Coconut Brittle Takes Top Prize at Fancy Food Show
Front Burner By FLORENCE FABRICANT JULY 3, 2017
The Specialty Food Association named a product of the year for the first time at its summer show, held last week at the Javits Convention Center. Coconut Cashew Crunch Chocolate Drizzle, a rather simple but alluring brittle from Anastasia Confections, won the prize. The candy is made in small batches by a company in Orlando, Fla., that specializes in tropical-style sweets. With coconut in the mix, it taps into a major flavor trend, and it stood out for being straightforward and tasty without claiming to improve the mind or muscles or prevent ailments, like so many of the beverages, snacks and other products on display at the trade show: Coconut Cashew Crunch Chocolate Drizzle, $4.99 for 5 ounces, anastasiaconfections.com.
A version of this article appears in print on July 5, 2017, on Page D3 of the New York edition with the headline: To Nibble: Coconut Treat Makes a Win Look Easy.
Anastasia Confections Coconut Cashew Crunch with Dark Chocolate Drizzle
November 2017
Anastasia Confections, a subsidiary of Las Olas Confections & Snacks, has introduce its newest, multi award-winning confection, Coconut Cashew Crunch with Dark Chocolate Drizzle. Since its debut earlier this year, this addictively sweet and crunchy treat has already won three prestigious industry awards:
Show which was held June 25th thru June 27th at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City
A tropical twist on a classic brittle, Anastasia's Coconut Cashew Crunch with Dark Chocolate Drizzle is handmade in copper kettles with shredded coconut, premium cashews, butter, brown sugar and a hint of sea salt, then drizzled with a rich dark chocolate. The result is a deliciously crunchy, super satisfying snack and confection all in one.
"We are honored that Coconut Cashew Crunch with Dark Chocolate Drizzle has already received some of the industry's most coveted awards," said Phil DeWester, Vice President of Marketing for Las Olas Confections & Snacks. "Already taking the industry by storm, we have created a truly addictive confection for today's coconut-obsessed consumers."
Candy makers pull out all the stops for Orlando ECRM show
October 6, 2017
ECRM hosted its annual Candy Planning: Everyday & Summer Seasonal event in August at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla.
For those unfamiliar, ECRM events bring together candy makers and retail buyers for meetings that resemble speed dating, since they have just 10 or 20 minutes at each appointment.
However, no Everyday & Summer Seasonal event would be complete without the Buyer’s Choice Awards, sponsored by Candy Industry Magazine and ECRM. Participating candy companies submitted new products for retail buyers to taste. The buyers then voted for their favorites in three categories: Chocolate, Non-Chocolate and Novelty.
Candy Industry extends its congratulations to the winners. A look at the winning companies and products appears below, along with other new products that caught our attention at the show.
Las Olas Confections and Snacks
Orlando, Fla. / anastasiawholesale.com / (407) 816-9944
Coconut Island Key Lime Coconut Cashew Crunch
Like the original Coconut Cashew Crunch (winner of the 2016 ECRM Buyer’s Choice Award for Best Non-Chocolate), this addictive, tropical-inspired treat is made in copper kettles with simple ingredients: shredded coconut, premium cashews, butter, brown sugar and a hint of sea salt. It also has a Key Lime drizzle, making the brittle taste just like Key Lime pie.
S.R.P. (5 oz.): $4.49-$4.99
Coconut Island Coco Bites
Building off Anastasia Confections’ tradition of coconut-based sweets, Coco Bites feature a coconut center enrobed with dark chocolate and toasted coconut sprinkled on top. They’re available in Original, Key Lime and Pina Colada flavors.
S.R.P. (5 oz.): $4.49-$4.99
Sweet and salty snacks: Opposites attract
Manufacturers continue to combine sweet and salty flavor profiles as line between snacks and confections blurs
September 15, 2017
Manufacturers continue to combine sweet and salty flavor profiles as line between snacks and confections blurs.
