NFRA Announces March Golden
Penguin Winners
In honor of excellence in promoting and merchandising the frozen food department during March National Frozen Food Month, NFRA recently awarded 49 Gold Penguins and 74 Silver Penguins. See the complete list of winners or read more about the awards.

There is still time to Enter the July Ice Cream & Novelties Display Contest
Take advantage of the opportunity to merchandise the ice cream and novelties categories during their peak sales month. Build a winning display and you could receive a Golden Penguin Award. See the Display Contest Rules for more details and POS materials that are available.

Compete for the Golden Penguin for the Best June Dairy Month Promotion
Another successful June Dairy Month promotion has come to an end, but there is still time to enter your promotional plan in the June Golden Penguin Awards Competition. The deadline for entries is August 14, 2007. Download the Golden Penguin Rules and Entry Form for complete details.

Promote Fresh Ideas in Frozens this October for an End-of-Year Sales Boost
Participate in the October Frozen Food Festival to bring consumers into the department and drive sales. NFRA will drop a one-page FSI on September 30, 2007 announcing the promotion and directing consumers to the Fresh Ideas in Frozens $7,500 Sweepstakes running on www.EasyHomeMeals.com. Artwork is available so you can promote the Sweepstakes to create added consumer involvement. Encourage increased sales with displays using themed point of sale to help drive traffic in the aisles. Download the October Idea Book for complete promotion details and available point of sale.

Don’t Miss the Biggest Round Up
in the Industry
Nowhere else will the entire industry come together to conduct more business in less time. The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention, October 13-16 in San Antonio, Texas, is a big opportunity to meet one-on-one with multiple customers in just a few days. Nearly 120 retailers have registered so far and have reserved 47 meeting rooms to hold appointments with Convention attendees. Over 700 total delegates have already registered and begun scheduling business meetings with retailers. Register before July 13 to be included in the next pre-registration list, used by attendees to schedule appointments prior to arriving in San Antonio.

NFRA Welcomes Our Newest Members
Please welcome the companies listed below who have met the qualifications of membership and have joined the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association.

MANUFACTURER

Allens, Inc.
www.allencanning.com

Veroli Foods
www.verolifoods.com

Recent Certificate
of Excellence Recipients
The Certificate of Excellence, the highest operational award in the frozen and refrigerated foods industry, signifies that a facility conforms to the highest industry and government standards, and strictly adheres to the Code of Recommended Practices for the handling and merchandising of frozen & refrigerated foods.

NEW

FoodPRO
321 East Fifth Street, Frederick, MD

RENEWAL

Burris Logistics
1000 Centerpoint Boulevard, New Castle, DE

Burris Logistics
3946 Federalsburg Highway, Federalsburg, MD

Hall’s Warehouse Corp.
330 Oak Tree Road, South Plainfield, NJ

Minnesota Freezer Warehouse Co.
820 East 13th Street, Albert Lea, MN

United States Cold Storage
419 Milford-Harrington Highway, Milford, DE

The Frozen & Refrigerated Assn of the NorthEast (FRANE) will hold its 52nd Annual Conference and Convention at the Woodstock Inn & Resort, Woodstock, VT on September 6-9, 2007. Carl Jablonski, President of Shaw’s Supermarkets in Bridgewater, MA will be the featured speaker at the Convention’s Annual Business Meeting. The convention also includes the FRANE Open Golf Tournament on Friday, September 7, at the Woodstock Country Club. The convention offers many leisure activities including day excursions, a scavenger hunt, special entertainment and more. For more information: frane@frane.org

Golbon recently announced the addition of International Gourmet Foods, Inc. of Springfield, Virginia and Tweed’s Wholesale of Boise, Idaho as new distributor members. International Gourmet Foods is an importer of specialty foods from all over the world. Their primary focus is white table cloth and upscale restaurants. International Gourmet Foods is looking to Golbon to help expand their foodservice business and opportunities in the dry, refrigerated and frozen categories. Tweed’s is a family-owned and operated distributor in Riverton, Wyoming currently servicing schools, institutions, and a few independent restaurants. Husband and wife team Grant and Jayne Linck run the business. Opportunities exist primarily through Dot Foods with the desire to grow into direct purchases in the dry, refrigerated, and non-food categories. For more information: www.golbon.com

Gourmet Express, LLC recently retained Equity Partners, Inc. to find a buyer for some or all of its profitable food processing business, which specializes in frozen skillet meals. Gourmet Express was founded in 1997 and operates in a leased production facility, located in Griley, Illinois. The business produces skillet meals under its Gourmet Dining label as well as for private label customers. Most skillet meals are in the 28 – 32 ounce size, and usually have 3 component bags sealed in an outer bag for a quick meal that can be prepared in about 10 minutes. The bag contains protein (consisting of shrimp, beef, chicken, or pork), a sauce packet, and a bag of blended vegetables with either rice or pasta included. In addition to its administrative offices and leased production facility in Gridley, Gourmet has a sales office in San Antonio, TX. In 2006, the company purchased a building in Kentucky and is about 20% complete with its renovation. For more information: kmann@equitypartnersinc.com

Wolfgang Puck recently launched a Wolfgang Puck All Natural frozen pizza line in partnership with Schwan’s Consumer Brands North America. Wolfgang Puck All-Natural pizzas are part of an assortment of hand-crafted gourmet pizza menued at Puck’s Spago fine dining restaurants. Varieties include: Spicy Chicken: Seasoned chicken and roasted red and yellow peppers topped with mozzarella cheese and red pepper flakes; Margherita: Tomato Slices, basil, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses placed atop Puck’s signature tomato-basil-garlic sauce, then dabbed with pesto sauce; Pepperoni: Featuring tomato-basil-garlic sauce topped with mozzarella, fontina and parmesan cheeses, then topped with herbs. The pizzas are now available as single packs in retail stores and as two-packs in club stores. For more information: www.theschwanfoodcompany.com

Rich-SeaPak, St. Simon’s Island, GA recently changed their name to Rich Products Corp. Company officials say Rich’s Consumer Brands Division and many other support functions will continue to operate from St. Simons Island. SeaPak Corp., founded in 1948, was acquired by Rich Products Corp., Buffalo, NY in 1976, and has been known as Rich SeaPak. Rich Products is owned by the Rich family. Robert Rich, Sr., who passed away last year, founded the company in 1945. His son, Robert Rich, Jr. is Chairman.

Unilever has recently developed Promise activ™ SuperShots™ - the first mini-drink with added natural plant sterols, ingredients that are clinically proven to help actively remove cholesterol as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Promise activ™ SuperShots™ contains two grams of plant sterols per serving in a convenient mini-drink – giving consumers an easy way to get natural plant sterols for effective cholesterol reduction. It would take about 100 pounds of fruits, vegetables and nuts to get two grams of natural plant sterols. The mini-drink also contains Heart Health Essentials™ Omega 3 α-linolenic acid and Omega 6, and it is a good source of vitamin E. Promise activ™ SuperShots™ is a one-of-a-kind, great tasting, powerful drink with fruit and yogurt. It comes in three flavors: strawberry, peach, and raspberry. Promise activ™ SuperShots™ will be available in retail grocery stores in the dairy aisle beginning in June 2007, priced at approximately $3.99 for a pack of four.