Gourmet News

Breckenridge Distillery Announces National Après Day

Published March 29, 2023

Breckenridge Distillery, the world’s highest craft distillery and one of the most awarded bourbon brands, announces the launch of National Après Day, a new holiday in the United States, celebrated on March 31 to honor the joy of après ski culture.

Inspired by international après ski culture and celebrated among ski enthusiasts as enjoying time with friends after a day on the slopes, Breckenridge Distillery opens the conversation to share après moments with its new #AprèsAnywhere campaign on National Après Day. The inaugural holiday and campaign invites people around the world to raise a glass to anything they accomplish – whether skiing or not, and with any spirit of their choice, starting with inspiration from the distillery’s portfolio of award-winning products made with Rocky Mountain water from its hometown, and highlighting its beloved Breckenridge Bourbon.

“Bourbon brings people together, and that’s why we love what we do at Breckenridge Distillery,” said Jessie Unruh, director of marketing at Breckenridge Distillery. “This campaign is the epitome of what we’re all about. We love celebrating the rad things our fans do, from the backcountry to the big city, and we hope this spreads the après ski spirit across the country for more memorable moments with Breckenridge bourbon.”

As part of the campaign launch, consumers can enter to win the ultimate #AprèsAnywhere swag bag from Breckenridge Distillery by sharing how and where they après, by posting a photo to Instagram using the #AprèsAnywhere hashtag in the caption. Breckenridge Distillery will pick one lucky winner each month, between March 31, 2023 and August 31, 2023. Winners will be contacted via Instagram direct message from @breckdistillery.

For more information about National Après Day and how you can participate, visit the Breckenridge website at www.breckenridgedistillery.com/apresanywhere.

Founded in Colorado in 2008, Breckenridge Distillery is the “World’s Highest Distillery,” and best known for its award-winning blended bourbon whiskey, a high-rye mash American-style whiskey.

One of the most highly awarded distilleries in the United States, the Breckenridge Distillery is proudly a 3x Icons of Whisky and 9xwinner of Best American Blended winner at the World Whiskies Awards by Whisky Magazine (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 3x in 2023) and a 4x winner of Colorado Distillery of the Year by the New York International Spirits Competition. Most recently, their Breckenridge Gin was named 2021 World’s Best Compound Gin at the World Gin Awards by Gin Magazine.

The Breckenridge Distillery is more than award-winning spirits, offering an immersive guest experience. Named as one of the country’s Top Visitor Attractions by Whisky Magazine, guests can dine at their award-winning restaurant, enjoy show-stopping cocktails, learn about their highly awarded spirits with an in-depth tasting and get an inside look at their active production facility. New to the distillery, guests have the opportunity to blend their own whiskey as they learn the inner workings of whiskey production.

Breckenridge Distillery is a subsidiary of Tilray Brands, Inc., a leading global cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company inspiring and empowering the worldwide community to live their very best life. For more information about Breckenridge Distillery, visit www.breckenridgedistillery.com. Follow Breckenridge on Instagram @breckdistillery and become a fan at facebook.com/BreckDistillery.

For more information about Tilray Brands, visit www.tilray.com and follow @tilray on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

For more news of interest to the alcoholic beverage industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.

Cal-Maine Promotes Walters to COO, Whiteman to VP, Operations

Published March 27, 2023

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has promoted Todd Walters to chief operating officer and Matt Whiteman to vice president, operations.

Walters joined Cal-Maine Foods in 1997. Since 2011, he has served as V\vice president of operations for the company’s operations in South Texas, as well as our subsidiary Wharton County Foods, LLC’s facility in Boling, Texas. He previously served in management positions at other locations of the Company in Mississippi, Kansas, New Mexico, and Ohio.

Walters has served on the Board of The Ohio Poultry Association and The Texas Poultry Federation, where he is an ex-officio member. He is also an active member of the United Egg Producers. Walters is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture with a major in poultry science.

Whiteman has been employed with Cal-Maine Foods since 2011. He most recently served as general manager of the Waelder, Texas, operations. Prior to this, he served in management positions at various locations including Edwards, Miss.; Bremen, Ky.; Guthrie, Ky.; and Boling, Texas.

