The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA-headquartered National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) recently held its 32nd annual Golden Penguin Awards competition to recognize the best merchandising efforts in support of March Frozen Food Month. The big winner overall was the Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) Commissary crew, which performed a hat trick by scoring victories in three categories.
The annual promotion is held to boost traffic in the frozen food aisles of retail stores and increase sales for many categories and brands. This year the NFRA is saluting 16 Gold Penguin winners and 31 Silver Penguin designees for promotional excellence.
Judges looked for the most creative efforts using the March Frozen Food Month logo/theme during the month-long campaign. Winning entries demonstrated the effective use of promotional elements such as in-store programs, advertising, consumer education, creative use of merchandising materials and special displays. The Gold will be presented to the following winners on October 12 at the Awards Gala during the NFRA’s Convention in Dallas, Texas:
Military Commissary Best Endcap Display
Nellis Air Force Base Commissary, Nevada (Assisting Company: WEBCO G.P., Aldie, Virginia)
Military Commissary Best Department Display
Nellis Air Force Base Commissary, Nevada (Assisting Company: WEBCO G.P., Aldie, Virginia)
Military Commissary Overall Store Promotion
Nellis Air Force Base Commissary, Nevada (Assisting Company: WEBCO G.P., Aldie, Virginia)
Military Sales Agent
Acosta Sales & Marketing, Norfolk, Virginia
Local Frozen Food Association over 50 Members
Frozen & Refrigerated Foods of Central Florida
Manufacturer Branded
Ateeco Inc./Mrs. T’s Pierogies, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania
Corporate Wholesaler
C&S Grocery Wholesalers, Robesonia, Pennsylvania
Retail Supermarket Best Endcap Display
Albertsons #1002, Mesa, Arizona (Assisting Company: Co-Sales Company, Phoenix, Arizona)
Retail Supermarket Best Department Display
Tops Friendly Markets, Elmira, New York
Retail Corporate Chain or Division Less than 10 Stores
Chris’ Food Center, Sandstone, Minnesota
Retail Corporate Chain or Division 10 – 50 Stores
Food Maxx Stores, Modesto, California
Retail Corporate Chain or Division Over 50 Stores
Giant Eagle Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
In addition, several competitors distinguished themselves by obtaining Amber Penguin status for receiving three consecutive Gold awards in the same category. The super-achievers are:
Local Frozen Food Association over 50 Members
The Frozen & Refrigerated Food Council of Northern California
Retail Supermarket Best Overall Store Promotion
Chris’ Food Center, Sandstone, Minnesota (Assisting Company: Dean’s Foods, Esko, Minnesota)
Retail Corporate Chain or Division 10-50 Stores
Harmons Grocery, West Valley, Utah
Joined by 14 participating brands, NFRA increased awareness for March Frozen Food Month in 2015 by distributing a two-page free standing insert in print publications to 20 million consumers across the country on March 1, as well by distributing digital coupons through a partnership with Coupons.com. A $10,000 consumer sweepstakes engaged fans on NFRA’s Easy Home Meals social media channels throughout the month of March. Additionally, NFRA’s partner, the Mr. Food Test Kitchen, focused on March Frozen Food Month with a special TV segment broadcasted to more than four-million households on March 6.
As part of the March Frozen Food Month promotion, NFRA worked with Katie Workman of The Mom 100 to develop a frozen-inspired blog post “A Work Weeks’ Worth of Dinners from Around the World (That You Can Find Right in Your Freezer)” that ran on the Huffington Post Taste homepage. NFRA spokesperson Phil Lempert, represented the organization in the media and created an interactive infographic telling the story of “Thirty Ways to Savor the Flavor Using Frozen Foods.”
