Latest news with #sandwiches
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Molly Baz's Ayoh! Sauces Enter Whole Foods Market For Its First National Retail Partner
Ayoh! Foods cofounder chef Molly Baz Ayoh! Foods Seven short months of globbing onto countless sandwiches, and now one of the most notable CPG launches of the past year is making its strongest squeeze yet. Ayoh! Foods, the flavor-focused condiment company from chef Molly Baz, enters Whole Foods Market stores nationwide. '[Ayoh!] is a colossal project,' Baz tells me. 'I am so grateful that people are chasing the product, recognizing its quality, and helping us get there so quickly.' Ayoh! Foods also reveals that it has raised a $4.5 million seed round, $3.3 million of which is new cash, led by Imaginary Ventures. In addition to its Dill Pickle, Hot Giardinayo and Tango Dijonayo varieties, Ayoh! will launch its flavored products on Whole Foods shelves with an exclusive flavor to the natural grocer, a brand new umami-rich flavor. 'I saw a white space in the marketplace,' Baz adds. 'I am committed to solving problems in the food industry and delivering deliciousness at all costs.' Molly Baz Ayoh! Foods Sandwich Shop To Countertop Jeff Mauro better make some room on the throne, because Baz keeps a close eye on each and every sandwich accoutrement possible. The venture for her particularly started during the pandemic. 'I became very sandwich obsessed,' she says. On her social media accounts, she's practically made condiments her entire personality, even starting a sandwich podcast where she would dissect the necessary minutia of the likes of tuna melts, BLTs and PB&Js. Ayoh! Hot Giardinayo sando sauce Ayoh! Foods From a Philly cheesesteak to a Chicago hoagie to a reuben at a New York deli, there's personal pride in each corner of the country that makes people feel at home with their sandwich of choice. Ayoh! capitalizes on that. 'I'm a huge fan of Chicago style giardiniera,' Baz says about her inspiration behind her punchy pepper Hot Giardinayo sauce. 'When I stir this giardiniera into the mayo, all of a sudden the mayo becomes so much more dynamic.' Ayoh! is a practical extension of those beloved staples. 'We're really trying to bring that sandwich shop to countertop moment at home,' says Ayoh! Foods cofounder and CEO David McCormick. That intention that the brand was founded on is working in real time. Baz has found that Ayoh! customers are not only using it in their homemade sandwiches, but they're bringing their deli-bought sandwiches home so that they can specifically squeeze Ayoh! onto it. 'For me,' she says, 'that's the ultimate success story of Ayoh!' Not Just Another Celebrity Brand Her pulsecheck that there was a vacuum specifically in 'dialed up, super bold-flavored, textured sando sauces,' as Baz puts it, seems to have been accurate, because consumers from the coasts to middle America are making it a staple in their homes. 'We sold out four months worth of inventory in two weeks,' says McCormick. 'It was almost 100,000 pounds of Mayo.' More than 170,000 bottles of Ayoh! have been sold since launch. Ayoh! Tangy Dijonayo sando sauce Ayoh! Foods And Ayoh! has proven that it's not some coastal craze. 'Early indicators when we launched showed there's plenty of momentum in the Midwest…that's really important to us,' McCormick says. 'We'll win the day if we can actually be just as popular in Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee. The great thing is there's a lot of affinity for mayo throughout the US.' That's something rarely seen in celebrity brands, but Baz and McCormick have managed to unlock genuine authenticity. 'Nobody sat down in a room and looked at categories and thought about the gaps…Molly was like, 'some people I know make boring sandwiches.' It's just that easy.' Ayoh's timely resonance also allowed the brand to raise a relatively quick seed round, the capital of which will go towards expanding the Ayoh! team, broadening brand presence, and facilitating wider distribution. '[Imaginary Ventures has] Flavor And Format While Ayoh! sells an original mayo, it will not be present on Whole Foods shelves, which already has a substantial assortment of original mayos. The flavors are at the core of the brand, and as Whole Foods Market's category merchant for shelf-stable condiments Juliana Bandin tells me, the retailer does not see any direct competitors. 'It fills a need for our shelves,' she says. [Flavored mayo] 'We are seeing double-digit growth since our most recent reset in March,' she adds. 'Brand launches like Ayoh! are going to help us continue the momentum.' That momentum includes a brand new flavor in the Ayoh! lineup, which Baz calls a sweet and salty 'umami bomb.' It will be exclusive to Whole Foods through September. Ayoh! Dill Pickle Mayo sando sauce Ayoh! Foods Between the squeezable, convenient format and flavors like Dill Pickle, Baz and McCormick have created a product that glides with the pace of culture. '[The Dill Pickle flavor] has this paradoxical moment of something that's so funky and strange, but also so certainly has clout and its own cult following,' McCormick says. 'We don't take ourselves too seriously.' Whole Foods Market has a keen finger on that same pulse, and it resonated with the grocer too–format now becoming a priority for the products they start to carry. 'I don't think the jar would have done it justice,' Bandin says. '[Whole Foods is] seeing growth substantially in dipping sauces…Going forward, that's going to be really big, but again that is for squeeze bottles. It all kind of ties back together to that same trend' Ayoh!'s presence thus far has been limited to d2c, Amazon, and several hundred independent grocers. 