Gourmet News

Carbone Fine Food Named to Insurgent Brands List

Published March 10, 2025

Carbone Fine Food

Carbone Fine Food has been named to Bain & Company’s 2025 Insurgent Brands list, which identifies companies redefining growth in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. Carbone Fine Food is one of 120 brands to make this year’s list.

“It is an honor to be recognized on the Insurgent Brands list again this year,” said CEO Eric Skae. “Our efforts to introduce new innovations across the premium sauce category continue to help us drive growth, increase shelf space and solidify our position as a leader in the segment.”

Bain & Company defines insurgent brands as those that generate more than $25 million of annual revenue in tracked channels, have grown more than 10 times their category’s average growth rate over the past five years, and maintained positive growth over the past two years while remaining independent or having been acquired by a large consumer packaged goods company only within the past two years.

“Bain’s insurgent brands list offers valuable insight into where innovative, disruptive growth is taking place within the consumer packaged goods sector,” said Charlotte Apps, executive vice president of Bain’s Consumer Products practice. “While the broader sector continues to grapple with stagnating volumes, limited pricing power, and consumer headwinds, these insurgent brands are unlocking incremental growth by addressing unmet consumer needs in new, authentic, and often founder-led ways.

“These brands provide a roadmap for sustainable growth in this evolving marketplace, and they showcase the power of compelling consumer-centric value propositions, strong brand engagement, and superior velocity on the shelf. Looking ahead, we anticipate these insurgents will continue to capture an increasing share of category growth and play a meaningful role in shaping the future of the industry.”

Carbone Fine Food sauces feature the same fresh, quality ingredients found in the brand’s iconic restaurants, including the world’s best-tasting tomatoes, grown in volcanic ash and handpicked in Italy. Using a traditional technique, the sauces are slow cooked in small batches. Chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi oversee the entire sauce process from start to finish, from choosing the farms that the ingredients are sourced from to testing hundreds of batches to ensure that the quality of the jarred sauce is second to none.

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BJ’s Wholesale Club to Open Up to 30 Clubs in 2 Years

Published March 10, 2025

BJ’s Wholesale Club plans to open 25-30 clubs over the next two fiscal years, including several clubs set for the Dallas-Fort Worth area starting in early 2026.

BJ’s Wholesale Club is a membership-based retailer that has been delivering unbeatable value and convenience to smart-saving families for over 40 years. BJ’s offers a large assortment of fresh produce, bakery goods, meat and dairy items as well as household essentials, consumer electronics, toys and apparel – a true one-stop shop. Many members do their weekly grocery shopping at BJ’s, saving up to 25% off grocery store prices every day and save even more by filling up at BJ’s Gas.

“We are eager to continue our expansion by bringing unbeatable value, convenience and assortment to the Dallas-Fort Worth community,” said Bob Eddy, Chairman and CEO, BJ’s Wholesale Club. “Economic expansion and a growing population make Texas a great fit for us. We believe our unique club model, which delivers savings of up to 25% off grocery store prices every day, will resonate with the families in this area. We look forward to living our purpose of ‘taking care of the families who depend on us’ in Texas.”

BJ’s has a longstanding commitment to the communities where its members and team members live and work. Established in 2004, the BJ’s Charitable Foundation provides essential needs to families through local and national non-profit partnerships. The Foundation focuses its giving efforts on three main pillars: hunger relief, education and health and wellness.

BJ’s is proud to partner with Feeding America and its network of food banks to help end hunger in the communities where it operates. For over 15 years, the partnership has provided more than 125 million meals for those in need. Once open, each new club in Texas will support a local food bank with weekly donations of produce, meat and dairy products.

BJ’s also announced several new locations set to open in 2025, including:

Delray Beach, Fla.
Warner Robins, Ga.
Sevierville, Tenn.
Casselberry, Fla,

The location in Delray Beach will be a BJ’s market – the second of the company’s concept clubs. BJ’s market provides a convenient, expedited grocery shopping experience that will feature top-selling fresh foods, produce, sundries and seasonal products for members, with all the value and convenience that BJ’s members have come to know and love from the club.

“Our newest BJ’s market will deliver an innovative approach to grocery shopping to the Delray Beach community,” said Bill Werner, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Development, BJ’s Wholesale Club. “Members will be able to get unbeatable value on fresh food and weekly grocery needs in a quick and efficient shopping experience.”

