Sobo Foods and Myles Comfort Foods, both start-up producers of frozen products, are among 10 companies selected for the Specialty Food Association (included) Cohort during the SFA’s January 21-23 Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Partnering with (included) is an important initiative for the Specialty Food Association. As a not-for-profit trade association striving to create a more diverse community in the specialty food industry, working with (included) allows us to bring more BIPOC makers to market through the Fancy Food Shows,” said SFA President Bill Lynch.
“As a proudly Asian-American frozen dumpling brand, Sobo faces a lot of challenges breaking into retail and getting in front of customers. Story telling from behind a pane of frosty glass is hard enough as it is, but this is compounded by the fact that Sobo is so new – we only launched a few months ago – and that we’re trying to tell nuanced stories about the flavors that we grew up with as the children of immigrants,” said Eric Ji Sun Wu (pictured above at right), chief executive officer of the San Francisco, California-based company co-founded with Adam Yee (seen at left).
“We knew that the Winter Fancy Food Show would be our big introduction to the world of grocery, but we were certainly stressing about how we’d be able to stand out on a limited budget,” added Wu. “Thanks to (included) we’ve found some unbelievable mentors, peers, and cheerleaders to help Sobo make the splash we knew we had to at our first big trade show.”
Flavors to savor at the exhibition will include 100% plant based Japanese Curry & Potato, Korean Kimchi & Mushroom, and Chinese “Pork” & Chive. Twelve dumplings come per retail bag, priced at $10.99. All products are devoid of preservatives, MSG and cholesterol, as well as being 100% meatless and dairy-free.
The top-selling SKU, Chinese-inspired faux “Pork” & Chive dumplings, boasts 19 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber per serving. With only 1 gram of sugar and 1 gram of saturated fat, the recipe is are also lower in sodium than what leading national frozen dumpling brands have to offer.
Myles Aims Higher and Higher
McLean, Virginia-based Myles Comfort Foods was rebranded from 8 Myles earlier this year after raising $1.05 million from investors that included TxO, Virginia Impact Partners, Bronze Valley Accelerator and Philadelphia Enterprise Center.
“We are on a mission to become a leader in the frozen food category by creating clean comfort Mac & Cheese products with a focus on recognizable ingredients and premium taste,” said CEO Myles Powell.
Myles Comfort Foods’ retail line, which includes Philly Cheesesteak Mac & Cheese and Buffalo Mac & Cheese, is now available in over 1,200 retail stores, including Sprouts, Whole Foods, and Target outlets.
The Winter Fancy Food Show is the largest B2B specialty food event in the western United States, and features thousands of specialty food and beverage products from around the world. The exhibition is open to members of the specialty food trade, industry affiliates and journalists.