'D2C has been tremendous,' McCormick says. 'We sold out four months worth of inventory in two weeks. It was almost 100,000 pounds of mayo…people will buy mayo online, much to my surprise,' McCormick says. The strategy here was to first activate Baz's fanbase before those who may not know her would discover it during a grocery outing. It's a homecoming of sorts for McCormick as well; he started his career at Whole Foods at the store level and worked his way up to become Grocery Director in the Rocky Mountain region. 'I couldn't think of a more meaningful, fun place to bring that completely full circle,' he says. He and Baz even met through a mutual friend from Whole Foods before starting Ayoh! together. The line of sando sauces is just the first of many that Ayoh! plans to penetrate the breadth of grocery stores with. 'Right now, Ayoh! is synonymous with our mayonnaises, but I think that there's a really bright, big ecosystem of food products that we build,' Baz says. 'I'm hoping that Ayoh's future looks like Heinz or Kraft Foods.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Expert issues warning to UK travellers over little-known food fine
British holidaymakers have been issued a warning over an easily-made mistake that could see them fined in the European Unio n. Tourists who bring ready-made sandwiches into an EU country could run the risk of being fined due to the bloc's regulations. Maryanne Sparks, of European Waterways, has issued a warning to tourists bringing sandwiches on their trip. She says: 'If you travel to the EU from a non-EU country, you are not allowed to bring any meat or dairy products with you - this includes those you would find in a meal deal sandwich.' British tourists must follow the rules for non EU-country holidaymakers and could be penalised if they break them. Maryanne adds: 'When arriving in the EU, you may have to undergo official controls by the authorities. 'If you are carrying any undeclared meat or dairy products, they will be confiscated and destroyed. Additionally, you may be fined or face criminal prosecution.' The European Commission explains that personal goods containing 'meat, milk or their products' could 'present a real risk to animal health throughout the Union'. Tourists who bring ready-made sandwiches into an EU country could run the risk of being fined due to the bloc's regulations 'It is safe to consume these sandwiches in the airport and on the plane, but they must be disposed of either before you get off the flight or as soon as you enter the terminal at the other side,' says Maryanne. She adds: 'To avoid fines or potential criminal prosecution, ensure that any meat or dairy products are not carried into the EU.' Travellers are not allowed to bring meat, milk or their products in to the EU but there are exceptions for powdered infant milk and infant food. Holidaymakers are allowed to bring up to 20kg of fish into the EU or up to 2kg of honey, live oysters, live mussels and snails. The rules do not apply to tourists travelling between EU member states or for animal products from Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino or Switzerland.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
I've eaten Subway for decades. Today's offering is a joyless abomination of its former glory
I've been eating Subway sandwiches for a quarter of a century. Mainly out of habit. 2001 Subway was something else: booth seating, ceiling fans with gold trim, leafy green house plants, faux brick and black-and-white New York cityscape wallpaper with a repeating Empire State Building frieze. Ahh. My go-to back then was a foot-long turkey sub on 'hearty Italian' bread, cheddar cheese (there was only cheddar), lettuce, tomato and cranberry sauce with a dusting of salt and pepper. To complete the meal, a choc-chip cookie and a small soft drink from the self-serve post-mix machine with two little stamps for my Sub Club card. Collect eight, you got a free sub. If you've eaten at Subway lately you might be thinking I'm getting confused with some other sandwich place. Sadly no. 2025 Subway is a joyless abomination of its former glory. Let's start with the interior. Today's Subways have embraced the modern bland: grey, white and beige with a feature wall in vomit green. The booths that haven't been heritage-listed are long gone, replaced with coloured seating cubes with no backs – I assume designed to make you leave. But what about the menu? Well, the subs are now almost as expensive as the nuclear ones. Hearty Italian bread went about 2002, the same year Subway stopped stocking cranberry sauce. I was outraged. My complaints to head office were numerous and ineffective. A couple of times I brought my own jar to the Subway enclave at my local BP service station. Management didn't mind but they weren't so keen on the knife. About 2018 Subway did briefly reintroduce cranberry 'relish'. It wasn't the same. Much drier. Back in the day the cranberry sauce would be in a big plastic squeeze bottle with the other sauces. You hoped you were served by a competent sandwich artist who knew to bang the bottle against the garbage slot in the counter first to get the water out. If they didn't you got a soaking wet sandwich. My dad's dad used to run pubs back in the 60s. 