SAN DIEGO, May 15, 2018—ChefsBest, a San Diego-based company that guides consumers to high quality foods in a category, is marking its fifth year in business under its current ownership, Liguori Ventures II, LLC. With headquarters in San Diego, a Center for Taste in San Francisco and a fast-growing roster of top consumer brand partners, including Welch’s, Vitafusion, Slimfast, and Goya, the company surpassed 1000 sensory tasting evaluations since opening and achieved nearly 100 percent customer renewal rate in 2018.
ChefsBest provides national brands with the ability to substantiate ad claims and differentiate themselves through third-party endorsement in a competitive landscape. The company’s recognized Gold Medallion has become a trusted industry symbol for quality and taste, enabling brands to justify a price premium and increase sales.
In fact, study determined 67 percent of consumers are more likely to purchase a ChefsBest award-winning product than one without the ChefsBest medallion on-pack. According to an A/B test, digital ads with the ChefsBest medallion on them experienced a 20 percent higher click-through rate than ads without the award present. Over the past five years, the ChefsBest medallion has been placed on millions of packages consumers put in their grocery carts.
“With new products flooding the industry at unprecedented rates, the fight for market share is felt by all brands, regardless of size or longevity,” said Lisa Liguori, ChefsBest President and CEO. “Our mission for the past five years has been to help food and beverage brands stand out in highly-competitive markets and shifting retail environments, build trust and loyal customers, and increase overall visibility and sales within their category. Our medallions have become a trusted marker of quality for consumers and a notable value-add for our partners, and we look forward to continuing our partnerships with top consumer brands in the marketplace to help them thrive.”
Two of ChefsBest’s flagship awards include the Best Taste and Excellence Awards. When licensed, the Best Taste Award allows a product to claim it is the highest rated among leading brands, and the Excellence Awardallows a product to claim it meets or surpasses quality standards established by independent, professional chefs. Earning either award provides an alternative path to powerful ad claims that in order to make usually require expensive consumer research.
To date, ChefsBest has achieved 59 percent growth since 2013. Some of the company’s most notable accomplishments over the past five years include:
2013:Liguori Ventures II, LLC acquires ChefsBest
2013:ChefsBest hires first San Diego-based full-time employee
2013:Company issues Best Tate and Excellence Awards to Dole Packaged Foods and Best Taste Award to Crystal Farms
2014:ChefsBest issues Best Taste Award to Bertolli for their Jarred Alfredo Sauce and Premium Jarred Tomato Sauce
2015:ChefsBest hires Sensory Director Janet Williams to meet increasing demand
2015:ChefsBest issues Best Taste Awards to Post Raisin Bran and Foster Farms Corn Dogs
2016: ChefsBest launches its ‘Just a Taste’ podcast, which provides insight on the latest industry news, award winners, and research on consumer behavior from industry experts and thought leaders
2016: ChefsBest launches its ‘The Flavor’ blog, offering its perspective on the industry
2016:ChefsBest grows roster of partners and enters licensing agreements with Welch’s, Slimfast, and Church & Dwight
2016:Company expands its award portfolio with the launch of the Quality in Craft (QiC) Award to honor boutique and regional brands for exceptional taste
2017:ChefsBest experiences record profitability
2018:ChefsBest celebrates five years, surpasses 1000 tastings since first opening
ABOUT CHEFSBEST
ChefsBest guides consumers to the best tasting foods in a category by identifying the best tasting and highest quality products through a rigorous proprietary sensory evaluation process. ChefsBest is headquartered in San Diego, Calif. and a Center for Taste in San Francisco, Calif. ChefsBest has completed more than 1000 tastings for top national brands, bestowing its Best Taste and Excellence Awards on the highest quality products in the market. ChefsBest awards are a nationally recognized trust mark and are used by many national brands including Vitafusion, Welch’s, Slimfast, Goya, and more. For more information, visit ChefsBest.com.