Fro-yo girl here. Tom Ostoich has the best job ever. He and his partner, Randy Stoker, develop new products and they offer consulting services for fro-yo, gelato and smoothie shops. They recently launched Summit, a line of premium fro-yo, available through Southwest Traders. The first flavor, acai tart, was recently joined by a new pomegranate tart.
FYG: Describe SummitTO: Summit Premium Yogurts are flavored with real fruit and berry concentrates which allow you to taste the natural flavors and not leave any artificial aftertaste.
Artificial colors and artificial flavors are synthetic substances that have no nutritional value. In most cases, artificial colors are used to imitate “real” whole foods, such as strawberries, oranges, blueberries, and other colorful fruits.
Artificially colored products are often marketed to children who are attracted to bright, fancy colors. Some of the more common artificial flavors include imitation vanilla (vanillin), cherry, banana, raspberry, lemon, and many other flavors. These are synthetically developed, and are likely to be unhealthy.
FYG: How did you get into fro-yo recipe development?TO: In August 2007, Tom started Socially Responsible Food Group Inc. after more than two decades on the front lines of food industry management. Socially Responsible Food Group was founded on the philosophy of healthy products for consumers made from local and real ingredients. With that emphasis in mind SRFG has brought to market many perishable items from inception to the marketplace with current distribution in eight states on the West Coast.
Since developing SmoothEZe products, SRFG has introduced many flavors and ways to flavor products such as ice cream, sorbet, gelato, and YES frozen yogurt. The SmoothEZe real fruit smoothie was developed for the California School Lunch program which has regulations on what can and cannot be served for students’ lunch. This would include eliminating the junk food and products that were artificially flavored along with new dietary guidelines for calories and fats per serving.
After numerous food shows and the resurgence of the yogurt culture SRFG saw a lot of yogurt that was being artificial flavored and colored. SRFG took our knowledge from the smoothie industry and our understanding of the child nutrition laws and started working on the Summit Premium Yogurt Products. SRFG wanted to create a product from real ingredients, not from flavored syrups and artificial flavorings.
FYG: Where can I try your acai tart?Here’s a partial list of Bay Area places that carry Summit acai tart:
* YOSWIRL: 43773 Boscell Rd, Fremont, CA 94538
* NEW RUSSIAN HILL MARKET: 1198 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133
* UPHORIA YOGURT: 5009 Lone Tree Way, Antioch, CA 94531
To order Summit, call Southwest Traders: (866) 452-9185
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
For more information about SR Food Group: http://www.srfoodgroup.com/
