Product and promotion news

To further educate consumers about soymilk and provide an incentive to try the product, Vernon Hills, Ill.-based Tetra Pak Inc. and several soymilk brands have gotten together to promote an in-store campaign during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. When purchasing four quarts of shelf-stable soymilk, consumers will receive a $3 rebate. For every rebate received, Tetra Pak will donate $1 to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade to help raise funds for advancing access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. Participating soymilk brands include Silk, WestSoy, Soy Dream, Edensoy, Vitasoy, Pacific Natural Foods and Kikkoman Pearl. “We wanted to communicate the benefits of soymilk in shelf-stable packages to consumers and what better way to do this than to help out a great cause at the same time,” says Carla Fantoni, business development manager for the prepared foods category at Tetra Pak. Multiple major grocers in the following markets will be participating in this Tetra Pak soymilk rebate program: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore/Washington, D.C. and New York.

Smith Dairy Products Co., Orrville, Ohio, has announced the rollout of a new Ruggles® Organic Premium Ice Cream line, with four new flavors. “With the growing consumer demand for organic products,” says Penny Baker, director of marketing for Smith Dairy, “Ruggles Organic ice cream is a natural.” Flavors in the Organic line include Vanilla Bean, creamy vanilla ice cream with real vanilla bean flakes; Cookies and Cream, vanilla ice cream with chocolate cookie pieces; Blueberries and Cream, creamy blueberry ice cream bursting with tasty blueberries; and Mint Chocolate Chip, refreshing mint ice cream loaded with chocolate chips. “In the past 10 years, organic ice cream sales have grown 55 percent, so we know the future is bright for this new line,” Baker says. “But we also realize that organic farming helps restore and preserve the environment in harmony with nature, so the future is brighter for all of us, too.”

Each year, children spend over 1,000 hours and eat 180 meals at school, making it an important part of their development. In the school setting, a healthy, “SAFE” environment includes parent Support, physical Activity, nourishing Food and nutrition Education (SAFE). Just in time for back-to-school, Dairy Council of California’s SAFE checklist helps parents evaluate and promote a healthy school environment for their children. The checklist, available at Meals Matter (www.mealsmatter.org), a free meal-planning and nutrition Web site provided by Dairy Council of California, includes questions and a call to action that gets parents engaged in improving the school environment. Parents are encouraged to use the SAFE school checklist as a guide to fostering a healthy school environment that includes these key components.

It’s time to start those graters. Tillamook Cheese, Tillamook, Ore., has announced the acceptance of recipe submissions for the 2007 Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese Recipe Contest (www.tillamookcontest.com). The contest returns this year, giving amateur food lovers a chance to win $5,000 in a national recipe contest dedicated to an all-time favorite comfort food. Regional cook-offs will take place in six locations: Portland, Ore.; Seattle; Denver; Chicago; San Antonio; and San Francisco. Three finalists in each regional cook-off will be chosen based on unique use of ingredients, taste and overall creativity. At each cook-off, finalists will prepare their macaroni-and-cheese recipes from scratch and local celebrity judges and culinary experts will judge the three dishes to declare a regional winner. The regional winner will receive $1,000 in cash, 25 pounds of Tillamook® cheese and various other prizes. Regional winners will earn the right to compete in the grand finale cook-off in Portland, Ore., against other finalists for the title of “the Big Cheese,” $5,000 in cash and bragging rights.