Ciao Bella Takes Home NASFT sofi Gold Award for Key Lime Graham Cracker Gelato
Irvington, NJ (July 1, 2009) – Just in time for National Ice Cream Month, CIAO BELLA®, America’s Favorite Gelato, is pleased to announce that its Key Lime Graham Cracker Gelato has been awarded the 2009 sofi™ Gold award by the National Association of Specialty Food Trade (NASFT). Recognized in the Perishable Foodservice Product category, Ciao Bella’s Key Lime Graham Cracker Gelato was one of 111 finalists chosen by a national panel of judges from a field of nearly 1,500 submissions. This win marks Ciao Bella 15th sofi™ Gold award, making them the highest awarded frozen dessert company by NASFT.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by NASFT for our commitment to creating a great tasting, high quality product,” says Deborah Holt, VP of Marketing for Ciao Bella Gelato. “Our Key Lime Graham Cracker Gelato provides a cool, refreshing taste and is sure to be a summertime hit.” The Key Lime Graham Cracker gelato combines the subtle sweetness of graham crackers with the tangy kick of lime. Essentially the frozen version of key lime pie, Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert recently acknowledged its decadence, declaring it “one of Ciao Bella’s best flavors yet.”
Billed by NASFT as “the specialty food industry’s highest honor”, the sofi™ (which stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation) awards are broken up into 33 categories that honor the best specialty food and beverage products of the year. NASFT has previously recognized Ciao Bella products for their excellence in several categories, including Best Product Line in 2006 and naming the Blood Orange Sorbet and Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet the Best Dessert in 2006 and 2007 respectively. “Ciao Bella strives to maintain an innovative edge to our line of ultra-premium products, a quality that has driven the company’s growth and success by bringing consumers a unique dessert experience,” says Charlie Apt, President of Ciao Bella Gelato. “We hope to continue raising the standard for excellence in the frozen dessert category for years to come.”
For more information, please visit, www.CiaoBellaGelato.com or follow the brand on Twitter at: www.Twitter.com/CiaoBellaGelato
About CIAO BELLA®: Fondly called America’s Gelato, Ciao Bella began in New York’s Little Italy in 1983. Ciao Bella has set the dessert standard for innovation and supreme indulgence with its collection of ultra-premium ice cream and sorbet pints. Offering unique and intense flavors like Blood Orange Sorbet and Key Lime Graham Cracker Gelato, Ciao Bella uses only the most elite and pure ingredients, resulting in ultra premium frozen specialties which embody both classic Italy and modern America. The brand has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and on AOL’s home page for its captivating and mouthwatering creations.