Products Competed for Top Specialty Food Association Awards
Springfield, Missouri (May 17, 2021) – Date Lady Inc. has won the gold award in the barbecue and hot sauce category as part of the Specialty Food Association’s (SFA) 2021 sofi™ Awards, a top honor in the $158 billion specialty food industry.
Date Lady Barbecue Sauce was one of 130 winners selected from nearly 1,500 entries across 49 product categories. Products are judged in an anonymous sampling for taste - including flavor, appearance, texture, and aroma - ingredient quality, and innovation. The sofi judging was held at the prestigious Rutgers Food Innovation Center in April following strict safety guidelines.
“We are thrilled that our barbecue sauce has won a gold award,” says Colleen Sundlie, owner of Date Lady. “We sought out to create a high-quality product with excellent ingredients but set the bar high on flavor expectations. We are beyond thrilled to be the top scorer in the BBQ/Hot Sauce category and it proves our theory that real ingredients make the best tasting food!” “This makes our 6th consecutive year to win a total of 9 sofis.”
About the Date Lady Barbecue Sauce™
Only-top-of-the-line spices and ingredients are used in this super special sauce that you will find delish on or off the grill. You'll find no sugar, but a special preparation of 5 different California date varieties including Halawi, Zahidi, Honey, Khadrawi and our favorite... the Barhi, all of which provide the sweet complexity in this mild and smoky sauce. Each of these dates has its own unique flavor and combines beautifully with organic apple cider vinegar, red chili and garlic to create a sweet, subtly spicy and almost umami like flavor explosion. The barbecue sauce can be found at specialty grocers or online at Amazon.com or Ilovedatelady.com
About the Date Lady Date Syrup™
Date Lady’s first and best-selling product, this uncomplicated sweetener has just one ingredient: a pound a half of organic dates. Named “a favorite new artisan pantry essential” by Food & Wine magazine, the syrup delivers unmatched depth of flavor and luxurious character. And there’s the added benefit of exponentially more potassium, and magnesium than honey and maple syrup.
Serving Suggestions: Perfect on pancakes, waffles and French toast; dollop on Greek yogurt or coconut ice cream; sub for sugar or honey in your favorite hot or iced drink; drizzle over goat cheese and crostini; use as an alternative to sugar in baking.
About Date Lady™
Date Lady™, the original US brand of date syrup, is a family and employee-owned company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Springfield, MO., and also supplies California dates, date sugar and a variety of award-winning date-based products. All Date Lady products are USDA Organic, Non-GMO, Gluten-Free and Kosher-certified. Date Lady products are available on Amazon Prime, at www.ilovedatelady.com and fine retail stores throughout the United States including The Fresh Market, Natural Grocers and select Wal-Mart, Target and Whole Foods locations. For more information, visit www.ILoveDateLady.com and Facebook, and Instagram.
About the Specialty Food Association
The Specialty Food Association (SFA), is the leading trade association and source of information about the $158.4 billion specialty food industry. Founded in 1952 in New York City, the SFA represents makers, importers, retailers, distributors, and others in the trade. The SFA is known for its Fancy Food Shows; the sofi™ Awards, which honor excellence in specialty food and beverage; Trendspotter Panel Show reports and annual predictions; the State of the Specialty Food Industry Report; the Product Marketplace database, featuring specialty foods and beverages in 161 categories and sub-categories; Infinite Aisle, a new ecommerce marketplace that enables SFA Members to make buyer-maker connections and sales year-round; and Specialty Food LIVE!™, a digital marketplace experience.