From the Cold Corner

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...

Caulipower’s Founder & CEO, Gail Becker, joins Editor-in-Chief Michael Costa to discuss the company’s recent packaging redesign, the R&D process for bringing Caulipower products to market, how the company is faring with current supply chain issues, Caulipower’s community outreach as part of its sustainability strategy, and what really constitutes “better-for-you” cold foods in stores today...

Editor-in-Chief Michael Costa sits down with Peter Bartzis and Liz Vanderhoef from Devanco Foods—which placed first in our 2021 Best New Frozen Retail Products Contest—to discuss the company’s winning No-MSG Chicken Gyros Kits, as well as their overall retail sales growth (150% year-over-year), sustainability goals, new product launches, family focused company culture, and distribution strategies...

If ever there was a beverage made for the cold chain, it would be kombucha. The fermented, nutrient-dense drink—which can be created in alcohol and non-alcohol versions—is a living product in need of stable temperatures throughout its journey to store shelves. One of the leading brands in the fast-growing kombucha category is Vermont-based Aqua ViTea. Editor-in-Chief Michael Costa caught up with A...

Lauren Edmonds, newly elected president of the Refrigerated Foods Association (RFA) joins Editor-in-Chief Michael Costa to discuss the RFA’s plans for the coming year, plus how the pandemic is still affecting the refrigerated foods industry through price hikes and shortages on ingredients, a shrinking labor pool, and more. They also discuss Edmonds’ company, St. Clair Foods, and their move to an a...

Mario DiFalco, VP of innovation and insights at Del Monte Foods, joins the Cold Corner with Austin Keating, multimedia specialist for Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, to discuss the brand’s Veggieful line of frozen foods, and in particular, their award-winning plant-based Pocket Pies.

Jeff Rumachik from the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) joins the Cold Corner again with Editor-in-Chief Michael Costa to analyze the industry’s record year for frozen food sales due to the pandemic and housebound consumers. This coincides with Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ annual Top 150 Frozen Foods Processors Report, which was just published and can be found under...

Editor-in-Chief Michael Costa checks in with Pablo Rivero, Fresh Del Monte’s VP of marketing for North America, about the company’s new produce processing plant in Gonzales, California, operated by Del Monte subsidiary, Mann Packing, and the sustainable initiatives incorporated in and around the facility. They also discuss Fresh Del Monte’s plans for the rest of 2021. 

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods Editor-in-Chief Michael Costa checks in Ryan Riddle, Senior R&D Specialist for Plant-Based Meal Solutions at Nestlé, about the company's Sweet Earth brand, which helped Nestlé grow its plant-based sales by nearly 40% this year. They also discuss why frozen and refrigerated plant-based foods are so popular today, which consumer markets are key targets for plant-b...