While sweet and salty is popular as an individual phenomenon, it has also been subject to the premiumization and clean-label trends seen across the candy and snack industries. Phil DeWester, VP of Marketing for Florida-based Las Olas Confections and Snack, pointed to coconut as a hot, health-minded ingredient, which is featured in Las Olas’ award-sweeping brittle, Anastasia Coconut Cashew Crunch.
“We make Coconut Cashew Crunch with a few simple ingredients, like shredded coconut, roasted cashews, real butter, brown sugar and sea salt,” he said, noting it’s available in Original, Chocolate Drizzle and soon-to-be Key Lime flavors.
And as the sweet-and-salty trend continues to gain strength, DeWester said he’d like to see a dedicated section for these snacking products in the confectionery aisles of grocery stores and other retail channels “to make it even easier for consumers to find the sweet and salty treats they love.”
Creativity abounds among sofi winners at 2017 Summer Fancy Food Show
Coconut, coffee, cashews among popular flavors at show, held June 25-27 in New York City.
Manager Krisztina Toth, Anastasia Confections, accepts the Product of the Year sofi for its Coconut Cashew Crunch Chocolate Drizzle.
Curtis Vreeland August 16, 2017
Coconut, coffee, and cashews were some of the cool-kid flavors and ingredients among the 2017 sofi sweets and snacks winners. Shredded coconut appeared in one-third of the award-winning products, prevalent in all four awards in the sweet snack category. Cashew inclusions showed up in half of the sweet snacks category winners and in one winning dark chocolate bar.
Coconut has been trending for the past several years, while the increasing popularity of cashews might be an extension of the general demand for healthy ingredients with a more exotic pedigree.
With more than 180,000 specialty food and beverages from 2,600 exhibitors on display, the 2017 Summer Fancy Food Show organized by the Specialty Food Association (SFA) continues to reign as the largest show in North America devoted to this industry. Held between June 25 and 27 at the Javits Center in New York City, the show provided the opportunity to discover emerging brands and celebrate the winners for the association’s sofi awards, the food equivalent of the Oscars.
This year, a special overall award for Product of the Year was added. I am pleased to report that a confectionery product, Anastasia’s Coconut Cashew Crunch, clinched this award.
Product of the Year & Sweet Snack category gold Anastasia Confections – riding the coconut trend Coconut Cashew Crunch Dark Chocolate Drizzle
This award-winning product marks a significant milestone for the company. Founded in the early 1980s, Anastasia made its first commercial mark by selling to tourists its Florida-themed confections, one of which was the Coconut Patty. Sales ramped up when the company made private-label confections for some of Florida’s mega theme parks. By 2011, its success was captured as a cover story in our November issue. Recently, the company became a member of BBX Sweet Holdings.
The Coconut Cashew Crunch line includes three products, Original Recipe, soon-to-be Key Lime, and the sofi winner, Chocolate Drizzle. They represent “tropical twists on a classic brittle,” notes the line’s marketing material.
“We created a truly addictive confection for today’s coconut-obsessed consumers,” says Phil DeWester, V.P. of Marketing.
The product contains shredded coconut, cashews, butter, brown sugar, and sea salt. It also received a Sweet Snack category gold award as well as the Most Innovative New Product Award in the Gourmet/Premium Category at the NCA’s Sweets & Snacks Expo.
5 oz./142 g.; $4.99
Specialty Surges in First Half Of ’17 – TOP 5 MEGATRENDS
July/August 2017
After sampling thousands of sweet and salty snacks and chocolate and confectionery products, trendtracking at dozens of retailers in major metro cities and small towns, and hundreds of interviews at trade shows including Sweets & Snacks Expo, Natural Products Expo and Winter and Summer Fancy Food Shows, Joan Steuer, innovation expert and CTS Trend Editor reveals the trend highlights from the first half of 2017. She also summarizes five current MegaTrends and What’s Hot Now… and predicted to stay Hot for quite some time.
