The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-headquartered National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) on July 30 trumpeted winners of the prestigious Golden Penguin Awards for best merchandising and marketing efforts during the 2019 March Frozen Food Month promotion. The big retail store victors, striking gold four and three times respectively, were Phoenix, Arizona-headquartered Albertsons Southwest and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Acme Markets.
Especially shining among manufacturers was B&G Foods of Parsippany, New Jersey. The company won Gold twice entirely on its own, and assisted in Albertson’s Southwest winning of three top prizes.
The March promotion helped the industry drive traffic in the frozen food aisles of supermarkets and grocery stores throughout the United States and increase sales for many categories and brands. NFRA has awarded 36 Gold and 35 Silver awards. In addition, the highest scoring entry in each of the Overall Marketing Campaign sub-categories will be revealed.
The Golden Penguin Awards provide an opportunity for companies to be nationally recognized for excellence in merchandising and marketing frozen and refrigerated foods. The Gold award winners will be recognized throughout an Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 at the annual convention, and the Top Marketer awards will be presented. Silver awards are typically presented at the local level at appropriate frozen food association meetings.
NFRA’s Golden Penguin Awards program features ten categories that reflect today’s marketing practices, including: In-Store Display, In-Store Event, Community Involvement, Social Media Campaign, Private Brand Campaign and Overall Marketing Campaign with sub-categories for – Retailer, Wholesaler, Manufacturer, Sales Agent and Local Association. Plus, the Top Marketer Awards honor the best of the best – the highest scoring entry in each of the Overall Marketing Campaign sub-categories will be named the Top Marketer.
Retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, sales agents and associations of any size (retail and military) could enter any category applicable to their business. Entries were judged on their own merit taking into consideration organization size and/or program budget. Companies can participate in the Golden Penguin competition for NFRA’s other promotions for June Dairy Month and Ice Cream & Novelties.
Here’s a complete list of the Gold Award winners:
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
- Acme Markets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Carlin Group, Cincinnati, Ohio
- North Florida Frozen Refrigerated Food Association, Jacksonville, Florida
- Palermo Villa, Inc. (Palermo’s Pizza), Milwaukee, Wisconsin
IN-STORE DISPLAY
- Albertsons Southwest – Albertsons Store1002, Phoenix, Arizona
- Assisting Company: B&G Foods Inc., Green Giant, Parsippany, New Jersey
- Albertsons Southwest – Safeway Store 2799, Phoenix, Arizona
- Assisting Company: B&G Foods Inc., Green Giant, Parsippany, New Jersey
- Albertsons Southwest – Safeway Store 2821, Phoenix, Arizona
- Assisting Company: B&G Foods Inc., Green Giant, Parsippany, New Jersey
- Chris’ Food Center – Sandstone Store, Sandstone, Minnesota
- Assisting Company: Kemps LLC, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Shop Rite Pearl River, Pearl River, New York
- Assisting Company: Douglas Sales, Piscataway, New Jersey
- Woodman’s Menomonee Falls, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
- Assisting Company: Kemps LLC • Cedarburg, Wisconsin
OVERALL MARKETING CAMPAIGN: LOCAL ASSOCIATION
- Frozen Food Council of Northern California, Roseville, California
OVERALL MARKETING CAMPAIGN: MANUFACTURER
- B&G Foods, Inc., Parsippany, New Jersey
- Cape Cod Select LLC, Carver, Massachusetts
- InnovAsian, Tukwila, Washington
- Mrs. T’s Pierogies, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania
OVERALL MARKETING CAMPAIGN: RETAILER
- Acme Markets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Albertsons Southwest Division, Phoenix, Arizona
- Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Harris Teeter, Matthews, North Carolina
- Kroger, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Safeway Eastern Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Smart & Final Stores LLC, Commerce, California
- Weis Markets, Inc., Sunbury, Pennsylvania
OVERALL MARKETING CAMPAIGN: SALES AGENT
- IMPACT Group Southwest, Phoenix, Arizona
OVERALL MARKETING CAMPAIGN: WHOLESALER
- C&S Wholesale Grocers, Robesonia, Pennsylvania
PRIVATE BRAND CAMPAIGN
- Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
- Acme Markets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- B&G Foods Inc., Green Giant, Parsippany, New Jersey
- Price Chopper/Market 32, Albany, New York
- Smart & Final Stores LLC, Commerce, California