The company’s plans for 25-30 clubs include previously announced club openings in early fiscal 2025:

Brooksville, Fla. (opened February)
Myrtle Beach, S.C. (opened February)
Southern Pines, N. C. (opening March 7)
Whippany, N.J.
Staten Island, N.Y.

BJ’s offers members several time-saving options whether online or in-club. Curbside pick-up, in-club pickup, same-day delivery and standard delivery are available on BJs.com, while members shopping in-club can use ExpressPay through the mobile app to scan products as they shop and skip the checkout line.

Each new club location is expected to create between 100-150 jobs in its community. Team member development and training are a central focus. Those interested in becoming a team member can visit BJs.com/careers for information on available opportunities.

Amcor Receives 2 Silver Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards

Published March 10, 2025

Amcor has received two Silver Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards in the category of Sustainability.

The awards were presented during the Achievement Awards Breakfast, held in conjunction with the Flexible Packaging Association 2025 Annual Meeting, in Aventura, Fla.

“We are honored to be recognized by the FPA for innovations that are making a difference for our customers and the environment,” said Brian Carvill, vice president of research and development at Amcor Flexibles North America. “Amcor’s winning packaging and equipment demonstrate how we apply our capabilities in material science and packaging technology to unlock growth for our customers and deliver more sustainable solutions.”

The FPA Achievement Awards have showcased packaging industry innovation since 1956. This year, there were 226 entries, with 20 ultimately honored, including:

The Amcor Moda vacuum packaging solution is a streamlined tubular rollstock and on-demand bag-making system for fresh meat processors. Used for U.S. beef exports, the solution reduces material costs up to 30%, lowers packaging inventory requirements, and reduces packaging SKUs by printing on the tubing as it runs.

When switching to the Amcor Moda solution, producers significantly reduce the use of corrugated shrink bag boxes. Instead of being packed in boxes, rolls of Amcor tubestock are shipped on pallets. A pallet of tubestock can produce 40% more bags than a typical pallet of traditional shrink bags, reducing the transportation and inventory space requirements by 40%. The versatile tubestock also accommodates many sizes and cuts of bone-in and boneless meat, reducing packaging SKUs. The package dimensions and graphics can be changed with the touch of a button.

Manually inserted export cards are eliminated with a high-resolution thermal transfer printer that prints logos and variable information such as dates and time codes directly on the package, reducing packaging materials.

The Moda system includes more sustainable film options. Amcor Eco-Tite recycle-ready tubestock replaces traditional shrink bag material with more sustainable, right-gauged barrier film that uses 29% less packaging. It is designed to meet the requirements of the APR Design Guide and has passed APR’s Critical Guidance Testing. For fresh bone-in beef cuts, Amcor’s high-abuse bone-in solution, CBP tubestock, replaces a typical patch bag. CBP® reduces material usage by weight more than 35%.

Once Upon a Farm CHEERCircle PE Recycle-Ready Spouted Pouch Using AmPrima Plus Film and the Vizi Cap

Once Upon a Farm – a leading childhood nutrition brand – produces refrigerated, cold-pressed blends and smoothies that offer farm-fresh nutrition from baby’s first bites to on-the-go snacking. Made with organic, non-GMO fruits and veggies with no added sugar, these products are offered in CHEERCircle PE recycle-ready spouted pouches. The pre-made spouted pouches feature Amcor’s AmPrima Plus material, which is designed to meet the APR Design® Guide for recyclability.

The Once Upon a Farm CHEERCircle PE recycle-ready spouted pouch using AmPrima Plus film topped with the Vizi cap is a breakthrough innovation for sustainability, meeting the complex packaging needs of refrigerated pasteurized dairy and non-dairy foods in the liquid pouch packaging category.

An Amcor ASSET life cycle assessment, certified by the Carbon Trust, demonstrates how the AmPrima Plus material improves performance on certain sustainability metrics compared to the previous package:

5% reduction in non-renewable energy use per pouch
22% reduction in carbon footprint per pouch
The Cheer Pack North America Vizi cap delivers even better sustainability metrics, including a 22% reduction in carbon footprint per pouch. Moving to the Vizi cap and CHEERClassic standard spout, Once Upon a Farm will reduce the amount of plastic in the cap and spout by over 30%.

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