The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) has revealed the winners of the newly revamped Golden Penguin Awards for its 2016 March Frozen Food Month promotion. The March promotion helped the industry drive traffic in the frozen food aisles and increase sales for many categories and brands. NFRA has awarded 20 gold awards and 28 silver awards. In addition, five companies will be revealed as top marketers during the NFRA Convention in Washington, D.C., this fall.
2016 March Frozen Food Month Golden Penguin Winners
Gold Awards
In-Store Display
• Albertsons 1002, Phoenix, Arizona; assisted by Co-Sales Co., Phoenix, Arizona
• Nellis AFB Commissary, Las Vegas, Nevada; assisted by Webco G.P., Aldie, Virginia
• Robins Commissary, Robins AFB, Georgia; assisted by Advantage Solutions, Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey
In-Store Event
• Chris’ Food Center, Sandstone, Minnesota
Community Involvement
• Chris’ Food Center, Sandstone, Minnesota
• Harmons Grocery, West Valley City, Utah
• North Florida Frozen Refrigerated Foods Association, Jacksonville, Florida
Traditional Marketing
• Associated Grocers, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Social Media and Digital Marketing
• Acme Markets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Integrated Marketing Campaign—Local Association
• Frozen & Refrigerated Food Council of Northern California, Alamo, California
Integrated Marketing Campaign—Manufacturer
• Ateeco Inc./Mrs. T’s Pierogies, Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Integrated Marketing Campaign—Retailer
• Acme Markets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• FoodMaxx Stores, Alamo, California
• Giant Eagle Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Price Chopper/Market 32, Schenectady, New York
Integrated Marketing Campaign—Wholesaler
• Bozzuto’s Inc., Cheshire, Connecticut
• C&S Wholesale Grocers, Robesonia Logistics LLC, Robesonia, Pennsylvania
Silver Awards
In-Store Display
• Albertsons 966, Phoenix, Arizona; assisted by Co-Sales Co., Scottsdale, Arizona
• Chris’ Food Center, Sandstone, Minnesota; assisted by Kemps, Lindstrom, Minnesota
• County Market No. 139, Monmouth, Illinois
• Maxwell AFB Commissary, Montgomery, Alabama; assisted by Nestle Military Sales, Glendale, California
• Moody AFB Commissary, Valdosta, Georgia; assisted by Nestle Military Sales, Glendale, California
• Quantico Marines Commissary, Quantico, Virginia; assisted by Ajinomoto Windsor, Ontario, California
• Randolph AFB Commissary, Universal City, Texas; assisted by Ajinomoto Windsor, Ontario, California
• Safeway 1599, Littleton, Colorado; assisted by Co-Sales Colorado, Greenwood Village, Colorado
• Safeway 2821, Phoenix, Arizona; assisted by Co-Sales Co., Glendale, Arizona
• Woodman’s Waukesha, Cedarburg, Wisconsin; assisted by Kemps, Cedarburg, Wisconsin
In-Store Event
• Harmons Grocery, West Valley City, Utah
Traditional Marketing
• Albertsons—Southwest Division, Phoenix, Arizona
• Ateeco Inc./Mrs. T’s Pierogies, Pottsville, Pennsylvania
• Bozzuto’s Inc., Cheshire, Connecticut
• Chris’ Food Center, Sandstone, Minnesota
Social Media and Digital Marketing
• Homeland, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Integrated Marketing Campaign—Local Association
• Frozen and Refrigerated Food Council of North Carolina, Rock Hill, South Carolina
• Frozen and Refrigerated Foods of Central Florida, Riverview, Florida
Integrated Marketing Campaign—Retailer
• Albertsons—Southwest Division, Phoenix, Arizona
The gold award winners will be recognized throughout a networking reception on Oct. 24 during the NFRA Convention, and the top marketer awards will be presented. Silver awards are typically presented at the local level at appropriate frozen food association meetings.
In an effort to create a renewed level of prestige and recognition for this flagship awards program, NFRA says it made significant changes to the Golden Penguin Awards program this year. New categories that better reflect today’s marketing practices, a streamlined online entry system, a numeric scoring platform and a redesigned award provided a fresh opportunity for companies to be nationally recognized for excellence in merchandising and marketing frozen and refrigerated foods.
Eleven new categories included In-Store Display, In-Store Event, Community Involvement, Social Media and Digital Marketing, Traditional Marketing, Private Brand Campaign and Integrated Marketing Campaign with sub-categories for Retailer, Wholesaler, Manufacturer, Sales Agent and Local Association; plus, the top marketer awards honor the best of the best. The highest scoring entry in each of the Integrated Marketing Campaign sub-categories will be named the Top Marketer.
Retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, sales agents and local associations of any size (retail and military) could enter any category applicable to their business. Entries were judged on their own merit taking into consideration organization size and/or program budget. These changes also apply to NFRA’s other promotions for June Dairy Month and Ice Cream & Novelties.