Gourmet Garden Lightly Dried Herbs Wins PMA Impact Award

Gourmet Garden Herbs & Spices received one of five 2015 PMA Impact Awards: Excellence in Packaging at the PMA Fresh Summit in Atlanta. The award, which recognizes innovative consumer‐focused packaging, received 71 entries from 57 companies.

Lightly Dried Herbs & Spices features organically grown herbs that are washed, roughly chopped and lightly dried, allowing the herbs to remain fresh for up to four weeks while fully refreshing in cooking, company officials say. Five herbs and spices include Ginger, Basil, Chili Pepper, Cilantro and Parsley.

New Lightly Dried Organic Chives also debuted at Fresh Summit in time for the holiday season.

More than four years of consumer and trade research was conducted across the globe with surveys, focus groups and home‐user tests, officials add. It uncovered a consumer desire to be more experimental with herbs and spices. The packaging was designed to lift consumer confidence in using herbs and spices.

The prep bowl style is designed to allow home cooks to have a more culinary experience; making cooking more inspiring and joyful. The bowl rests in the palm of the hand while the concave inside allows easy access with a spoon or fingertips.

The click 'n stack bowls makes fridge storage and transfer of multiple herbs easier, company officials say, it takes just a single hand movement. The recyclable or reusable bowl fits with the consumer’s desire for more sustainable packaging.

It was developed to bridge the shelf‐life gap between fresh and dried herbs by staying fresh for four weeks ‐ solving the dilemma of “wilt guilt” and to lessen food waste.