NEW YORK – Regal Double Manuka Wood Roasted Salmon has been voted New Product of the Year in the 2021 sofi Awards contest presented by the Specialty Food Association.
The award was announced today during Specialty Food Live, an online industry marketplace. A sofi is the top honor in the $158 billion U.S. specialty food industry.
The roasted salmon, sold packaged in refrigerator cases, was selected by a panel of specialty food experts from close to 1,500 entries. The ready-to-eat salmon also won an award in its category as the year’s best new meat, poultry or seafood.
“Our Wood Roasted King Salmon has struck a chord with food lovers who crave meal solutions that deliver on taste, quality and health all at the same time.” says Michael Fabbro, Vice President of U.S. Sales for New Zealand-based Regal. “Our team is so proud of this important industry acknowledgement. So much effort and care has gone into raising our King salmon, preparing it and bringing it to market.”
Regal’s King Salmon, raised in the clean and cold waters of New Zealand’s Marlborough Sounds, is one of the world’s rarest salmon species and the first marine-raised salmon to achieve the coveted Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Green/Best Choice rating.
Regal expanded to the U.S. in 2018 with its cold smoked salmon line, now sold in supermarkets and specialty stores including at Safeway stores in select markets and Fresh Thyme Market stores chainwide. In August 2020, the company launched Wood Roasted King Salmon in the U.S. to excellent reviews.
The sofi-winning Double Manuka flavor is roasted with Manuka wood and glazed with New Zealand’s famed Manuka honey. The roasting method is also known as “hot smoked.” The four-item line also includes Wood Roasted New Zealand Beech, Wood Roasted Mixed Pepper & Spices and Wood Roasted Sweet Chili and Lime flavors. The salmon comes in 3.5 oz. packages. The suggested retail price is $9.99. Regal’s products are available on Amazon and at a growing list of U.S. food retailers.
The sofi Awards are open to members of the Specialty Food Association. Products are judged in an anonymous sampling for taste – including flavor, appearance, texture and aroma – ingredient quality, and innovation. The highest scoring new product overall is named New Product of the Year.
About New Zealand King Salmon Co.
New Zealand King Salmon is the world’s largest aquaculture producer of the premium King salmon species. It operates under two key brands: Regal and Ōra King. The company has been raising and selling salmon for more than 30 years. Today it employs about 500 people and has an ongoing commitment to sustainable and environmentally sound farming practices. Its salmon are raised without the use of antibiotics and are GMO free. Regal New Zealand King Salmon has achieved the world-leading Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification from The Global Aquaculture Alliance and the New Zealand King salmon industry received the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Green/”Best Choice” rating, the first marine-farmed salmon to achieve this rating.
