Keasbey, New Jersey-based Wakefern Food Corp. has received a 2021 PLMA Salute to Excellence Award in the food and drink pasta category for the company’s Bowl & Basket brand Specialty Gorgonzola and Walnut Ravioli.
The Private Label Manufacturers Association Salute to Excellence Awards gives recognizes outstanding store brands products introduced in supermarkets and other retailers from coast to coast, as well as online. The more than 770 products submitted for consideration in the food, beverage, health, home and beauty categories were judged before a panel of professionals and consumers for innovation, concept, packaging, taste and value.
Winning products reflect retailers commitment to excellence in quality and consumer satisfaction.
“We are honored to receive a PLMA Salute to Excellence Award for our Bowl & Basket brand,” said Chris Skyers, VP of Own Brands at Wakefern.
“We strive to offer unique and delicious products under our private label brands, and the Bowl & Basket Specialty Gorgonzola and Walnut Ravioli is just one great example of the quality and value customers can find in our own brands,” he said.
Bowl & Basket’s Specialty Gorgonzola and Walnut Ravioli features chef-crafted Italian egg pasta filled with walnuts and gorgonzola, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, free from artificial colors and preservatives. The Own Brands team traveled to Italy in January 2020, completing a sensory sampling of more than 30 flavors of ravioli to create the personalized premium assortment on shelves in stores today.
This is not the first time Wakefern’s private label brands have been recognized for innovative products.
In 2017, Wholesome Pantry Organic was awarded two PLMA Salute to Excellence Awards. Wholesome Pantry Organic Spring Mix Salad and Wholesome Pantry Creamy Almond Butter were both recognized in the PLMA’s “Healthy Eating & Natural Foods” and “Spreads” categories. The Bowl & Basket and Paperbird lines were also awarded 2020 Vertex Awards for private brand package design.
From a small, local cooperative that began with eight grocery store owners, Wakefern Food Corp. has grown into a retailer-owned cooperative in the United States. Founded in 1946, the cooperative comprises nearly 50 member families who independently own and operate more than 350 supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage and Fairway banners in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
For more information, visit wakefern.com.
