After running my own technology PR agency in San Francisco during the rise and fall of the dot-com boom in the late 90s and early 2000, I swore I’d never get back in the PR agency business.

At its peak, I grew my tech firm to eight people; reached a couple million dollars in annual revenue; and rode the wave of Internet startup PR. Then the bottom fell out.  At the end of the day, I was burned out and needed a break.

In 2004, I came up with the idea for my Food Fete media events, which fortunately have really caught on and continue to grow.  I can honestly say I’ve never had a job that’s so much fun as producing these events.  As you might guess, Food Fete has enabled me to build some solid relationships with a good number of the editors who have attended Food Fete over the past four years, plus I’ve come to know a lot of innovative food companies and good PR agencies along the way.

Reinvention: Phase II

I’ve now decided to put those relationships to work for food companies that make amazing products and who want to reach the press with their stories, but with my brand of PR. Here’s a link to the release http://pitch.pe/5073.

Today, I am launching a new food PR and communications consultancy called FoodSmart Communications.  Some might say I’m nuts for launching a new firm in this shaky economy,  but I already have a couple clients on board, with several prospects in the pipeline.

So, why start a new food consultancy, and why now?  After looking at what’s going on in the food PR industry (and being on the receiving end of a lot of PR pitches because of this blog), I identified a need for what I believe is a smarter way of serving clients.  For a couple of years, I’ve also been paying attention to all the PR and media chatter about unfocused, irrelevant PR pitches, which for some editors reached a tipping point, branding anything coming a PR firm as spam.

Permission-based PR

That’s why with FoodSmart, I decided to take risk and implement permission-based PR, meaning I will only send client information to food writers and bloggers who have opted-in to receive it.  I suspect I’m not the only one doing this (and this approach won’t be right for everyone), but I do believe (and based on early feedback from food writers), it will be well-received by the media, not to mention creating a lot of value for clients.

At this writing, more than 160 food writers and bloggers have opt-ed in, which blows me away.  Among them are nearly every major food, women’s and lifestlye magazine that covers food.  There are still a few holes in the list, but it’s a matter of time before it’s where I want it to be.

To learn more, visit my “beta” blogsite at www.foodsmartpr.com.  It’s still a work in progress, as I imagine the entire agency will be as I roll out this new way of reaching out to the media.

If you’re a food company and want to talk about how I might help you, drop me a line at 713-862-2771 or hello (at) foodsmartpr (dot) com.  If you’re food writer and want to opt-in, click here for the online form.

I invite comments, as I’m sure some will have an opinion about my approach.

I’ve recently (or should I say finally) jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. After only a few days, I see what all the fuss is about.

If you’re on Twitter or have been thinking about participating, follow me at www.twitter.com/foodfete

The fourth annual Food Fete media event took place on Monday (6/30) in New York, and it was by far our busiest and best event to date.  Lots of interesting new products and a room packed with press.

Positive comments from our exhibitors and media were unanimous, with AOL Food’s Kat Kinsman reiterating for a second time that Food Fete is “my favorite food event of the year.”  Thanks Kat.

Though we’re still tallying the numbers, media attendance exceeded 100, with many of the top publications represented — Food & Wine, O the Oprah Magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Epicurious.com, Marthastewart.com, Food Network Magazine, SELF, Ladies’ Home Journal, Family Circle, Chocolatier, Men’s Fitness, Parade, TIME and BusinessWeek, among others.

As I mentioned earlier, Chris “C.J.” Jacobsen of “Top Chef” Season 3 attended on behalf of the California Strawberry Commission, making his own recipe for a delicious Strawberry Mint Sangria.  C.J. shared with me that life after Top Chef has been great, and he’ll soon be opening his new restaurant in Chicago.  I wish him well with that new venture.

Here a few early photos:

Thanks again to our exhibitors, sponsors and media attendees for helping make Food Fete a great event.

I talk to a lot of small specialty food companies in doing what I do. When the conversation turns to how to grow their business, I consistently hear comments that point to gaps in their ability to easily find resources and experts to get critical things done.

A new site called The Gourmet Business Directory has just launched, which aims to fill those gaps with an online resource of suppliers and consultants necessary for starting and growing a food business.

The Gourmet Business Directory has set its sights on becoming the go-to resource for food manufacturers who are looking for food brokers, distributors, co-packers, labeling companies, packaging suppliers and fulfillment vendors, among other types of businesses.

There is a nominal fee for vendor companies to be included in the directory, however the online directory is free for food companies looking to find helpful resources.

Gourmet Business Directory was started by Ryan Montague, a management consultant specializing in brand and business development with an exclusive focus on gourmet and specialty food.

I’ve just launched a private survey of food journalists to measure their opinions on topics dealing with how food & lifestyle brands and their agencies work with the press.

Food editors who’d like to take the survey can email me at info (at) foodfete (dot) com to receive a link. The survey closes March 20.

