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 Aqua ViTea CEO & Founder Jeff Weaber to discuss kombucha’s rise in popularity due to consumer demand for health and wellness options, and how Aqua ViTea successfully pivoted from a profitable keg-based distribution model to bottles and cans during the pandemic.

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. 

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 The eMagazine tab at the top of R&FF’s website.

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-based foods, how Nestlé incorporates its plant-based products into the brand’s freezer-aisle favorites like DiGiorno Pizza and Stouffer’s, plus much more.

The disruption caused by COVID-19 forced nearly every food distributor to rethink their supply chain. Derek Curtis of Körber examines four recent examples of how their clients adapted to the changes better than their competitors, and grew their market share as a result.

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