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 chicken wings. The company also produces sliced and whole muscle proteins and sous vide products for foodservice. Founded in 1996, when 47 farmers formed the Iowa Turkey Growers Co-Operative to purchase a turkey processing plant in West Liberty, Iowa, from Kraft Foods, the company has grown to over 2,000 employees across four facilities in three states, with a fifth location planned for construction in 2023. To discuss all that and more, on this episode of From the Cold Corner, we’re joined by Brandon Achen, CEO, and Michele Boney, director of sustainability.

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 foods.

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 regulatory framework. For a look at where the industry stands today and what’s next for cell-based protein, on this episode of From the Cold Corner, I’m joined by Tony Moses, PhD., Director of Product Innovation at CRB.

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-owners, Kristin and Chris Harlander, and their son, Axl Harlander, join From the Cold Corner to discuss the company’s growth.

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 boba. The gluten-free, vegan and nut free brown sugar flavor Boba Bam packet goes from freezer to microwave to cup in about a minute, with all the taste and texture of boba shops, from the convenience of home.

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 produced by Cabot farmers can be found in stores across the U.S. alongside its award-winning cheeses.