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GOURMET NEWS www.gourmetnews.com n JANUARY 2015 n GOURMET NEWS 8 6 Robert Rothschild Farm Wins Six Awards at World's Most Competitive Fiery Food Contest The 2015 Scovie Awards judging panel of top culinary experts honored Robert Roth- schild Farm with 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place awards across three categories including Barbecue Sauce, Condiments, Hot & Spicy and Condiments, Not Hot & Spicy. The win- ning products include two Organic Sauces: Blueberry Balsamic Sauce and Sriracha Teriyaki Sauce. The six winning products are as follows: Cherry Pomegranate Habanero Sauce: 1st Place, Barbecue Sauce, Fruit-Based – Hot Sauce Blueberry Balsamic Sauce (Organic): 1st Place, Condiments – Not Hot & Spicy, Meat Sauce Raspberry Wasabi Dipping Mustard: 2nd Place, Condiments – Hot & Spicy, Horseradish Sriracha Teriyaki Sauce (Organic): 3rd Place, Condiments – Hot & Spicy, Meat Sauce Raspberry Wasabi Dipping Mustard: 3rd Place, Condiments – Hot & Spicy, Mustard Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip: 3rd Place, Condiments – Not Hot & Spicy, Prepared Dip Competition for the 2015 Scovie Awards was tougher than ever, with a new record of 154 company entries, up from 151 in 2014. The total number of entries came to 790, slightly lower than in previous years. The total of wins for companies was an all-time high at 123. Dave DeWitt, Founder of the Scovie Awards and the National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show said entries came from 31 U.S. states and five countries including Aus- tralia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. "Companies from all over the world con- tinue to recognize the Scovie Awards as the most competitive blind taste tested event in the world," DeWitt said. "I'm thrilled that participation in the awards continues to in- crease year after year." About Robert Rothschild Farm Robert Rothschild Farm, a family-founded company in Urbana, Ohio, is the manufac- turer of award-winning specialty foods in- cluding dips, preserves, mustards, salsas, sauces, spreads, dessert toppings and organic products. Using an open and serve philoso- phy, Robert Rothschild Farm is recognized for its bold and distinctive flavors that are ex- pertly blended. Robert Rothschild Farm products are available in more than 5,000 specialty food stores nationwide and at www.robertrothschild.com or by phone at 800-356-8933. For more information, visit www.robertroths child.com or stop by booth #640. Seven Steps to Perfect Metal Packaging By Leslie Wing, Director, Marketing and Creative, Allstate Can Corporation Many would argue packaging is your most valuable piece of marketing real estate. Use the following tips and tricks to create a per- fect package. Form Follows Function No matter how great your package looks, you'll fail your customer if it doesn't func- tion as expected. Examples abound of good (and bad) packaging. Venture outside of your product arena and make notes of what you like. Don't limit your review to other pack- aging; ads, magazine design, even scrap booking how-to books will offer creative in- sight and inspiration. Size Matters Choose the can size and style that makes the most sense for your product. Your budget and quantity requirements will determine whether a standard, stock or custom tin can is best. Don't follow the preconceived notion that one substrate is more costly than another – contact packaging manufacturers and dis- tributors to find out minimum quantity re- quirements and tap into expert knowledge. To Print or Not to Print Considerations such as quantity, budget and brand image play a part in this decision. La- bels are recommended for quantities less than 5,000-10,000 pieces as an economical solution to printing directly on the tin. All- state Can's knowledgeable sales staff will offer advice and make suggestions based on your specific needs. Content At this stage, content is king, don't worry about design. Your product name and contact info is key (include your website!). Other considerations include safety information, ingredients, bar code, directions and net weight. If you are marketing a food or phar- maceutical product, the FDA is the best re- source for requirements. Image Think about the brand image you want to convey. Is your product and company up- scale and elegant, fun and flirty, cutting edge, pure and simple? Or does your product beckon to nostalgic tradition? What typogra- phy do you envision? What color(s) speak to your image? Be consistent; make sure your packaging and every other marketing com- munication vehicle provide an unfailingly coherent brand message. Rough Draft Don't worry if you aren't "artistic." Sketches can be crude; squiggly lines for type, a trian- gle that represents your logo. The main thing at this stage is the layout: logo placement and size, product name, contact info … every- thing that needs to fit. Experiment with color combinations. If you're more comfortable in front