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Whitney From Cellars at Jasper Hill Wins Best in Show at Specialty Cheese Show

Whitney, a Raclette-style raw milk cheese from Vermont’s Cellars at Jasper Hill won Best in Show for specialty cheese at the American Cheese Society’s annual awards.

“Behind every great cheese is a community of people,” an overwhelmed Jasper Hill co-founder, Matteo Kehler, said in a ceremony held during the ACS convention in Portland, Ore. “What we’re trying to build is an agriculture-supported community. Not a CSA, but an ASC.

“At the root of this effort is delicious cheese. It’s the vehicle. It’s reflective of this point in the industry for us and it’s an epic opportunity to push the boundaries and win new consumers,” said Kehler, who founded the creamery with his brother, Andy.

“When you win new consumers for specialty cheese, we all win and we win together,” he said.

Whitney is a Jasper Hill Creamery original, according to the company’s website, inspired by the classic, mid-elevation mountain cheeses of Europe. At Jasper Hill, people are the main ingredient; this stoic, reliable cheese pays homage to Jasper Hill’s longest-standing employee: the steadfast Tim Whitney.

Bamboozle, a washed-rind goat and cow’s milk cheese from Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy in Pennsylvania, and Flagsheep, a cloth-bound and open-air aged sheep’s milk cheese from Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Washington, tied for second place.

Greensward, a cow’s milk washed-rind cheese from Murray’s Cheese of New York, took third place.

For more specialty cheese awards from the ACS convention and other coverage, get the September issue of Gourmet News. So you don’t miss anything, subscribe now!

 

Bobbie Organic Infant Formula Launches in Target Nationwide

Bobbie organic infant formulaBobbie, the American-founded, European-style USDA Organic infant formula, is launching exclusively at Target. Just 18 months after launching as the first direct-to-consumer infant formula brand, Bobbie will be available at the majority of Target stores across the country and on Target.com within the next several weeks.

As an American-founded infant formula, Bobbie is USDA Organic, made with Organic Valley grass-fed milk, sourced from pasture-raised cows across 45 small, family-owned American farms that prioritize quality and sustainability. Bobbie prioritizes rigorous quality standards and unprecedented clean-certification as the first-ever infant formula to receive both the Clean Label Project Purity Award and certification as a Pesticide-Free product.

“As a mom first and a CEO second, I know firsthand there has never been a more critical time to get more infant formula on shelves,” said Laura Modi, CEO and co-founder of Bobbie, and mom of three. “Introducing a completely differentiated organic infant formula into the market is the near and long-term solution American families need and deserve. There’s nothing more important than making sure our babies are fed and nourished.”

Bobbie represents a new generation of formula that American parents have been demanding, holding itself to the highest standards while bringing peace of mind to U.S. families. As the infant formula shortage continues, Bobbie is proud to expand accessibility to shelves across the country, providing parents with an America-manufactured, organic European-style recipe. Bobbie’s new availability in Target is a long-term solution to the need for increased market diversification and high quality options in the U.S. infant formula industry.

Bobbie launched in January 2021, selling four times greater than forecasted in its first year, making it the fastest-growing infant formula in the United States since the 1980s. Bobbie is also available at www.hibobbie.com. Today, Bobbie’s subscription customer base is over 70,000, serving families in every state across the country; and since 2021, over 100,000 babies have relied on Bobbie for their essential daily nutrition. Bobbie is eager to nourish even more babies while continuing to build a parenting culture of confidence, not comparison, that supports all feeding journeys.

Offering a European-style, USDA Organic option that meets FDA requirements to retail shelves brings Bobbie back to its origin story with a new channel of discovery. Modi was inspired to start Bobbie after the birth of her first child when she found herself standing in the aisle of a store, holding a screaming infant, and fighting fever and chills brought on by mastitis. Disappointed with all the options before her, she was struck with a mother’s intuition that there had to be a better option – and so Bobbie was born.

Bobbie will be available in the majority of Target stores across the country and on Target.com beginning in July. Available in two sizes, featuring the original 14.1 oz can for $25.99 and a new 23.9 oz can for $41.99.

