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 automated production facility. 

A private label powerhouse, Cafe Spice produces its own branded RTE meals as well as co-manufactured and foodservice products for customers including Whole Foods, Kroger and Amazon. The company late last year began manufacturing from a 70,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility in Beacon, New York, near their original, 50,000-square-foot site in New Windsor. The Beacon site, which now accounts for nearly 90% of the company’s output, is in its first phase of operation, with additional production lines coming in 2025. Cafe Spice has been named R&FF’s 2024 Processor of the Year. Sameer Malhotra, CEO of Cafe Spice, Ryan Bakst, R&D manager, Giovani Gomez, vice president of quality, and Virgilio Felix, chief operating officer, sit down with the From the Cold Corner to share more.

Their clean-label massive mozzarella sticks are a branded menu item at major concert venues like Madison Square Garden and in just over a year have made it into 3,500+ retail doors. The NFRA recently celebrated Big Mozz as the winner of its inaugural Penguin Pitch competition. Matt Gallira, CEO and founder of Big Mozz, discusses transitioning from a concert staple, to a foodservice superpower, to a retail CPG, bringing to the masses.

Justin Cook, lead Consumer Products researcher at Deloitte, joins From the Cold Corner to share more about Deloitte’s research into the refrigerated and frozen consumer and how F&B manufacturers and processors can work with grocers to win a bigger share-of-stomach.

Cold storage providers and distributors are always looking for ways to cut carbon footprints and boost the bottom line. For cold storage companies and 3PLs, energy is typically the second-highest operating cost behind labor. Technology can play an important role in combating rising energy costs by cutting consumption and helping cold chain operators identify their weak points. On this episode, we’re talking technology in cold foods distribution with Jason Massey, CEO and co-founder of Ndustrial, and Damaris Grütter, director of U.S. & Canadian markets at Stoecklin Logistics.

Automation – the word is everywhere in the food and beverage business – but many companies are looking for a starting point. On this episode, John Koury, consulting architect for A M King, a North Carolina based design-build firm, discusses how cold food facilities can maximize their investments and add automation alongside plant renovations or expansions.

FedUp Foods, the largest private-label fermented beverage manufacturer in North America, is beginning its next chapter of growth with construction of its third production facility in Wilmington, North Carolina. Renowned for creating health-conscious beverages such as Kombucha, Prebiotic Sodas, and more, the company currently serves nine of the 12 top private label programs in North America. The Wilmington facility will allow FedUp Foods to meet growing demand and offer new products, like cold brew coffee. On this episode, Zane Adams, co-founder, and executive vice president of Strategy and Development, shares more about FedUp Foods’ journey and the company’s latest production facility.