NEW YORK -- The 91 finalists for the 28th Annual Products Awards Competition will be winnowed down to a few this Sunday at the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade's Summer Fancy Food Show here.
Nominated for Outstanding New Product are: Fromage Blanc, from Bellwether Farms; Strawberry Sambuca Jam, Bittersweet Herb Farm; Lavender Sugar Cookie, Coys Country Northwest; Forbidden Rice Flour, Lotus Foods; O Ruby Grapefruit, O Olive Oil; Key Lime Curd Sauce, Robert Rothschild Berry Farm; and Ahana-Chai, Sonny's Ice Cream.
There are 18 other categories, covering lines like beverage, confection, product line, Outstanding New Best Seller, and Outstanding Classic, which includes as finalists cracked wheat wafers, black raspberry preserves, cheese sticks, and an olive oil.
About 1,600 entries were received, making this a very competitive and large competition, said Betsy Schwartz, creative director at NASFT.
The finalists were chosen by eight respected specialty food retailers including Connie Weiss, of Taste Unlimited, Virginia Beach, Va.; Bill McGowan, Hay Day Markets, Westport, Conn.; Alan Butzbach, Balducci's, Long Island City, N.Y.; Christina Baxter, Sutton Place Gourmet, Bethesda, Md.; Steve Rosenberg, Liberty Heights Fresh, Salt Lake City; Matt Bunn, cooking.com, Santa Monica, Calif.; Faye Greenberg, HEB/Central Market, Austin, Texas; and J.C. Warman, Slight Indulgence, Morgantown, W. Va.
