NFRA Reveals 2021 Golden Penguin Winners

Awards recognize frozen and refrigerated industry’s best merchandising and marketing efforts

9/28/2021

NFRA Reveals 2021 Golden Penguin Winners

Because of the cancellation of this year's 2021 NFRA Convention, Golden Penguin Award winners will be recognized on the association’s website.

The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) has made public the winners of the Golden Penguin Awards for the organization’s 2021 March Frozen Food Month, June Dairy Month, and Summer Favorites Ice Cream & Novelties promotions. NFRA bestowed 48 Gold awards and 27 Silver awards for March Frozen Food Month, 22 Gold awards and 25 Silver awards for June Dairy Month, and 31 Gold awards and 45 Silver awards for Summer Favorites Ice Cream & Novelties.

Retail winners, which ranged from major operators to local independent businesses, include Albertsons Cos. banners, Giant Eagle, Giant Food, K-VA-T Food Stores/Food City, ShopRite, Smart & Final, and Weis Markets. The full list of winners is available online.

The Golden Penguin Awards recognize companies for excellence in merchandising and marketing frozen and refrigerated foods. The annual program features 10 categories that reflect current marketing practices, including In-Store Display, In-Store Event, Community Involvement, Social Media Campaign, Private Brand Campaign and Overall Marketing Campaign, with subcategories for Retailer, Wholesaler, Manufacturer, Sales Agent and Local Association.

Because of the cancellation of this year's 2021 NFRA Convention, the winners will be recognized on the association’s website. Additionally, the highest-scoring entry in each of the Overall Marketing Campaign subcategories will be revealed as Top Marketers at 3:00 p.m. EDT on Oct. 19 on the website. Silver awards are normally presented at the local level at frozen and refrigerated food association meetings.

Retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, sales agents and associations of any size can enter any category applicable to their business. Entries are judged on their own merits, taking into account organization size and program budget.

Harrisburg, Pa.-based NFRA is a nonprofit trade association representing all segments of the frozen and refrigerated food industry.

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, operating more than 2,000 stores under such banners as Albertsons, Safeway and Acme, is No. 8 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Landover, Md.-based Giant Food is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, which operates more than 2,000 stores across 23 states and is No. 10 on The PG 100. Keasbey, N.J.-based retailer co-op Wakefern Food Corp., which comprises nearly 50 members that independently own and operate 363 supermarkets under the ShopRite and other banners, is No. 23 on PG’s list, while Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle is No. 37; Commerce, Calif.-based Smart & Final is No. 59; Sunbury, Pa.-based Weis Markets is No. 60; Abingdon, Va.-based K-VA-T Food Stores is No. 70.