The Fresno Food Expo Announces 2017 New Product Award Winners

The Board of Directors of the Fresno Food Expo announced the winners of the 2017 New Product Awards, presented by Baker Peterson Franklin CPA, LLP, and the Fred Ruiz Entrepreneurial Award. Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company’s Half Dome California Wheat was presented with the Buyers Choice Award, followed by ENZO Olive Oil’s ENZO Fresno Chili Crush in second place and Busseto Foods’ California PartyPack-Wine Trail Edition in third place. The People’s Choice was awarded to The Brioche Lady for its Purple Yam Brioche and the Fred Ruiz Entrepreneurial Award was presented to ENZO Olive Oil.

The Fresno Food Expo Board of Directors; David Nalchajian, general manager of the Fresno Food Expo; Erin Goldfarb, partner with Baker Peterson Franklin CPA, LLP; and Fred Ruiz, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Ruiz Foods along with other participating Expo guests presented the awards at the opening reception, “Parings” on the evening of Wednesday July 26, 2017 at the Fresno Convention Center among a room full of pre-registered buyers and sponsors. The festive evening also featured live cooking stations hosted by the region’s leading food producers and manufacturers whose products were the highlighted cuisine prepared by local restaurant and celebrity chefs from Erna’s Elderberry House Restaurant, Max’s Bistro & Bar, Trelio Restaurant, The Painted Table and Pardini’s Catering. The Pairings event offered an early opportunity to make meaningful connections for those in attendance.

This year’s New Products Awards included 28 innovative products, varietals and packaging concepts that were entered from 26 different Central California businesses. Now in its fifth year, the New Product Awards has become a strategic opportunity for participating businesses to launch new products in front of buyers, secure product placement in stores, restaurants and foodservice distribution channels, in addition to testing immediate consumer marketplace feedback. To date more than 160 new products have been entered into the Fresno Food Expo New Product Awards. The Expo aims to provide an exciting new product platform for participating exhibitors, that highlights the region’s large breadth of value-added, specialty and fresh food products, as well as packaging concepts from throughout Central California’s 8-county San Joaquin Valley.

“The New Product Award entries and winners for 2017 are a shining example of the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of the more than 400 different commodities and 2,500 growers and manufacturers that feed one third of our nation every day,” said Nalchajian. “From healthy snack foods, innovative packaging to trending spirits, nuts, teas, cold brew coffee milk, infused olive oils and so much more – Central California’s thriving food industry is one to be nationally recognized and celebrated.”

All products entered into the New Product Awards competed for two distinctive awards: the Buyer’s Choice and the People’s Choice. The Buyer’s Choice Award was reviewed, ranked and narrowed down to 10 finalists by a panel of marketing and food industry leaders at the New Product Awards Preview event, “Taste, Tally & Tweet,” on July 12, 2017. These 10 products advanced to the Celebrity Judging Panel, where judging took place on creativity, presentation, packaging and marketability on July 26. The judging panel was comprised of professionals from retail, restaurant, foodservice and packaging industries including: the supermarket guru, Phil Lempert, who led the Expo’s keynote address; chef Erna Kubin-Clanin, Owner of 5-star Erna’s Elderberry House and Chateau du Sureau; direct store delivery receiving manager and local marketing lead of Albertsons-Safeway Northern California Division,  Sean Topping; and European Division Manager at leading custom packaging solutions company Landsberg Orora, Jim Jarosz.

The following companies were finalists in the Buyer’s Choice Award category: Busseto Foods’ California PartyPack – Wine Trail Edition; Cardella Winery’s 2014 Barbera Reserve; Pappy’s Fine Foods’ Steak ‘N Grill Seasoning; Enzo Olive Oil’s ENZO Fresno Chili Crush; Jasper Specialty Foods’ Bloody Mary Almonds; L.T. Sue Company’s Ho Tai Chai; Rosa Brothers Milk Company and Lanna Coffee Co.’s Cold Brew Coffee Milk; Sun-Maid Growers of California’s Sour Strawberry Flavored Golden Raisins; The Brioche Lady’s Purple Yam Brioche; and Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company’s Half Dome California Wheat. Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company’s Half Dome California Wheat was presented with the Buyers Choice Award, followed by ENZO Olive Oil’s ENZO Fresno Chili Crush in second place and Busseto Foods’ California PartyPack-Wine Trail Edition in third place.

The 2017 People’s Choice Award, which is entirely determined by the public through online voting and applicant marketing to encourage voter participation, logged 2,621 public votes during the July 13 – July 25 voting period via Facebook and the Fresno Food Expo website. The Brioche Lady received 661 total votes for their Purple Yam Brioche. The People’s Choice Award allows the public to share their thoughts as a consumer, voicing their opinion on what products standout from others in the marketplace. This year Rosa Brothers Milk Company and Lanna Coffee Co.’s Cold Brew Coffee Milk took second; Lanna Coffee Cold Brew and Sun-Maid Growers of California’s Sour Strawberry Flavored Golden Raisins took third.

Returning to the Fresno Food Expo for its third year, the Fred Ruiz Entrepreneurial Award, named in honor of Fred Ruiz, founder of Ruiz Food Products., recognizes Valley-based food or beverage companies that demonstrate exemplary leadership and an entrepreneurial spirit, all while being an exceptional community steward. The judged essay application recognizes companies who have the same vision and qualities that took Ruiz Foods from a small, family start-up to the largest frozen Mexican food manufacturer in the United States. ENZO Olive Oil, the 2017 Fred Ruiz Entrepreneurial Award winner will also receive advice and mentoring for one year by Fred Ruiz and a team of food industry professionals.