I’ve received a good number of inquiries about our 2008 plans, particularly whether there will be a Food Fête media event in January in San Diego, which is during the same timeframe as the Winter Fancy Food Show. Historically, we’ve produced Food Fête during that show in San Francisco.

I’ve been weighing the pros and cons of a San Diego event for several months, including polling some west coast food editors about their plans, and have decided to skip San Diego to focus more on producing multiple Food Fêtes events in New York City during 2008.

Our summer Food Fête in NYC has become our flagship event, attracting the largest number of top editors from consumer food and lifestyle publications — the ones whom most of our exhibitors want to meet.

So in addition to our regular summer event, which is scheduled for Monday, June 30, two additional New York events are in the planning stages — one in the early spring and another in the fall.

Email me at info (@) foodfete (dot) com to receive the event specifics as soon as they become available.

I live in Atlanta, and if you haven’t heard, we’re experiencing an extremely serious drought. The city, as well as most of the state, is simply running out of water, resulting in a total outdoor watering ban. It has been called a drought of “historic magnitude.” No watered lawns. No fountains at Centennial Olympic Park.

Coca-Cola, which participated in a $3-5 million investment to create Coca-Cola Snow Mountain in Stone Mountain Park, ultimately pulled the plug today, citing social responsibility. See the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article.

Kudos to Coca-Cola for making the right decision. It’s not often when corporate America puts social responsibility above fiscal responsibility.

So, how is that relevant to our drought? This new seasonal attraction planned to feature a 400-foot long snow mountain, made from man-made snow. That obviously requires a lot of water. Despite their financial involvement, including the purchase of snow-making equipment, the park and Coca-Cola decided it didn’t make sense to waste the millions of gallons of water needed to create the artificial snow mountain. They even explored the option of sourcing the water from outside Georgia, but apparently saw the hipocrisy of that move.

It was a smart PR move that probably not only saved Coke a lot of grief, but gave its community relations and social responsibility programs added credibility.

Update: It looks like Disney has backed off its plan to introduce this ill-conceived wine brand. Seems that others also felt it was odd that a brand eternally linked to kids was launching an adult, alcoholic beverage.

I’ve been scratching my head over the news today that Disney is launching a new wine based around it new food-related animated film “Ratatouille.”

Did I read that right?

Disney says it will market the French chardonnay to adults, but c’mon guys. Where’s the motivation for wine-drinking adults to consider buying this wine because it bears the Disney brand and a “chef” mouse from a kid’s movie? I’m also curious to hear why a company like Disney, which embodies traditional “family,” feels the need to enter the alcoholic beverage market, which I’d venure to guess is a market a good number of its loyal customer base might not embrace.

The most striking part of the article attributes Disney as saying, “The licensed products, targeted at adults and devoid of mouse ears, underscores Disney’s push to gain a deeper foothold on more sophisticated consumer products.”

Sophisticated products? Are you kidding me? Wine branded after a rat featured in a Disney animated film is considered sophisticated? Someone help me out here. I’m simply not getting it. This just reeks of brand extension and licensing run amuck.

What’s next? Shrek Vodka?

Food Fete is days away from selling out.  So, if you’re among the food, beverage and kitchenware companies (or their PR agencies) that have been on the fence about participating, time is running out.

With just seven tables remaining, Food Fete will likely sell out within the next week — earlier than ever before. This is personally rewarding, as it signals that our message about Food Fete delivering a high-value, cost-effective media relations opportunity is getting through. I’m also pleased to watch the media interest and attendance grow year after year.

As I’ve mentioned to a lot of people lately, Food Fete has hit its stride this year. We’ve gone from a start-up event with zero awareness in 2005, to having now established a credible base of success that food companies, PR firms and the NY food press look forward to each summer.

While the Food Fete press events are my number one priority (it’s how I make my living), I’ve decided to devote more time and energy here on topics that aren’t always event-related. The emphasis will still be on new specialty food, beverage and kitchenware products, peppered with some marketing nuggets here and there. And if I post something from another blog that I think is cool, I’ll give them credit.

From its inception last September, this blog has been — and will continue to be — solely my opinions and never part of any paid content arrangement. That said, I anticipate there will be instances when new products are submitted to me for review that I also find appropriate for potential inclusion in our media events.

When that happens, I’ll shift hats and make contact with those companies or their PR agencies for event purposes. Their decision to participate in any of my events (or not), will not affect my decision to write about products that I like and believe are worth sharing. Likewise, participating in Food Fete doesn’t mean you’ll be included in the blog. And if I do write about one of our exhibitors’ products, I’ll disclose that too.

Ask anyone who has worked with me on Food Fete over the past three years, and they will tell you I’m not a “hard sell” kind of guy. I create and present the opportunity. If you’re interested and feel it can benefit your company, that’s great. If not, that’s okay too. I’ll approach you again next year when circumstances might be different.

Since there is admittedly a fine line between my two roles, I just wanted to clarify them both.