expensive too (just a little, but hey, every dollar counts). The lids and cups are the same diameter as your current Eco Products PLA so don’t worry about having to waste any of your current inventory. If you have a few extra sleeves of cups or lids they are compatible with the new cup. Our plan is to eventually discontinue the PLA cup and move every into the RPET cup for all the reasons above. It’s our belief that this is the better cup for holding your beverages and a better choice in our mission to be more environmentally conscious.

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

Summer has been really hot so far most likely meaning you are selling a ton of cold drinks! Let’s all continue to enjoy the sunshine and outdoor fun while we can.

Please check out our newest Brewsletter – Volume 44 – Summer 2011

Also, please go to the Brewsletters Page on our website to download and read previous Brewsletters. They contain lots of useful information!

Enjoy and thanks again from all of us at UMG!

Please enjoy our updated coffee offerings sheet:

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

UMG is excited to now offer Sweet Maria’s Biscotti.

They have a ton of great new flavors and will always be delivered fresh!

Flavors include:

Apple Cinnamon Swirl: Apple Chips, Cinnamon Swirl and Cinnamon Icing

Apricotti Biscotti: Lots of Apricots and Walnuts

Chips-A-Licious: Chock full of Chocolate Chips

Fudge-A-Licious: Rich Dark Choclate with Chocolate Chips

Lemon Delights: Lemon and Coconut

Maple Walnut: Fresh Maple Syrup and Chopped Walnuts

Maria’s Special: Cranberries, Almonds and White Choclolate

Nuts for Amaretto: Almonds and Amaretto

PB Fudge: Rich Dark Chocolate with Peanut Butter Chips

Razzleberry Chip: Raspberry with Dark and White Chocolate Chips

Red Velvet: Red Velvert Cake Batter drizzled with Vanilla Icing

Gingerbread: Gingerbread Drizzled with lemon Icing and Sugar Sparkle

Orange Creamsicle:  Our summer favorite- Orange Biscotti with White Orange Icing

Mocha Hazelnut: Espresso with Hazelnuts

Seasonal Favorites (Holiday Time only)

Santa’s Special

Cupids delight

Pumpkin Raisin Spice: Spicy Blend of Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Cloves drizzled with Spiced Icing

(For pricing, information on how to get a free acrylic display or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

We are very happy that the weather is finally getting hot and that means blended drinks are booming!

Here are two brand new blended ice drink recipes from Big Train.

One is a coffee-based frappe (Big Train Coconut Mocha Frappe) and

the other is an awesome blended fruit smoothie (Big Train Strawberry Lemonade Slushie or Smoothie)!

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

For the past year I have not had a week go by without being informed of a price increase of some sort from one or more of our vendors. Coffee, sugar, cocoa, paper, plastic, petroleum are all being traded at historic high levels and the manufacturers are raising prices across the board. Paper and plastic companies on an almost weekly basis. As our business volume has increased we’ve tried to make up a lot of those increases on volume vs passing the increase along. Sometimes it’s simply impossible but most of the time we’re splitting the difference and only raising 25-50% of the increase passed on to us. On the positive side, we’re seeing a steady rise in same store purchases showing an increase in volume on the retailers side as well. Hopefully we can all weather this storm and as commidities recover, we see some manufacturers begin to pass that saving back towards the retailer. We’re commited to keeping prices as competitive as possible while still being able to provide you with the great service we are so well known for.  

A number of customers have asked why we don’t call them when there are price increases?  It would be impossible for us to notify you all without hiring a full-time employee for just that job alone, which would again lead to more price increases.  However, we try and update the brochure as the increases occur and UMG customers have 24-hour access to the latest version 365 days a year.  Just go to the Upper Midwest Gourmet home page and click on the Information and Training materials link on the right hand side.  The very first item is our most current catalog.  This is for UMG wholesale customers only so make sure to get the current password from your UMG sales representative.   Of course, you can always call or email if you’d like a hard color copy mailed to you.  Hang in there everyone and remember, raise your prices, too, so you can still provide the best product and service that your customers expect.

The emergence of brew-by-the-cup coffee has taken our industry by storm. You can’t help but see single cup coffee brewing at many cafes that used to only offer a drip-brew option. We believe that the increased understanding and popularity of Specialty grade coffee has helped push and promote this new style of coffee preperation and we think this will be a staple in most cafes that want to offer many single origin options without having to brew a full airpot everytime someone orders a certain coffee.

That being said, we believe that drip coffee is a staple that will always need to exist along side the new style of BBTC. Cafes will always have customers that want their coffee to take no longer than a few pumps from the airpot to their to-go cup and then they want to be on their way out the door.

Here is a great article/blogpost by Jack Groot on the subject – BBTC – fad or trend?

If BBTC coffee brewing is something that you want to add to your cafe there are many options to choose from. We stock and recommend the following options:

•  Flamenco Stand, 4-cup Manual Pour-Over Coffee Brewing Station – this device is a great way to provide pour-over single-cup coffee brewing without spending a ton of money on fancy equipment. Just think, you can brew four different cups of single origin coffee at the same time!
•  Bunn Trifecta - this machine really is amazing! With trifecta, the barista creates an experience which unlocks the nuances of your coffee. Using an air infusion single cup process, trifecta brews so that each coffee’s unique voice resonates.
• Clever Single Cup Coffee Dripper – these have advanced the concept of Full Immersion Coffee Brewing by creating an easy way to brew without bitterness, acidity or loose grounds. The difference is it’s new shut-off valve system. Instead of pushing the grounds to the bottom of the brew carafe, the grounds settle naturally.
• Melitta Single Cup Brewer – this small device is portable and fits over any size mug or travel cup. The Melitta is wonderful because it gives you access to the important factors like water temperature, grind setting, even water distribution, and amount.

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

Please enjoy our updated coffee offerings sheet:

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)