NAPA, CA-April 13, 2023- Roland Foods, the leading purveyor of fine global ingredients, and sister company AUI Fine Foods, importer of specialty pastry products, hosted a joint Innovation Summit at the Culinary Institute of America’s Copia Campus in Napa, California. The summit was held March 14th-16th and was attended by professionals from across the culinary industry. This was the first summit hosted by Roland Foods and AUI.
Roland Foods has been a leader in the fine foods industry for nearly 90 years and has recently reestablished a focus on innovation. The company released a series of new products throughout 2022 and previewed several items in development during the summit. A hand-selected group of trusted foodservice, industrial, and group purchasing organization professionals were invited to attend the summit to test not-yet-released products and discuss innovation efforts.
Roland Foods’ R&D Chef Maya Lederer and Regional Sales Manager Robert Chaisson give a product demo
The summit was a great success for the companies and attendees as it not only allowed Roland Foods and AUI to receive first-hand customer feedback in real-time, but also gave customers tangible hand-on experience with a wide range of products from both companies’ portfolios. Throughout the three-day event, nearly 40 attendees and employees from each company attended workshops and challenges aimed at introducing and gaining valuable feedback on the innovation items.
“Our team has been planning this event for the past year and we could not be happier with the outcome. Innovation is extremely important to our company and the industry, and this summit allowed us to showcase the versatility of our growing portfolio to our customers,” says Roshni Panchal, Associate Director of Innovation and Product Strategy at Roland Foods.
AUI has been providing chefs and culinary professionals with high-end pastry, bakery, and confectionary products for over 45 years. The company hosted a variety of events at the Innovation Summit including couverture cutting and dessert demonstrations.
“The opinions of our valued foodservice customers are fundamental to the innovation process at Roland Foods and always have been. Gathering this group of culinary leaders at our Innovation Summit was integral in shaping how we think about the future of our business to meet our customers' needs,” says CEO Keith Dougherty of Roland Foods and AUI.
In addition to participating in new product tastings, attendees also enjoyed a cooking competition, interactive group discussions on innovation and marketing, and a keynote address from Datassential’s Trendologist Mike Kostyo. Datassential is a leading market research organization, trusted by 90% of the top food and beverage companies globally. The company has appointed Kostyo as their trend spotting expert, who has over nine years’ experience at Datassential identifying and researching the hottest industry trends. In his presentation for Roland Foods, he discussed the top flavor and menu trends of 2023, hot topics in the restaurant industry, and insights into a data driven innovation approach. For more information on Datassential and Mike Kostyo please visit https://datassential.com/resource/food-trends-2022/.
For an inside look at the Innovation Summit please visit https://vimeo.com/816699308.
About Roland Foods: Since 1934, Roland Foods has been a purveyor of premium, high-quality global ingredients. With a curated portfolio of over 900 products carefully sourced worldwide, the brand is a trusted resource relied upon by chefs and home cooks. Roland Foods aims to use its position as an established brand in the Fine Foods category to inspire culinary curiosity and creativity in the kitchen. Roland Foods - The World at Your Table™
To learn more about Roland Foods, please visit https://rolandfoods.com/
About AUI Fine Foods: Serving professional chefs and food businesses for over 45 years, AUI Fine Foods (AUI) has prospered through many changes while meeting challenges with vigor and an uncompromising commitment to quality products and services. From the days as a one-man show to the 150-strong force of today, AUI has partnered with top companies from around the world to bring classic and innovative tools to today’s industry trendsetters.
To learn more about AUI Fine Foods, please visit https://secure.auifinefoods.com/