Long Island Entrepreneur Giovannina Bellino Hits The Bulls Eye With Flavor Bombs®
Yaphank, NY (PRWEB) March 19, 2015 -- Giovannina Bellino could never have imagined that her passion for cooking with her own fresh garden herbs would have ever resulted in her creating America’s tastiest new cooking bases; Flavor Bombs. As an Italian inspired cook, Gio began experimenting with a variety of fresh garden herbs in her kitchen and soon perfected two different cooking bases, an onion and garlic soffritto and a basil pesto. Building upon her kitchen know-how and experience, Gio came up with a clever idea by placing the finished cooking bases into ice cube trays and then bagging them, to seal in their freshness. Armed with her new Flavor Bombs, Gio found her cooking to be quicker, easier and tastier than ever.
Feeling confident and encouraged by friends and family, Gio was inspired to create three new Flavor Bomb profiles which included Rosemary, Sage and Mirepoix. Then, she began selling Flavor Bombs at local farmer’s markets, festivals and community events, serving samples of dishes prepared with Flavor Bombs. Soon shoppers began to spread the word about how delicious and enjoyable Flavor Bombs were to cook with and to Gio’s surprise, she would sell out of her entire inventory every time.
Enjoying her newly found success, Gio quickly trademarked the name, created her company, Goddess Gourmet, and then consulted with a nutritionist to create the ingredient panel for packaging. She enlisted Pig Pen Studios located in her hometown of Port Washington, Long Island to create new product packaging for entrance into mainstream supermarkets. Upon the completion of the packaging, Gio started calling local supermarkets located on the North Shore of Long Island. Gio’s hard work paid off when she received her first orders from Holiday Farms and Locust Valley Markets. It proved that mainstream markets would place Flavor Bombs on their shelves.
Now with momentum on her side, Gio’s next step was to exhibit Flavor Bombs to an audience of food industry professionals at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York, the premier specialty food show in the country. Flavor Bombs was a huge success as retail buyers and national distributors swarmed Gio’s booth to sample the delicious foods she prepared using Flavor Bombs.
At this point in time, Gio was renting commercial kitchen space to produce Flavor Bombs but now with increasing orders and interest from retailers up and down the East Coast, Gio had two new challenges to meet. First, to find a larger kitchen with more production capabilities and secondly, to locate a fill and seal machine to maximize her production of Flavor Bombs. Filling product orders by hand was no longer an option for Gio.
After researching local kitchens and co-packers, Gio found Ever So Saucy Foods, a co-packing facility in Yaphank, New York operated by renowned chef Frank Tramontano. As a new business owner, Frank was looking for co-packing opportunities and Flavor Bombs was a perfect fit. Moreover, partnering with Ever So Saucy Foods gave Gio the ability to be hands on when manufacturing her products. Thereafter, with the help of her husband Michael, they were able to secure a fill and seal packing machine and with a couple of modifications by Michael, the machine was ready to fulfill orders.
“I never realized how complex the food industry is. It’s an industry that has many, many different facets. From finding suppliers, to identifying co-packers, acquiring distributors, exhibiting at trade shows and then finally getting your product in front of category buyers, it’s quite a maze to navigate through. Now, with Flavor Bombs in stores, I promote the product with samples and demonstrations in the supermarkets. It’s a thrill to have my product on the shelves of King Kullen since I’ve been shopping there for the past 26 years. I must admit this is my favorite part of the journey”, stated Bellino.
Today, Flavor Bombs is a line of all natural, fresh frozen, gluten free, low sodium and affordable recipe ready cooking bases that enhance the flavor and cooking experience of everyday dishes. Flavor Bombs come in five exciting flavors that include Basil, Sage, Rosemary, Mirepoix and Soffritto. Flavor Bombs are packed in 2 ounce containers and were developed to provide consumers with a unique cooking base to create a memorable dish for four people or more.
Flavor Bombs can now be found in such fine retailers as King Kullen, Balducci’s and King’s Supermarkets and is distributed by Haddon House and Buzzoto’s. In addition, Flavor Bombs is brokered by SourceOne Sales & Marketing located in New Hyde Park, New York.
Basil Flavor Bomb – Recipe ready and no chopping necessary. This Flavor Bomb is the perfect complement to an array of dishes from sauces and soups to meatballs and meatloaf. We guarantee you will add an authentic Italian essence to your favorite recipes.
Sage Flavor Bomb – Recipe ready and no chopping necessary. This Flavor Bomb is perfect for those fall and winter months stews, soups and stuffing’s. Excellent with poultry, pork, veal and a true enhancer for roasted potatoes and vegetables. We guarantee your seasonal meals will never taste better.
Rosemary Flavor Bomb – Recipe ready and no chopping necessary. This Flavor Bomb packs a powerful punch of pungent flavor and aroma that takes fish, chicken or lamb into the next stratosphere. Try it on roasted potatoes or vegetables. We guarantee you’ll love it.
Mirepoix Flavor Bomb – Recipe ready and no chopping necessary. This Flavor Bomb is a kaleidoscope of flavors and aroma that is a perfect mix for rice, orzo pasta, quinoa or any kind of grain in making a memorable side dish. Try it in tuna, chicken or egg salad and on vegetables. We guarantee your side dishes will never taste the same.
Soffritto Flavor Bomb – Recipe ready and no chopping necessary. This Flavor Bomb is so versatile and delicious it can be used in sauces and soups, in quiche, omelets, frittatas or stir fry. You can even use it as a Panini spread or a topping for bruschetta and it’s the authentic base for Marinara sauce. We guarantee that you will use this for almost everything.
“Our obsession for great taste and nutrition is what separates Flavor Bombs from everything within the cooking base category. We use only fresh all natural herbs and ingredients and produce Flavor Bombs in small batches locking in their freshness,” stated Bellino.
About Us:
Flavor Bombs® are manufactured by Goddess Gourmet in Yaphank, New York at Ever So Saucy Foods, a state-of-the-art facility owned and operated by renowned Chef Frank Tramantano. Flavor Bombs is a line of all natural, fresh frozen, gluten free, low sodium and affordable recipe ready cooking bases that enhance the flavor and cooking experience of everyday dishes. Flavor Bombs come in five exciting flavors that include Basil, Sage, Rosemary, Mirepoix and Soffritto. Flavor Bombs are packed in 2 ounce containers and were developed to provide consumers with a unique cooking base to create a memorable dish for four people or more. Flavor Bombs are now available nationwide for Chain Supermarkets, Independent Supermarkets, Gourmet Food Stores, Club Stores and Foodservice Operators. For more information regarding Flavor Bombs contact Giovannina Bellino at 516-369-7236 or e-mail her at gio(at)flavorbombs(dot)net.
Ethan Casucci, Thought For Food & Son, http://www.tffandson.com, +1 (508) 251-0055, [email protected]
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