Penguin Pitch Awards
NFRA’s Penguin Pitch Emerging Brand Contest
Pitch your cool new product for a chance to become a finalist in NFRA’s new and exciting competition recognizing product innovation from emerging brands in the frozen and refrigerated foods industry. A Grand Prize winner for overall excellence will be named, as well as Most Unique Promotional Campaign, Creative Packaging, and Most Disruptive Product.
Entry window: January 1, 2025 – February 10, 2025
Entry Requirements
- Company must be a member of NFRA in good standing (if not currently a member, Company must join before March 1, 2025);
- Retail sales for the Product must be in the range of $100,000 – $2 million annually by February 1, 2025;
- Company has entered retail no more than ten years ago;
- Must have a viable distribution supply chain network in place;
- Product should be innovative and fill a consumer need; and
- All decisions are the final say of NFRA staff and its members.
Winner Selection
Qualifying entries will be reviewed by a committee on the following criteria: uniqueness of product, how disruptive/innovative the product is in the current category, and promotional strategy.
Eight finalists will be chosen and notified no later than March 10, 2025. Each finalist will be asked to submit a video no longer than 3 minutes by March 28, 2025 that showcases their product. Finalists will also be asked to ship one case of their product to the NFRA Conference hotel for evaluation by a panel of industry judges on the following criteria:
- Taste – 20%
- Most innovative in their category – 20%
- Visually appetizing – 10%
- Ease of Preparation – 10%
- Is the product on Trend? – 10%
- Creative & Visually Appealing packaging – 10%
- Promotional Strategy – 10%
- Sustainability (Do they use recyclable packaging, what do they do to reduce waste, reduce energy, and help the environment?) – 10%
Prizes
- One 1st place winner will receive a Café NFRA table at the 2025 NFRA Convention (October 18-21, 2025, in Orlando, FL) to display and promote their product. (valued at approximately $7,000) Any costs associated with shipping, handling, receiving, prepping, and sampling the product, as well as travel and accommodations, will be at the Entrant’s expense.
- One complimentary NFRA Convention registration (valued at $825)
- Trophy
- Use of Emerging Brand logo
- Bragging rights
Honorable Mention Categories
Winners for each of the following categories will receive one complimentary NFRA Convention registration (valued at $825) plus use of Emerging Brand logo and bragging rights:
- Most Creative Packaging
- Most Disruptive Product
- Most Unique Promotional Campaign