Keep up with the specialty food industry by subscribing to Gourmet News.

Just Egg Ads Poke Fun at Celebrities’ Healthier Lifestyles

Eat Just, Inc. has launched an ad campaign that features tennis star Serena Williams and actor Jake Gyllenhaal, both investors in the brand, eating Just Egg as part of their healthier lifestyles. Actor JB Smoove reprises his role as cheeky narrator in this new series of ads, poking fun at celebrity perks such as personal trainers and nutritionists while pointing out that everyone can eat plant-based eggs.

Williams, known for her powerful style of tennis that has earned her 23 grand slam victories, is depicted at home in her kitchen, surrounded by a team of experts calibrating every moment of her day, including preparing her perfectly plated Just Egg breakfast sandwich. Gyllenhaal is scrambling a pan of Just Egg after finishing a new, trendy workout that only celebrities know about.

Both spots humorously contrast the absurd lengths celebrities go for their high-performance lifestyles with the ease and deliciousness of Just Egg’s plant-based eggs. In addition to being free from cholesterol, these plant-based eggs have 69 percent less saturated fat than a chicken egg and contain 5 to 7 grams of plant-based protein per serving (depending on the Just Egg product).

The ads will air on television in major markets including Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City and will appear nationally on connected TV platforms and social media. To watch both ads, visit ju.st/ads. Billboards will also go up in these major markets, delivering short, humorous lines in large font such as “Eat it for your heart. Or the deliciousness. We don’t care.”

Plant-based products popular

According to research conducted by Just Egg in partnership with Numerator, consumers across the age spectrum are choosing plant-based products primarily to improve their health. This campaign will shine a light on why Just Egg is healthier compared to conventional eggs. In the United States, the plant-based egg category grew rapidly in 2021 with a 42 percent increase in retail dollar sales, according to data from the Plant Based Foods Association, the Good Food Institute and SPINS. In the past three years, plant-based egg sales in the United States have grown more than 1,000 percent and Just Egg represents more than 99 percent of the market.

“I’ll let you in on a secret: I don’t actually have a scientist in my kitchen. It’s not that exciting in there. But I do have Just Egg,” said Serena Williams, referencing a humorous scene in the ad she appears in. “I eat to live, so Just Egg helps me feel and perform better. But it’s also delicious – I don’t think my family can even taste the difference between Just Egg and chicken eggs. I’m also all-in on the mission: how can we make healthy, sustainable options accessible to everyone? Just Egg is making a real difference, and I’m proud to partner with them and be a shareholder in the company.”

“I’m excited to be partnering with Just Egg,” Gyllenhaal said. “I’m eating more plant-based for my health, and Just Egg makes it easy and delicious. I also recognize the impact our food system has on our planet, so Just Egg’s mission is important to me. And, honestly, who can turn down being narrated by JB Smoove?”

Campaign includes giveaways

In early June, Just Egg will launch a series of giveaways in partnership with brand ambassadors including celebrities, athletes and creators, where one winner will receive an exclusive kit featuring some of each person’s favorite items for the kitchen and gym. Throughout the summer, fitness creators across multiple platforms will create recipes featuring Just Egg paired with their favorite workouts, demonstrating how Just Egg fits into their active lifestyles.

As of April, the company has sold the plant-based equivalent of 250 million eggs, saving 9.1 billion gallons of water, avoiding 43.6 million kilograms of CO2e and sparing 13,446 acres of land. Just Egg products are available in approximately 44,000 retail points of distribution and more than 2,200 foodservice locations including national partners Caribou Coffee and Peet’s Coffee.

Just Egg is No. 1 in household spend and consumer loyalty among branded eggs and recently surpassed 2 million U.S. households. Recent approval for Just Egg’s proprietary mung bean protein in the EU has paved the way for a fourth quarter launch of Just Egg in Europe. Other recent launches in South Africa and South Korea build on the brand’s growing international presence, which also includes Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and China.

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