From the Cold Corner

This year marks the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA)’s 40th annual celebration of March Frozen Food Month! On this episode of From the Cold Corner, NFRA Executive Vice President and COO, Tricia Greyshock, and Angela Rosenquist, chief growth officer at InnovAsian Cuisine and chair of the NFRA Promotions Committee, discuss March Frozen Food Month and more.

The demand for refrigerated and frozen foods remains robust. For example, a survey released in November by the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) found more than a quarter of shoppers are buying more frozen fruits and vegetables than three years ago. And over 90% of foodservice operators reported using frozen foods in their menus, with the healthcare, convenience store and fast casual categorie...

As Argentina and soccer fans around the world celebrate, there’s little doubt that scores of hungry fans in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup dined on a Devanco Foods product: the Chicago-based company shipped more than a half million pounds of halal beef bacon and deli meats into the country ahead of the tournament. It’s no wonder that Devanco Foods has been named the 2023 Refrigerated and Frozen Food...

On this episode of From the Cold Corner, we’re joined by Grady McAdams, northwest region and cold storage sales leader at Heatcraft, and John Tippmann, Vice President of Sales Strategy at the Tippmann Group, to discuss the coming year in cold storage.

Godshall's starts with premium cuts of Angus Steak seasoned with traditional steakhouse spices and slowly smoke using real wood. Their Uncured Beef Bacon made with Angus Steak delivers on great taste and versatility. It cooks just like pork bacon, but with 50% less fat and has just 40 calories per serving. On this episode of From the Cold Corner, we're joined by Francis Yupangco, executive directo...

With Thanksgiving and the holiday season quickly approaching, we’re talkin’ turkey. Known as the leader in Thanksgiving turkeys, Butterball recently released its 2022 Thanksgiving Outlook report. Kyle Lock, vice president of Marketing for Butterball, joins us to some consumer insights and turkey tips.

If you’ve ever made meatballs for a football tailgate or enjoyed chicken wings at a restaurant, chances are good you have eaten a West Liberty Foods product – our 2022 Frozen Foods Processor of the Year. West Liberty Foods produces grilled, baked, enrobed, chopped/formed, steam-cooked and convection items, such as grilled chicken strips and patties, meatballs, breakfast sausage and fully-cooked ch...

On this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Vinicio Serment, U.S. Applications and Food Processing Specialist at Hiperbaric, a designer and manufacturer of HPP machinery, and Gianni Holzen, Commercial Sales Director at Fresh-Lock, a packaging company specializing in flexible and re-closeable technology, to examine the latest in high pressure processing – or HPP – and packaging for refrigerated and frozen...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts meat consumption will increase by over 70% by 2050, meaning the world must find another source to feed a growing population. Investors in cell-based protein companies include names like Bill Gates and companies including Tyson and Cargill and other countries, including Singapore, India and Japan have invested in research and regu...

Just in time for back to school – you may now be able to find a popular school lunch treat in the freezer aisle at your grocery store. Mixmi frozen yogurt has been sold in elementary, middle and high schools across the U.S. since 2012 and late last year, the company began retail distribution, with 4-packs of Mixmi froyo now available in over 1,400 locations in 30 states. Mixmi co-founders and co-o...

As consumer behavior continues to change and economic pressure mounts, we wanted to check in on the cold chain. On this episode of From the Cold Corner, Lauren Edmonds, president of the Refrigerated Foods Association and vice president of marketing and product development for St. Clair Foods, Inc. joins us.

From the Cold Corner sits down with Bob Yau, founder and chairman of BEK Foods, Boba Bam’s parent company, and Brian Khoddam, CEO of Boba Bam, the winner of our 2022 Best New Frozen Retail Products contest. Founded in 2020, the California-based company conducted its first retail test last July at Costco and sold out in less than a week. Since then, the company has sold over 2 million gallons of bo...

In honor of June being National Diary Month, From the Cold Corner sits down with Sarah Healy, senior vice president of marketing for Cabot Cheese and Jenni Tilton-Flood, a Cabot dairy farmer whose farm cares for 3,400 cows every day. Founded in Cabot, Vermont, in 1919, it has grown to be owned by 800 farms throughout New England and New York. Today the yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream and butter...