#5 COCONUT & CARAMEL – CRISPY, CRUNCHY, CHEWY & CREAMY
Coconut is still going strong – from savory to sweet, with multiple textures across sweet and salty snack segments and with chocolate too.
Anastasia’s toffee-like Coconut Cashew Crunch drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with coconut won a Most Innovative New Product Award at the Sweets & Snacks Expo and received a 2017 sofi award for Product of the Year this summer.
Turmeric, saffron, cardamom, and bourbon, the flavors we found at the Fancy Food Show
Updated: JUNE 29, 2017 — 9:10 AM EDT
by Jill P. Capuzzo, FOR THE INQUIRER
NEW YORK —
Coconut was king, not only appearing in every imaginable liquid and solid format, but grabbing top honors, with Anastasia’s Coconut Cashew Crunch taking home the best of show prize on Monday afternoon.
Since the 1980s, the Florida company has been associated with coconut; its ubiquitous chocolate-covered coconut patties are sold in airports. This year, it produced a cashew brittle coated with coconut and drizzled with chocolate that was the top vote-getter from the panel of 62 judges. Phil DeWester, vice president of marketing for Las Olas Confections & Snacks, said his company basically stumbled into several food trends with its prizewinning product. “Sweet snacking has become a big trend, and brittle is the new bark,” said DeWester. “Then, when you walk around here, you see that every other booth had a coconut product. It’s mind-blowing.”
Coconut Cashew Crunch Wins the sofi Product of the Year
By Susan Segrest June 27, 2017
Anastasia Confections is having a very successful Fancy Food Show. Not only did the company’s Coconut Cashew Crunch win the Gold sofi Award in the Sweet Snacks category, it also won the competition’s highest honor – the newly introduced Product of the Year award.
“We’re so honored! But we were so honored to be the recipient of the Sweet Snacks category – the first time the category was offered in the sofis. To win the entire thing is beyond my wildest dreams,” said Phil DeWester, vice president of marketing for Las Olas Confections and Snacks, parent company.
The sofi Product of the Year award is given to the highest scoring sofi winner.
“Our Product of the Year is drawn from an extraordinary field of competitive products representing 39 categories,” said Phil Kafarakis, president of the Specialty Food Association.
Coconut Cashew Crunch is a tropical twist on a classic brittle. It’s handmade in copper kettles with fresh shredded coconut, cashews, butter and brown sugar with a dark chocolate drizzle. Anastasia is already working on product extensions with different nuts and flavorings and is looking to expand this into a whole line of coconut-based products. “Coconut is so on trend and Anastasia was one of the original coconut confections companies out of Florida so we come by it honestly,” DeWester explained.
Coconut Cashew Crunch Wins Top Honors at Specialty Food Association's Summer Fancy Food Show
6/26/17
Live from the Summer Fancy Food Show at the Jacob Javits Center, the Specialty Food Association announced that Coconut Cashew Crunch from Anastasia's has won its highest honor: the sofi™ award for Product of the Year.
The Specialty Food Association has been presenting sofi Awards since 1972, celebrating culinary excellence and creativity worldwide through recognizing the outstanding work of its members. This is the first time that a Best Product award has been given out.
Anastasia's Coconut Cashew Crunch Wins Top Honors at Specialty Food Association's Summer Fancy Food Show
By: Specialty Food Association via PR Newswire
June 26, 2017 at 16:11 PM EDT
NEW YORK, June 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Live from the Summer Fancy Food Show at the Jacob Javits Center, the Specialty Food Association announced that Coconut Cashew Crunch from Anastasia's has won its highest honor: the sofi™ award for Product of the Year.
"The 2017 sofi Awards were presented to products that exemplify the high quality, inventiveness, and great taste that the specialty food industry is known for," said Phil Kafarakis, president of the Specialty Food Association. "Our Product of the Year is drawn from an extraordinary field of competitive products representing 39 categories. It's exciting to recognize Anastasia's and have their Coconut Cashew Crunch named our very first Product of the Year, a category we plan to continue to celebrate at future Fancy Food Shows."
