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4 GENERAL NEWS GOURMET NEWS AUGUST 2013 www.gourmetnews.com General News Commercial Bakery Winners Announced in 19th Annual APC/Crisco National Pie Championships The competition among commercial bakers heated up this year at the 19th Annual APC/Crisco® National Pie Championships held April 26-28 in Orlando. At this year's competition, 15 bakeries laid claim to 113 awards. Overall, a total of 747 pies were entered in the Commercial, Professional and Amateur Chef categories. The pies were judged by more than 150 chefs, bakers and assorted pie aficionados. Commercial bakers competed in 25 flavor categories, including Apple, Apple Crumb, Banana Cream, Berry, Blueberry, Candy/Cookie Cream, Cherry, Chocolate Cream, Citrus, Coconut Cream, Custard, Open Cream, Key Lime, Nut, Open, Open Fruit/Berry, Peach, Peanut Butter, Pumpkin, California Raisin, Silk Cream, Tropical Fruit, Strawberry and Best New Product. They also competed in six flavors of no-sugar added pies, as well as single serve slices, hand held pies and gourmet hand finished pies. "The Commercial division in the APC/Crisco National Pie Championships is an incredible competition that showcases the best of the best commercial pie manufacturers and bakeries from across the country. We are so thankful to the participants that make it a priority to partic- ipate with us, not only in the competition, but in the Never Ending Pie Buffet," said Linda Hoskins, APC's Executive Director. Each year, the National Pie Champi- onships are held in conjunction with the free-admission Great American Pie Festival, which features the Never Ending Pie Buffet. This year's festival was attended by nearly 40,000 pie lovers who enjoyed close to 90,000 slices at the endless pie buffet. Not only did this year's commercial winners in each category take home a prestigious title, but winning an award at the National Pie Championships has been proven to increase market share of that product. This year's top commercial entrants included Bakers Square (36 wins), Legendary Baking (24 wins), Bonert's Slice of Pie (12 wins), Rocky Mountain Pies (six wins), Cyrus O'Leary's Pies (five wins), Lisa's Pie Shop (five wins), Winn-Dixie Food Stores (five wins), Shari's Cafe and Pies (four wins), The Kroger Company (four wins), Norske Nook (three wins), Publix Supermarkets (three wins), The Pie Folks (two wins), Coco's Bakery Restaurant (two wins), Boston Market (one win) and Wayne's Family Restaurants (one win). The American Pie Council® is the only organization committed to maintaining America's pie heritage, passing on the tradition of pie-making and promoting America's love affair with pie. The APC offers personal, professional and commercial memberships. For more information and a complete list of winners from the 2013 National Pie Championship, visit www.piecouncil.org. GN The Center of Innovation Excellence Uncovers Best Practices in Foodservice New Product Development To enable foodservice manufacturers to launch more profitable new products, The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association and Stage-Gate International released a report charting four essential best practices in foodservice new product development. The report, "New Product Development: Best Practices in Foodservice," was produced through The Center of Innovation Excellence and provides practical tools that promote better innovation efficiency and foster collaboration. The report identifies four essential best practices. First, effective project selection means timely decisions and requires discipline. Top performers do not just rely on the acumen of their business leaders to make good project selection decisions. They require organizational discipline, ac- countability, transparency and due diligence in order to capitalize on new product opportunities. Second, a clear product innovation strategy enables speed to market. To win in this vast marketplace, top performers engage their business leaders to determine the role new products will play in enabling the successful execution of the business strategy. Third, new product collaboration can unlock significant value, but companies must choose wisely. The industry's highly integrated network and multi-player value chain require top performers to screen for product innovation projects and partners that match their business goals and complement their capabilities. Finally, the report urges food companies to break the cycle of repeating the same mistakes. It is important to learn from one's successes and failures. To stay a step ahead of customers and their competitors, top performers capture key learnings from each new product project and use them to make strategic modifications to the process. "The Center of Innovation Excellence's work showed us that while most foodservice suppliers rely on product innovation to grow their businesses, our industry lacked a trustworthy roadmap to new product success," said Larry Oberkfell, President and CEO, IFMA. "This new report delivers tried and true methods and helpful tools that are unique to foodservice." "New Product Development: Best Practices in Foodservice" is available for purchase at ifmaworld.com/CIEBestPractices. For additional information on IFMA, The Center of Innovation Excellence and more, visit www.ifmaworld.com. GN BRIEFS National Chocolate & Dessert Show Announces Dessert Innovation Awards The National Chocolate & Dessert Show launched the first-ever Chocolate and Dessert Innovation Awards. The competition provides a distinctive platform that recognizes companies and organizations that have made exceptional contributions to the chocolate and dessert industries. Products, services, and technologies representing the latest in chocolate and dessert trends can enter by August 15 for the opportunity to be crowned in several categories by leading industry professionals. "The innovations and technologies that drive the chocolate and dessert industries forward inspired us to create the CADI Awards," said Show Founder Mario Pi. "This dedicated platform will be an annual opportunity to honor the contributions of all of the hard work that went into these advancements." All rules, regulations and entry forms may be found at www.thenationalchocolateshow .com/CADI_awards.html. Finalists for the awards will be announced September 2 and winners will be announced at the National Chocolate & Dessert Show, October 20-22. Cake Boss Buddy Valastro Headlines IBIE Demo Lineup The International Baking Industry Expo is sweetening the pot for attendees of the triennial event with a star-studded demonstration program sure to be as informative as it is entertaining. The Expo, taking place in Las Vegas from October 6-9, brings the baking community together to explore equipment innovations, discover supply and ingredient solutions, and learn from some of the most inspiring leaders in the business through an engaging demo program. This year's program, produced by the Retail Bakers of America, features an impressive list of culinary artisans including Buddy Valastro of TLC network's Cake Boss series. In addition to the Cake Boss' sessions, there are more than 30 demos covering everything from candies to strategies for increasing cake sales. The IBIE demo program allows show-goers to learn new skills, pick up creative ideas and go hands-on with the experts leading the industry. A full list of demonstrations is available on the IBIE website at www.IBIE2013.com/demonstrations. Tri-State Food Expo to Take Place October 1-2 The Tri-State Food Expo, a new trade show for the burgeoning New York/New Jersey/Connecticut tri-state food service and retail food industries, will feature educational sessions, a culinary theatre with featured chefs, a beer garden, featured pavilions and a new product showcase. It debuts at the Meadowlands Convention Center in Secaucus, N.J., on October 1-2. "This isn't just another trade show. This is a hassle-free, easy-access opportunity exclusively for qualified buyers to make face-to-face connections that will change your business, keep you competitive, and keep customers coming back," said Bob Callahan, Show Director. For additional information on attending, visit www.tri-statefoodexpo.com. For information on exhibiting your product or service, contact Harrison Hines by email at hhines@divcom.com or by phone at 207.842.5664.