Rodolfo Haenni, VP of market & strategy development and Rafael Posada, director of sustainability at Tekni-Plex, a material sciences company and Meg Sutula, director of marketing at Clover Sonoma dairy, join From the Cold Corner to discuss the evolution of sustainable packaging and circularity.

Ben Rubin, co-founder and CEO of SnoFox Sciences, a data science and analytics company and Dan Postlewaite, manager of sustainable development and senior project engineer at US Cold, join From the Cold Corner to discuss energy-saving and sustainability in cold facility construction. 

Allison Bodor, CEO of the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), Bryan Freeman, executive chairman of REAL Good Foods, and Lucy Durbin, first vice president of the National Food Facilities Group at CBRE, join From the Cold Corner to discuss current issues impacting the frozen foods industry and a look at what’s ahead in 2022.

Ayeshah Abuelhiga, CEO of Mason Dixie Foods, joins us to discuss her clean-label, ready-to-bake line of frozen biscuits and breakfast sandwiches. The daughter of two immigrants from countries with very big food cultures, Ayeshah turned a love of soul food into a booming biscuit business, recently raising over $6 million in a Series A funding round. Mason Dixie products can be found in over 8,000 l...

Led by CEO Theresa Motter, Van’s Kitchen is a certified women-owned and minority-owned egg roll manufacturer supplying over 10,000 supermarkets and convenience stores across the U.S., with $45 million in annual sales. The Dallas-based company weathered the COVID pandemic, signing over 10 new distributor, supermarket and grocery accounts for a 40% increase in sales year-over-year. Read the full sto...

Helena Lumme, founder and president of Hälsa Dairy-Free Scandinavian-Style Oatgurt, and Mika Manninen, founder and CEO, join the Cold Corner to discuss winning the 2021 R&FF Best New Refrigerated Products Contest. They also talk about how the rapidly-growing company is addressing sustainability, innovation, and plans for 2022 and beyond.

Crepini’s President, Ann Daw, and CMO, Lisa Shkolnik, join the Cold Corner to discuss the company’s zero-carb, Paleo- and Keto-friendly egg wraps—a cross between a crêpe and a blini—and how those refrigerated products help consumers meet modern dietary preferences. They also discuss overcoming challenges with growing the company, a recent packaging redesign, and how they’re addressing current supp...

SideDrive is the only company in the world focused solely on providing side-drive, edge-driven conveyors for food-safe production lines. USDA-approved plastic-belted SideDrive conveyors keep refrigerated and frozen foods safe with their smooth motion that prevents breakage. Increase uptime while reducing chemical and water use thanks to SideDrive’s open-frame construction and drumless design that...

With a focus on finding creative freezing & chilling solutions, Tony provides Commercial Cryogenic Technology support to Air Products’ food customers in the Northeastern US Region. In addition to coordinating equipment installations and updates, Tony collaborates with food manufacturers to understand their operation and identify opportunities to improve process safety and efficiency and reduce...

Louis Armstrong, Founder and CEO of Killer Creamery, sits down with R&FF's Layan Dahhan to talk about the origins of his healthy, sugar-free ice cream company. They discuss the difficulties of transporting frozen products, the growth of the business since its start back in 2016 and the recent addition of a frozen novelty, Killer Sammies, to their lineup of ice cream pints.

Ryan Hanan, COO for Hanan Products, joins R&FF’s Layan Dahhan to talk about the family-owned company’s evolution—this is Hanan’s 75th year in business—into an industry leader in whipped toppings, icings and fillings for the wholesale/retail bakery industry, including well-known brands like Tasty Whip and Whip Deelite. The company is also known for its kosher and vegan products today, and has e...

Milk Cult's Co-Founder and Co-Owner Ed Cornell sits down with R&FF's Layan Dahhan to talk about the origins and inspiration behind his hand-crafted, chef-inspired frozen novelty company, Milk Cult. What started in 2013 as a motorcycle version of a food truck in Washington D.C., has grown into a popular brand with grocery distribution and a devoted following throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atl...