'Ice is the cheapest thing you can put in a glass,' he'd say. So I find it bizarre that Subway made the choice about 2020 to replace the post-mix machines with fridges supplying soft drink in plastic bottles. At least Hungry Jack's just moved drink machines behind the counter. But if you want ice at Subway, forget it. Remember the joy of licking a stamp and sticking it to your cardboard Sub Club card? Or better yet, finding a discarded stamp in the street and getting that free sub sooner than expected! Today Subway offers a plastic 'Subcard' with a QR code. The person serving you never asks if you've got one and rarely seems to know when you should scan it. The credit points expire, too. But it's not all bad. Subway introduced toasting ovens in 2005 so you have the choice of a 'toasted' or 'fresh' sub, which does somewhat imply toasted is the opposite of fresh. A tip for employees: if someone orders a classic chicken toasted, you still have to put the fillet in the microwave. Just toasting the bread with the chicken on top leaves the meaty interior the same temperature as the fridge. Modern Subway does offer more cheeses: cheddar, swiss or 'old English' (the orange one). And just this year Anzac biscuits made a welcome return. Subway had abandoned them in 2008 after the Department of Veterans' Affairs noticed it was calling them Anzac 'cookies' and not using the 'official' ingredients. This is why Australia has a Department of Veterans' Affairs. As far as fast-food napkins go, Subway has always had the best. If you reach into any of my jacket pockets you'll always find at least one Subway napkin from a lunchtime past. But Subway has stopped printing its logo on them so now the napkins are just plain white. What other fun features will Subway gradually strip away from its dining experience over the next 25 years? I'll let you know. David M Green is a comedian who reviews video tapes on the web series VHS Revue. He also wrote for Mad as Hell on ABC TV. You can follow him on BlueSky, Instagram and Facebook
Fox News
6 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Chick-fil-A quietly rolls out secret sandwiches that most Americans can't get
Chick-fil-A has quietly added two new sandwiches to its menu – but they're only available to customers in certain cities. The two new sandwiches are the Creamy BBQ Chicken Sandwich and the Jalapeño Ranch Club Chicken Sandwich. The Creamy BBQ Chicken Sandwich is served "on a toasted, buttery bun with Creamy BBQ Slaw and sweet heat pickle chips," according to the company's website. "It pairs well with Creamy BBQ Sauce on the side," the site adds. The sandwich can also be made with spicy fillets or grilled chicken. It's only available at participating restaurants in Jacksonville, Florida, from June 9 to July 19. Meanwhile, the Jalapeño Ranch Club Chicken Sandwich is served on "a toasted buttermilk ranch bun, [with] pepper jack cheese." The sandwich also features "strips of caramelized onion-flavored candied bacon, lettuce, tomato and pickled jalapeños." The signature chicken fillet can also be swapped with grilled chicken or a spicy fillet. "It pairs well with a side of Jalapeño Ranch Sauce for an extra kick of flavor," Chick-fil-A advises. The Jalapeño Ranch Club Chicken Sandwich is only available at participating Salt Lake City, Utah, restaurants through July 19. A community of Chick-fil-A fans reacted to the new releases in a Reddit thread earlier this week. "Really don't need to do a test on these, I'm going to buy them and often," the top comment read. "I need these in my life," another person chimed in. Another user questioned the creamy barbecue sauce. "I've never heard of a bbq sauce described as creamy," the person wrote. "Smokey, tangy, sweet, spicy. These are bbq sauces. I'm confused." Fox News Digital reached out to Chick-fil-A for additional comment.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
4 fantastic subs we can't get enough of, from Cape Coral to Naples
While painstakingly deleting blocks of photos from my iPhone for storage sake, a pattern emerged. I'm apparently obsessed with subs. Meatball, turkey, pastrami, tuna and chicken salad, chicken parm, Italian, capicola, ham, corned beef, roast beef, eggplant, steak & cheese, sausage & peppers, salami, egg salad, Caprese and schnitzel are all represented. Before I delete more photos, here are four tried-and-true sub shops I always come back to. The chicken parm was my first sub at this 35-year-old Italian meat market and deli in Fort Myers. It was so good, I went back two days later and ordered the pastrami-anchored New Yorker. I ate most of it on the drive home. Now I'm on a quest to eat through the entire sub menu. At the rate I'm going, it won't take long at all. 12326 S. Cleveland Ave.; Instagram, Facebook We love how the Naples and Bonita Springs locations take their thinly sliced deli meats and pile them high for some of the largest subs around. And we're not the only ones who love them. On a good day, 200 of the signature Italian subs are sold. We'll happily take one. 5415 Airport-Pulling Road; 28100 Imperial Parkway; Facebook When I'm feeling schnitzelly, I head to this German-flavored gem of a deli and sandwich shop in Cape Coral. Owner Dennis Friedmann crafts hearty, heavenly subs on our favorite NY-NJ Par Baked Breads. Just about everything, from the meatballs to the tuna to all the sides, is homemade and never disappoints. Run, don't walk here. 2924 Del Prado Blvd. S., Unit 5; Facebook, Instagram The first time I went to this long-long-longtime Bonita Springs staple, I gazed in wonder as heaping handfuls of freshly sliced corned beef were stacked, one after another, over piles of just-sliced turkey. Slice after slice after slice of Swiss cheese followed. By the time layers of lettuce, tomato and onion came, I was head over heels in love. Still am. 26880 Old 41 Road; Facebook More: 5 oldest restaurants from Naples to Fort Myers include waterfront gems, old Florida flavor Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@ This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Craving a sub? Here are our favorite 4 from Cape Coral to Naples
