10 Star Butter takes top spot at US awards

Lewis Road Creamery’s 10 Star ethical grass-fed butter has been judged Product of the Year at the Sofi Awards in the United States.

The Sofi Awards are presented by the not-for-profit Specialty Food Association (SFA), the leading membership trade association in the $175 billion specialty food industry.

The butter was a finalist for the Product of the Year category after it won gold in the dairy category of the awards in May.

The butter was blind-tasted alongside other premium and specialty butter to take gold in the dairy category, which covered all domestic and imported butter available in the US.

A panel of food experts selected the Sofi winners from nearly 2000 entries across 53 product categories. 

“It might seem like there’s not much you can do with just one ingredient and a sprinkle of salt,” Lewis Road Creamery’s Lynette Maan said, “but when you put the time into nurturing the soil, grass, and animals it really shines through in the end product, and we’re absolutely delighted that the difference in our butter has been seen and tasted in New York.” 

The butter was judged on flavour, appearance, texture and aroma, ingredient quality, and innovation. All tastings were anonymous and held at the Rutgers Food Innovation Center at Rutgers University.

The grass-fed, traditionally churned butter is made from cream sourced from Lewis Road’s parent Southern Pastures’ farms, which meets 10 Star Certified Values that cover grass-fed, free-range, animal welfare, environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation criteria.

It is exported and sold in high-end grocery stores, including Whole Foods, Erewhon, Bristol Farms, and Central Markets across the US, where it is usually the most expensive.  It is also available in New Zealand supermarkets, where it’s sold at a discount to domestic shoppers to reflect and promote its home provenance.

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