Whiteman is active in the Texas poultry industry and is currently the President of the Texas Egg Council, along with serving as a Board Member of the Texas Poultry Federation. Whiteman is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in poultry science.

Sherman Miller, president and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., said, “We are pleased to announce these important new leadership changes. Todd Walters is well qualified to assume this role, having extensive experience with the various aspects of our operations across different locations and market regions. He has done an exceptional job at every stage of his 26-year career with Cal-Maine Foods. He is also a recognized leader outside the company as an active member of industry associations. We will continue to benefit from his valuable insight and experience as we pursue our goal to be an efficient and sustainable producer.

“Matt Whiteman brings over 12 years of dedicated service to the company and has played an important role in managing our Texas operations. His previous experience working at our other locations and knowledge of other markets bring an added perspective to this leadership role. We welcome him to our operations management team, and we look forward to working with Matt as we continue to serve our valued customers in the Texas markets,” Miller said.

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. is primarily engaged in the production, grading, packing, marketing and sale of fresh shell eggs, including conventional, cage-free, organic, pasture-raised, free-range and nutritionally enhanced eggs. The company, which is headquartered in Ridgeland, Miss., is the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the United States and sells the majority of its shell eggs in states across the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

For more news of interest to the specialty food industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.

Torani Urges Rinse Water Savings, Announces Internal Program

Published March 24, 2023

In celebration of World Water Day, March 22, Torani, the nearly 100-year-old flavor company, announced its Rinse Water Savings Project, which has saved more than 25 percent on daily water usage. Since implementing its Rinse Water Savings Project in September 2022, Torani has saved over 3.5 million gallons of water in its manufacturing processes and expects to save a total of six million gallons in the first 12 months.

As a Certified B-Corp, Torani believes business can and should be a force for good that directly impacts its people, their community, and the planet.

With an ever-expanding line of over 150 flavored syrups and sauces in which water is a key ingredient, Torani is dependent on a steady supply of clean water and is committed to scaling its water savings initiative to make an even bigger impact in 2023 and beyond.

“At Torani, we’re committed to creating impactful work and meaningful learning, growth, and development opportunities for every team member,” said Melanie Dulbecco, CEO. “When we put our people first and give them the chance to shape their work, they can address big problems and make a real impact.”

The company’s engineering team has extensively reviewed Torani’s water consumption processes over the past two years at its “Flavor Factory” headquarters in San Leandro, Calif., and identified several different ways to reduce water usage every day.

“Our team came together and set an ambitious water savings goal; this became our north star and guides all of our decisions,” said Kimberly Ear, reliability engineer. “Our Rinse Water Savings Project has proven to have a positive impact on the environment, and we’re excited that it will be a launchpad for even greater water savings in the future.”

Ear leads the Rinse Water Savings Project team, made up of 11 team members from across the company. This aspiration for implementing water savings was driven by a team of seasoned engineers who have built beverage plants in all corners of the world.

“As one of the few remaining food and beverage manufacturers in the Bay Area, we push ourselves to be even more creative and use technology to solve big challenges,” said Dulbecco. “This project is just another example of how our team members can create opportunities for themselves while impacting our community and planet.”

Water sustainability was top of mind when Torani relocated from South San Francisco to its expansive new Flavor Factory headquarters in early 2020. Since the company “soft launched” the Rinse Water Savings Project in 2022, Torani has successfully replenished over 20,000 gallons of water every day, amounting to an estimated 25 percent savings in daily water usage.

The Rinse Water Savings Project captures and reuses rinse water, utilizing it as the first rinse when cleaning tanks before the manufacturing team begins making a new syrup. In addition, Ear and the team worked to remove redundant rinses, including scaling back on double rinses while ensuring the results exceeded industry standards. Through these new rinse water processes, Torani expects to reduce the amount of water used by over six million gallons annually.

In the coming years, Torani plans to widen its sustainability efforts as it works toward becoming more energy efficient. By the end of 2023, Torani’s Flavor Factory will have a solar-powered roof that will power the entire plant’s operations. Torani will also reoptimize its lighting system and investigate additional water-saving initiatives for its wastewater.

For more news about the food and beverage industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.