NRA Show Blog

Inaugural Food and Beverage Product Innovations Awards

 
By Caren Anderson, Contributing Blogger

  Recipients of the first annual Food and Beverage Product Innovations Awards were honored today at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, along with special guest and author of the world’s number one selling wine book, Kevin Zraly. Presented by National Restaurant Association Executive Vice President, Mary Pat Heftman, the esteemed award celebrates the industry’s most impactful food and beverage product innovators.

Selected by an independent panel of expert judges representing all major commercial and non-commercial industry segments, recipients were chosen for their significant advancements and innovations in ingredients, preparation, processing and packaging.

This year’s recipients will be showcased in the F&B Product Innovations Gallery at booth #7129 throughout all four days of the show! Check out the F&B Innovations Award winners here: http://bit.ly/lidjWg

Quick and Easy Recipes to Help Turn Winter Blahs Into Ahs!

  
By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Old Man Winter is blanketing much of the country with cold temps, high winds and snow. So, why not stay indoors to keep warm and enjoy these quick and easy mouth-tempting recipes served up by the editors at Better Homes and Gardens and chefs at Lamb Weston.

Barbecued Chicken Thighs
by BHG

Ingredients

3 tablespoons brown sugar 
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
8 chicken thighs (about 2-1/2 pounds total)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
For sauce, in a small saucepan combine brown sugar, onion, vinegar, mustard, celery seed, and garlic powder. Bring to boiling, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; set aside.
Skin chicken, if desired. In a small mixing bowl combine paprika, turmeric, and salt; rub over the chicken.
Grill chicken on an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 20 minutes. Turn chicken; grill for 15 to 20 minutes more or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. (Or, place chicken on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 5 to 6 inches from the heat for 28 to 32 minutes, turning once.) Brush with sauce during the last 5 minutes of grilling or broiling. Makes 4 servings.
Make-ahead tip: Prepare sauce up to 48 hours ahead; cover and chill.

Unwrapped: How Big Brands Use Social Media

If you missed BlogWell in Atlanta last week, here's a recap loaded with lots of links to the case studies presented. All the case studies were packed with great ideas that can help get your creative juices flowing and make you look like a hero to your company.

• The Home Depot: Our social media road trip
• SunGard: Building social media from within
• UPS: Protecting your brand through social media
• Social Media Ethics Briefing: Staying Out of Trouble
• Orange Business Services: Succeeding in social media initiatives
• Coca-Cola: The creation of Expedition 206
• Turner Broadcasting System: A thriving media company in the social media era
• Newell Rubbermaid: Social media from a multi-brand perspective

Also, feast on some of the great tweets from the event.

Still craving more? Save the date to check out BlogWell presenters Coca-Cola, ConAgra Foods, Rubbermaid and oodles more exhibiting companies at NRA Show 2010 (May 22-25, 2010) and the International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (May 23-24, 2010) at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

Welcome First-time NRA Show, IWSB Exhibitors

 
By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

We here at Floored! would like to extend our warmest welcome to first-time NRA Show and International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB) exhibitors:

• Abita Beer (IWSB)
• American Payment Systems (NRA Show)

• Creative Technology (NRA Show)
• Farmer Brothers Co. (NRA Show)
• Green Key Environmental Solutions (NRA Show)
• Kenwood Vineyards - Heck Estates (IWSB)
• Maine Distilleries (IWSB)
• Multiple Organics (NRA Show)
• New Pig Corporation (NRA Show)
• Prima Bella Produce (NRA Show)
• Tillamook Cheese, Inc. (NRA Show)
• Veggies Footwear (NRA Show)

These newcomers are joining Coca-Cola, ConAgra Foods, Ecolab, Hormel, Libbey, Manitowoc, McCormick, Steelite International, Taylor, Tyson – and more than 1,800 other amazing brands and more experts, trend-setters and celebrity chefs than any other industry event – to help you cover all angles of the industry, from menus and front-of-the-house technology, to back-of-the-house equipment and operational strategies.

Making the Best Case for Successful Social Media Programs

BlogWell Atlanta, hosted at Newell Rubbermaid on November 10, will showcase 8 case studies on the best social media programs at large corporations. Coca-Cola, ConAgra Foods, Newell Rubbermaid, UPS, SunGard, Orange Business Services, Turner Broadcasting System and The Home Depot are set to share case studies in corporate social media.

An impressive 3 out of 8 featured companies including Coca-Cola, ConAgra Foods and Rubbermaid will also be exhibiting at NRA Show 2010, held May 22-25, 2010 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

Attendees at BlogWell Atlanta, presented by GasPedal and the Social Media Business Council, will receive hands-on tips and advice on how to create great content, get management buy-in, educate employees, keep lawyers and regulators happy, simple and ethical disclosure, and engage fans. If you’re up to the task, go ahead and ask questions, discover new ideas, and get answers from people who have been there, done that -- all in just four hours (with plenty of time to dine out in Atlanta!).

Save the date to check out Coca-Cola, ConAgra, Rubbermaid and nearly two-thousand other exhibiting companies at NRA Show 2010 and the International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB).

Stay tuned to Floored! and @nrashow2010 on Twitter next week as we bring you some of the top tips from BlogWell Atlanta.