By Ryan Slattery
ECRM’s Commercial Foodservice Session wrapped up another spectacular year. After buyers connected in one-on-one meetings with attending suppliers, they voted in the first ever, Buyers Choice Awards for their favorite suppliers in three categories: Most Innovative (the supplier with the newest, coolest, and different offerings), Best Presentation (the most buttoned up, well prepared and equipped supplier for their buyer meetings) and Gimme More (someone buyers met with that they couldn’t get enough of). ECRM once again partnered with Food & Beverage Magazine and its Founder Michael Politz to announce this year’s award winners.
MOST INNOVATIVE: Green Global Foods
Give peas a chance. Green Global Foods won the award for Most Innovative for two of its products—Peas for the Planet and Primal Bakery. Peas for the Planet is a basic vegan mix that can be combined with other ingredients to make meat-free burgers, nuggets, Bolognese sauce and so much more.
Primal Bakery believes in a simple philosophy: you are what you eat. So, it’s with this health-conscious mindset that if you eat well, you’ll be well. Their baked products use only wholesome ingredients that promote good health. Primal’s keto-certified baked products include protein/keto/vegan bread, wraps and crackers.
“At Green Global Foods, we strive to introduce innovative, health-conscious products to the market, offering uniquely healthy and trendy products that stand out in a highly competitive market,” says founder Santiago Urti. peasfortheplanet.net and theprimalbakery.com
BEST PRESENTATION: Importin’ Joe’s Ethiopian Coffee
Importin Joe’s is a premium Ethiopian coffee brand founded by coffee enthusiasts, like Afomia Luten. Using beans that are bright, fruity, and floral (sourced from eight various regions of Ethiopia), Importin’ Joe’s captures the diversity of flavor that the world has come to know of the Arabica coffee species. The brand is distributed in 180 stores across seven states. Importin’ Joe’s won ECRM’s award for best presentation.
“Our presentation featured a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony known affectionately as “BUNA,” President Joseph Luten explains. “In a big world that seems at times to be growing more and more polar every day, it brings joy to our hearts to see individuals not only embrace our Ethiopian roots but to award us for something we didn’t even know we were in the running for. In all we do we pursue excellence. This means our hard work and pursuit of excellence goes not in vain.” importinjoes.com
GIMME MORE: Delizza Patisserie
Belgian-owned mini dessert producer Delizza Patisserie whips up cream puffs and eclairs in its North Carolina plant while importing its tasty French macarons and filled donuts from Europe where it operates 13 plants.
What Delizza brings to the table is delight in every bite. Their distinctive desserts are inspired by the company’s Belgian heritage and crafted using time-honored recipes using only the finest ingredients, including real sugar.
“To be chosen as the winner of the Gimme More Award is the cherry on the pie—to keep it in our industry’s lingo,” says Delizza National Foodservice Manager Albert Teixeira. “To be acknowledged truly validates the quality and innovation of our products. We thought our new items (filled donuts from Belgium and grab n’ go products) were delicious and it feels great that other people think so, too.” delizza.us
Food & Beverage Magazine will once again host the awards this year at ECRM’s Commercial Foodservice Session, which will be held October 27 to 29 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida at the PGA National Resort & Spa. For more information visit: https://ecrm.marketgate.com/Sessions/2024/10/CommercialFoodserviceEPPS
