The votes are in for Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ 2017 Best New Retail Products contest. Congratulations to La Brea Bakery, Los Angeles, for taking first place with an astounding 25,231 votes for its Take & Bake French Dinner Rolls and French Demi Baguettes.

Marina Mayer, editor-in-chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods and the creator of the Best New Retail Products contest, talked exclusively with Megan Jackson, PR manager, to discuss the “winning” product and what’s in store for the future.

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods: First off, congratulations on placing FIRST PLACE in Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ 2017 Best New Retail Products contest. La Brea Bakery nabbed the highest amount of votes EVER (25,231 votes) in the five years of this contest running. What does this recognition mean to you, your company, your products and your consumers?

Megan Jackson: It was wonderful to find out that our La Brea Bakery frozen Take & Bake dinner rolls and demi baguettes had won first place for Best New Retail Product.

La Brea Bakery frozen Take & Bake dinner rolls and demi baguettes had tough competition going up against other great new foods, so this is a great accomplishment for our company. These are the same great formulas we have had for over 25 years in a brand new package. We are absolutely thrilled to be able to let our customers know about this achievement, and can’t wait for everyone to add our La Brea Bakery frozen Take & Bake dinner rolls and demi baguettes in their freezers.

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods: How did you go about accruing so many votes? What was your plan?

Jackson: Our ARYZTA team played a large role in our win. When we learned about La Brea Bakery’s nomination, we reached out to our team and encouraged them to spread the word to their customers, social media and even their family and friends. Although we may be relatively new to the frozen food aisle, La Brea Bakery is a household name thanks to nearly 30 years of innovation in the artisan bread industry, and we used this as an opportunity to let our loyal fans and customers know that we have branched out to a new area.

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods: Your new retail product— frozen rolls and baguettes—was nominated by Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ editor-in-chief, Marina Mayer. What features does this new product hold that would allow it to even be nominated?

Jackson: Our now award-winning La Brea Bakery Take & Bake breads are unique to the frozen food market, as they capture the beloved flavor of our signature breads, but can be enjoyed warm and fresh-baked from your own oven. Even better, the rolls and demi baguettes don’t contain any artificial flavors, preservatives, trans-fats or high-fructose corn syrup. Both frozen options are non-GMO project verified, making them a cleaner label bread choice, particularly in the frozen food aisle. Having La Brea Bakery breads in the freezer aisle gives consumers the convenience and flexibility of having access to artisan bread, any time.

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods: This new product enabled La Brea Bakery to enter the frozen food aisle. Why create this new product? What does this say about the future of the bakery market?

Jackson: We’ve had a delicious line of Take & Bake breads in the in-store bakery for years. By launching Take & Bake breads nationwide in the freezer aisle, we’re introducing our same award-winning breads to millions of new consumers. The positive response that we’ve gotten from our line of frozen Take & Bake breads has opened our eyes to the possibility of launching additional high-quality frozen bakery items from La Brea Bakery. Ultimately, we’ve seen that consumers don’t want to sacrifice quality for convenience and freshness, even when shopping in the frozen foods aisle.

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods: Any unique features to the product’s packaging?

Jackson: Our packaging is resealable, which is a great addition. This allows consumers to enjoy a roll or demi baguette and seal up the package for future enjoyment.

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods: What is on the horizon for your company come 2018?

Jackson: If this year was any indication, I expect 2018 is going to be a big year for us at La Brea Bakery.

This spring, we introduced two new La Brea Bakery Reserve breads, a sourdough and French baguette, expanding the portfolio of the first nationally available farm-to-table breads. We also introduced a first-in-class snacking option with our La Brea Bakery Flatbread Crisps, made with the same single-origin heirloom wheat used in our La Brea bakery Reserve breads. We look forward to continuing to push the envelope as part of the good food movement, focusing on transparency and quality.