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1 0 SNACKING NEWS February 2019 that the association's male members need to be involved, too. "They are a critical, core facilitator," she says. For that reason, the WinS steering commit- tee includes member volunteers of both genders. "Our goal is to make sure this is not a one-off – that it is supported by men and women alike," says Weber. "We want to create female leaders by providing opportunities to showcase talent." The steering committee is creating a women's resource group within the in- dustry, Weber says. "It really will help create the content, deliver the educa- tion, provide advocacy, and will allow us to assure that, in every event we're holding, we're creating an opportunity for women to be engaged. It's acting as a new lens, as we think about our next major event, SNAXPO '19 (March 31- April 31, in Orlando, Florida)." Weber says that "new lens" will pro- vide a platform for women to come to- gether, so specific events within SNAXPO will highlight women's is- sues. "We want to always be asking our- selves in everything we do, we want to make sure that we're as inclusive as possible," Weber says. "We really want to make sure that we're delivering, and that the rest of the audience has a sensi- tivity to the value of diversity." The steering committee has ideas for the future. "We are reviewing a mentor- ing arm as a value-added component," Weber says. "And sponsorship is on our radar – we see them as different buck- ets." Weber says she is heartened by the warm response from her colleagues in the industry. "The biggest thing is that we're really excited about the response across the industry. We've been taken aback by the positive response. The women in the industry have been so grateful, and feel that this has been long overdue, to help them feel as a greater part of the industry. And there are some really senior, well-respected men who have said 'let me know how I can help,' " she says. In addition to Weber, members of the WinS Network steering committee are Mike Kaczynski, President, US Sales, Evans Food Group; Pam Finer, General Manager/Vice-President of Marketing, Amplify Snack Brands; Haley Flynn, Senior Account Executive, Utz Quality Foods; Mike Harper, Vice President, Fi- nance and Chief Financial Officer, Rudolph Foods Company; Teri Johnson, Divisional Sales Manager, TNA North America; Cindy Kuester, Director of Sales, Snak King; Laura Maxwell, Sen- ior Vice President, Supply Chain, Pep- siCo – Frito-Lay North America; David Read, Vice President of Marketing & Technology, Printpack; Dan Sifer Sen- ior Vice President, Supply Chain/Con- tract Manufacturing, Herr Foods; and Lisa Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, Truco Enterprises. n WiNS Continued from Page 1 delight consumers and drive growth is a key element of our new strategy," said Tim Cofer, Mondelez's Chief Growth Officer. "We are launching SnackFu- tures, a new forward-thinking innova- tion hub, to capitalize on new trends and mobilize entrepreneurial talent and technologies to build, and grow, small brands with large-scale potential." PepsiCo's Nutrition Greenhouse in- cubator is working with snack makers Bohana, IQ Bar, Wildway and Rule Breaker Snacks. Each received $20,000 in initial grants, and at the end of the program, one will be selected to receive an additional $100,000. "Nutrition Greenhouse was created with the intent of supporting change- making start-ups of the future," said Daniel Grubbs, Managing Director of PepsiCo Ventures Group. "We are very excited to collaborate with, help grow and learn from these incredible compa- nies. Each finalist is unique in their own way, but one thing they all share is they're mission-driven and purposeful, which is very much aligned with our own performance with purpose agenda." Kraft launched its Springboard Brands Incubator early in 2018, and has announced that five companies will par- ticipate in its inaugural program. Its first round of start-ups include Ayoba- Yo, which makes South African biltong; Clevland Kraut, specializing in fer- mented foods; Kumana, which markets an avocado sauce; Poppilu, an anti-oxi- dant lemonade made in Chicago; and Quevos, which makes salty, crunchy egg-white chips. Chobani's incubator, based in New York, New York, had more than 650 ap- plicants for the 2018 class's nine spots. Last year, it began working with 88 Acres, a snack and seed butter com- pany; Fresh Bellies, which makes or- ganic baby food; Masienda, a clean-label tortilla company; Noka, which makes superfood smoothies; and Nona Lim, which makes Asian-inspired soups, noodles and broths. Tyson Foods, while not operating an incubator itself, has agreed to work with two business incubators in Silicon Val- ley, California, and Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago incubator, named 1871, has worked with Yappah Protein Crisps, made with what Yappah calls rescued foods – chicken breast trim and left- overs from vegetable juicing and beer brewing. In the same way, Kellogg and Cona- gra are backing a Chicago non-profit in- cubator called The Hatchery, which opened in November with space for about 75 businesses. PepsiCo also plans to work with The Hatchery. The Hatchery's 67,000-square foot production facility offers shared and private kitchen space, co-working and meeting space, storage, on-site business support and other incubation services, including classes and events. n Big Food Companies Continued from Page 1 26 Snack Foods Named Finalists for Good Food Awards This year's Good Food Awards includes a category for snack makers for the first time, and 26 makers were named as final- ists in the 2018 awards. There were more than 2,000 entrants. After a blind tasting in September, final- ists were announced in November, 2018. Finalists are the five highest scoring en- trants in each category from each region of the U.S. Of these, three in each region be- come the winners. The finalists are: 4505 Meats of San Francisco, California, for 4505 Cracklins in Spicy Green Chili & Lime flavor. Atwater's, with several locations in Mary- land, for its Rye Crackers. Banner Road Baking Company of Mis- souri for its Original Granola. Beth Bakes of Rhode Island for its Crispy Classic Gluten-Free Crackers. BGood Bars of Oregon for its Cranberry Hemp Bar. Big Spoon Roasters of North Carolina for its Cherry Pecan Nut Butter Bar. Crunch Time Foods of Washington for its Big Korean BBQ Reimagining Snacks. Fuller Foods of Oregon for its Serious Cheesy Puffs, Asiago Black Pepper and Blue Cheese Jalapeno flavors. Grain Elevator Naturally Fermented Beer Grain Crackers of Mississippi for its Sweet Potato crackers. Hayden Flour Mills of Arizona for its Heritage Grain Cracker, White Sonoran Wheat. Honey Mama's of Oregon for its Mayan Spice Bar. Lark Fine Foods of Massachusetts for its Olive Scourtin. Lush Gourmet Foods of Michigan for its Coconut Lavender Almonds. Maui Fruit Rolls of Hawaii for its Lilikoi- Ginger-Turmeric Fruit Roll. Morgan Handmade Rations of Colorado for its Colorado Green Chili Potato Chips. Nopalito of California for its Spicy Crunchy Garbanzo Beans. Rustic Bakery of California for its Or- ganic Olive Oil and Sel Gris flatbread. RW Garcia of California for its Organic Lentil with Turmeric 3 Seed Crackers. Sacred Cow Granola of Rhode Island for its The Holy Granola Experience. SHED of California for its Sweet and Salty Granola. Snacklins of the District of Columbia for its Snacklins. Stony Brook WholeHearted Foods of New York for its Brined and Roasted Pepi- tas. Storied Goods of Virginia for its Cherry Baby Granola. The Farmer's Porch of Colorado for its Ghost Pepper Heirloom Pumpkin Seeds. The Juice Hive of South Carolina for its Magic Memory Ball. The Lentil House of Florida for its Turmeric and Sea Salt Fried Lentils. n

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