Contest Winners Announced
RDBA hosts a variety of contests in partnership with our sponsors. These contests are an effective way for retail RDs to showcase their culinary chops or promotional expertise. Today, we’re thrilled to announce the winners of two recent contests. Each winner will receive a $1,000 travel stipend towards an education conference of her choosing.
House Foods Tofu Boost: A Plant-Based Recipe Contest
Leverage a key 2018 trend – plant-based eating – House Foods sponsored this contest. “Plant based eating is a food trend that’s here to stay,” comments Dana Kucharik, Marketing Manager at House Foods America, Corp. “We wanted to host a recipe contest that highlighted tofu as the main source of plant-protein and really showcase its versatility. Not only can tofu be used to replace an ingredient like meat or dairy, but it can really compliment any recipe to give it a boost of protein.”
Joannah Konecny, RD from ShopRite of Fair Lawn is the winner of this contest for her Maple Vanilla French Toast recipe. Joannah’s inspiration for the recipe came from the idea that she wanted a meal the entire family can enjoy. “French toast is a family favorite from little ones all the way up to adults, so I felt it would be an excellent alternative to bump up the protein at breakfast, instead of using eggs like a traditional French toast,” she comments. Konecny adds “This recipe is also perfect in case any family members have an egg allergy or dietary preference to avoid them- or if you simply ran out of eggs in your fridge but are craving French toast for breakfast!" She entered the contest because she never before used tofu as an ingredient substitution to create a sweet dish, so she felt this was the perfect challenge!
Kucharik indicates they were excited about Joannah’s recipe as “it utilized tofu in such a unique, creative and unexpected way, really speaking to its versatility.”
Lil Snappers® Apple Contest
While dietitians aren’t trained on business or retail skills during their college programs, many have learned key skills on the job. This is true for Johna Mailolli, RD at Shoprite of Tallman, the winner of the Lil Snappers® Apple Contest. In her promotion of this Stemilt apple, she targeted key shopper groups, leveraged social media, repeated consistent messages in a variety of venues, and created a gorgeous in-store display. Johna comments, “I focused on the most impactful ways to
promote Lil Snappers® as a supermarket dietitian, both in and out of my store. I used the power of social media, in-store message repeaters & demos, and included Lil Snappers in our kids free snacking classes. It was also important to me to share the background story of Stemit Growers! I felt proud to promote a family-based company that has been growing fruit since the early 1900s! Customers want to know where their food is coming from, but they are also interested in the history behind the company. I believe this is the way to create lasting and loyal customers because now they are not only buying a piece of fruit, but a piece of a family dream and history.”
“We were impressed by the creativity that each retail dietitian entrant put into their promotions as part of the RDBA-Lil Snappers® Apple Contest,” said Brianna Shales, Stemilt communications manager. “A big congratulations to Johna from ShopRite Inserra Supermarkets for winning the education stipend. The breadth and originality of Johna’s promotion raised awareness of Lil Snappers® with shoppers at her stores, and hopefully put more servings of nutritious fruit into many hands.”
If these winners have inspired you, consider entering the “I’m a Blenditarian because. . . .” social media contest sponsored by The Mushroom Council. The details are available here.