“We are incredibly honored that Coconut Cashew Crunch has won the very first Product of the Year Award from the Specialty Food Association,” said Phil DeWester, Vice President of Marketing for Las Olas Confections & Snacks. “We created a truly addictive confection for today’s coconut-obsessed consumers. This tropical twist on a classic brittle is handmade in copper kettles with fresh shredded coconut, cashews, butter and brown sugar with a dark chocolate drizzle. The result is a deliciously crunchy, super satisfying snack and confection all in one.”
Anastasia's Coconut Cashew Crunch comes in three delicious flavors, Original, Dark Chocolate Drizzle and soon-to-be Key Lime, and is available in 5oz re-sealable bags.
The Specialty Food Association has been presenting sofi Awards since 1972, celebrating culinary excellence and creativity worldwide through recognizing the outstanding work of its members. This is the first time that a Best Product award has been given out.
Anastasia's Coconut Cashew Crunch Wins Top Honors at Summer Fancy Food Show
June 26, 2017 at 16:11 PM EDT
NEW YORK, June 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/
"The 2017 sofi Awards were presented to products that exemplify the high quality, inventiveness, and great taste that the specialty food industry is known for," said Phil Kafarakis, president of the Specialty Food Association. "Our Product of the Year is drawn from an extraordinary field of competitive products representing 39 categories. It's exciting to recognize Anastasia's and have their Coconut Cashew Crunch named our very first Product of the Year, a category we plan to continue to celebrate at future Fancy Food Shows."
Anastasia's Coconut Cashew Crunch Wins Top Honors
Published: June 26, 2017 4:11 p.m. ET
NEW YORK, June 26, 2017/PRNewswire/
“We are incredibly honored that Coconut Cashew Crunch has won the very first Product of the Year Award from the Specialty Food Association,” said Phil DeWester, Vice President of Marketing for Las Olas Confections & Snacks. “We created a truly addictive confection for today’s coconut-obsessed consumers. This tropical twist on a classic brittle is handmade in copper kettles with fresh shredded coconut, cashews, butter and brown sugar with a dark chocolate drizzle. The result is a deliciously crunchy, super satisfying snack and confection all in one.”
NCA announces 2017 Most Innovative New Product Award winners
May 26, 2017
The National Confectioners Association (NCA) has announced the winners of the 2017 Most Innovative New Product Awards.
The winners, chosen from nearly 370 entries, were announced at an awards ceremony celebration at the Sweets & Snacks Expo, held May 23-25 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Product submissions for all categories were rated on four weighted criteria: taste, packaging, innovation and go-to-market feasibility.
"The amount of innovation and creativity we have seen over the past six years of the awards’ existence has gotten more sophisticated and highly competitive," says John Downs, NCA president and ceo. "Any product nominated during this process should be very proud. Submissions continue to grow by double digits each year, which points to the important role innovation plays in the candy and snack categories."
Winner in the Gourmet category is:
Anastasia Coconut Cashew Crunch Dark Chocolate Drizzle
Coconut Cashew Crunch is handmade in copper kettles over an open flame with simple ingredients: shredded coconut, premium cashews, butter, brown sugar (and a hint of sea salt and ocean breeze). It’s available in three flavors: Original, Dark Chocolate Drizzle and soon-to-be Key Lime.
S.R.P. (5 oz.): $4.99
Brittles Feature Nuts, Coconut
Anastasia brand Coconut Cashew Crunch is new from Las Olas Confections and Snacks. The company
says the product is made in copper kettles over open flames with simple ingredients – shredded
coconut, premium cashews, butter, brown sugar and a hint of sea salt. The product is available in three
flavors – Original, dark chocolate drizzle and soon-to- be Key Lime. Gusseted standup bags hold 5 ounces
ad carry a SRP of $4.99. They ship 6 per case.
