Source Atlantique President Joel Schuman Dies

Joel Schuman, 62, president of Source Atlantique, died following a multi-year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Schuman was founding partner and managing director and served as president of the Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based importer and marketer of specialty foods for more than 24 years. Previously, Schuman was vice president of sales and marketing at Liberty Richter; president of Cosmo Food; and president of Franzen North America.

“Joel Schuman was a passionate foodie and entrepreneur who turned that passion into building one of the leading independent specialty food importer/master distributors in the USA. Joel had an encyclopedic knowledge of the industry and was instrumental in establishing many of the iconic specialty brands in the U.S. today,” according to a company statement.

Schuman was one of the specialty food industry pioneers inducted into the Specialty Food Association Hall of Fame during the 2015 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. 

Schuman is survived by his wife, Linda, and sons, David and Joshua. A memorial service was conducted Aug. 4. A scholarship is being established in Schuman’s name.