of a computer than you are holding a colored pencil, do your sketches electroni- cally! Design It may be time to hire a graphic designer, de- pending on your level of expertise. Use your sketches as a guide and you're on your way to a professional and enticing package. Re- quest templates from the manufacturer if you are planning a custom printed package, or from your label printer if you've opted to use labels. Pre-press departments "pre-flight" your files to make sure they are set up cor- rectly for production. Most pre-press depart- ments prefer high-resolution electronic files in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Illustrator. Bonus Tip Allstate Can provides guidelines and layouts for setting up art and special requirements for designing for metal packaging, produc- tion lead times, minimum order requirements and pricing. Leslie Wing is the Marketing and Creative Director at Allstate Can Corporation. She has more than 20 years experience conceiv- ing and designing original artwork for con- sumer and industrial packaging and communicating consistent messages across all forms of marketing media. For more information, visit www.allstatecan.com, call 973-560-9030, email tincans@allstatecan .com or stop by booth #1274. Asaro Family – The Art of Olive Excellence The Asaro family started harvesting and crushing olives in 1916 in Partanna, Sicily in the province of Trapani, just outside the city of Castelvetrano, famous for the bright green olives bearing that city's name. This beautiful area, formed by the Belice River – the Valle del Belice – produces delicious, fruity extra virgin oil and their famous table olives. Today the fourth generation of the Asaro family is continuing the commit- ment to bring its customers the highest quality natural and organic Sicilian olive oil and specialty foods. Antonino Asaro leads his sons and daughters in their sev- eral labels. Their products are based solely on the Monocultivar olive Nocellara del Belice better known as Castelvetrano Olives. Of the various olive oils they pro- duce, the top of the line is Partanna and Paesano Organic. The family also cures Castelvetrano olives harvested in their own farm. United Olive Oil Import, based in New York, was born as an exclusive im- porter and distributor of Asaro Family but the strong passion for the Mediterranean diet with an increasing market demand for natural and organic foods have brought the company to expand its line of im- ported products, becoming than the per- fect partner for small and medium Italian specialty food producers. Thanks to the company's deep knowledge in the spe- cialty foods production, it can satisfy the needs of both its customers and farmers. For more information, call 212-346-0942 or visit www.unitedoliveoil.com. Trend-Right Reception Cakes Available in Bulk Now there's great news for bakeries, grocers and specialty stores who cater to the wedding and celebration market. A new trend in cakes is not only highly desirable for party hosts and attendees, but it's a lot less labor-inten- sive and potentially more profitable than tra- ditional fancy cakes. The Entertaining Age is back: a return to partying like your parents did, with classic cocktails and retro refreshments. In its Top 10 Dessert Trends for 2014, The Food Chan- nel ® listed "Layers" and "Small Batch Desserts." They may as well have said "Re- ception Cakes." The Reception Cakes concept begins with the classic French pastry, the Petit Four. With a history of making Petits Fours that dates back to the Rat Pack era, The Swiss Colony is right on trend with these icing-enrobed layer cakes available in five flavors: Vanilla, Double Chocolate, Lemon, Red Velvet and Carrot Cake. With Reception Cakes, the pas- try chefs at The Swiss Colony have enlarged their traditional Petits Fours to a size that's better suited to a single- serving dessert while maintaining the simple el- egance and grab-and-go convenience party guests will love. The Swiss Colony has the largest hand-decorating bakery in the United States, with a state-of- the-art facility in Monroe, Wis., combining robotic efficiency and an artistic, human touch. It is GFSI certified, with the capacity to supply large retailers and the attention to detail that will satisfy small specialty stores. As adaptable as The Swiss Colony bakery is to the needs of its customers, so is the Re- ception Cakes program. These sweet, layered treasures can be purchased hand-decorated in bulk, or bakeries with decorating capa- bilities can add their own dec- orations to customize the experience for their customers. Reception Cakes can be sold individually with a cup of cof- fee, or in platters or arrangements for wed- dings, showers, baby reveals, graduations, tailgating parties, office parties, birthday par- ties…the list is endless. To give your brand delicious layers of ap- peal, contact Clyde Mercer at 888-411-4051 or contact@scretailbrands.com, or stop by booth #1264.

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