We had new tapenade labels to make each flavor stands out on it's own and tell the customers it's story and flavor. Our Sofia's Selection gourmet tapenades are high in flavor but low on salt and low on fat and hand crafted in small batches and packed in Warren, Michigan. Our tapenades are ready-to-eat from the jar! Be inspired and add them to salads, pizza or pair with your favorite crackers. Mix them with cream cheese for a tasty dip. Pair them with your burgers or steaks after grilling, cook them with pasta, chicken or fish. Visit our website www.sofiaselection.com to check where you can get them and to check our recipes

Olive Taco

 

A new recipe on that can use this weekend to enjoy yourself and your family. It's very easy, even a guy cn do it..Just kidding

 



Olive, Black Bean & Zucchini Tacos

 

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 zucchini, small dice
• ½  jalapenos, seeded, thinly sliced
• 1 Jar Sofia’s Selection Marinated Black olives, chopped. www.sofiaselection.com
• 6 oz salsa Verde
• 19 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 (6 inch) corn tortillas

 

Directions

Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and jalapeno to the oil and sprinkle with the salt. Sauté for about 7 minutes, until the zucchini is lightly browned. Add the garlic and olives and sauté for 2 minutes more.

 

Add the salsa Verde and black beans. Cook for 5 more minutes; the salsa should reduce a bit so that it's juicy but not soupy.

 

Place the tortillas in a moist paper towel and heat in the microwave for 1 minute on high. Spread the mixture on the tacos and serve



 

 

 

 

 

Olive Burger recipe

Here's a very popular olive burger for your summer grilling


Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground turkey or beef (at least 90 percent lean)


• 1/2 cup Sofia’s Selection Marinated Green Olives, coarsely chopped


• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin


• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper


• Cooking spray

Directions

Combine the turkey or beef, olives, parsley, cumin, and pepper in a mixing bowl and mix until well incorporated. Shape into 4 burgers.
Spray a grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over a medium-high heat or prepare an outdoor grill. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
Serve on whole-wheat buns, garnished with slices of tomato and onion, with olives on the top as shown in the picture.

What is your Value Proposition?

The definition I use for value proposition is: what's the value of your products or services to the people who buy them or use them?

For the people who want to start a food production company, they need to think about what's their product value to their potential customers. Is it a new product that will be filling a niche in the market? Think about spicy chocolate. Is their product healthier than what's in the market now? Think low salt, less sugar, low fat, gluten free, etc. Is their product natural or organic? Think about free of preservatives or made from organic ingredients. Is it cheaper? Does it have a different or better packaging? Is their product cheaper than what's in the market? Is it made locally? Does it have better quality ingredients? Think about mass produced cookies vs cookies made locally in small batches using higher quality eggs, sugar, and flour. You need to think about what are your customers feel and experience when they open your package or your jar and how it compares to a mass produced product.

Here at Sofia Foods we thought hard and long about all these questions when we were planning our products. Our olives are very low in salt, all natural, free from any artificial ingredients, gluten free, made locally in small batches and uses the highest quality ingredients. They offer a different aad unique taste for olives that surprises every one who taste them.

You can buy our products and read about them when you visit our page www.sofiaselection.com

Another recipe

Here's a recipe that uses Sofia's Selection Black olives   Black Olive Pate Ingredients ·         1 pound (about 4 jars) large Sofia’s Selection Black olives (pitted) ·         1 large head garlic (about 2 to 3 ounces) ·         Olive oil ·         1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Directions ·         Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. ·         Spread the olives out on several thickness of paper toweling, top with several more thicknesses of paper toweling, then roll up tight, and set aside ·         Slice off the top part of the head of garlic, exposing the cloves. Drizzle the head with olive oil. Wrap the whole head of garlic in a double thickness of aluminum foil, and then twist each loose end into a gooseneck sealing in the garlic. Place in the oven and roast until the garlic is very tender, about 1 hour; remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Take out all cloves of garlic and put into a blender or food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade; add the olives and pepper, and puree by buzzing 15 seconds nonstop. Scrape down the sides of the blender or work bowl with a rubber spatula, buzz for another 15 seconds, then scoop all into a small bowl, and cover tightly. Store in a refrigerator until about 30 minutes before serving. ·         Serve as a cocktail spread on crisp crackers. (Courtesy of FoodNetwork.com)     Find more info at www.sofiaselection.com and www.facebook.com/SofiasSelection

Recipes

I'd like to share a recipe for green olives with you.

Green Olives Tapenade Ingredients 1/2 pound pitted Sofia’s Selection green olives 2 anchovy fillets, rinsed (if desired) 1 small clove garlic, minced 2 tablespoons capers 2 to 3 fresh basil leaves 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Directions ·         Thoroughly drain the olives from their brine. ·         Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture becomes a coarse paste, approximately 1 to 2 minutes total. ·         Transfer to a bowl and serve over crusty bread.  (Courtesy of FoodNetwork.com)     Find more info at www.sofiaselection.com and www.facebook.com/SofiasSelection

The Hard Path

After I wrote about how long the path was to launch Sofia's Selection brand of speciality olives and marinated vegetables, I'll take some time to talk about how hard it was. Don't get me wrong here. Although it was was hard, it was challenging also. I learned a lot about start ups, accounting, food regulations, building codes, and how hard it is to get a plumber to do the job for you. The challenges I faced kept me going until I passed the finish line.

There were so many decisions to make from the beginning. What products to launch first? How much they cost? What are my target customers? Will they buy? Location? Packaging? In almost all start ups, there was more than one person to do everything and answer all the questions but I did it alone, not by choice though. Then the other decisions followed, financial decisions, legal decisions, marketing decisions, etc.

Branding was a major decision also since I wanted to make sure our branding efforts go into the right direction from the beginning. Actually, all decisions had to go into the right direction as quick as possible. While I made decisions I had to change later, I don't regret them but they were not the right decisions to help putting Sofia's Selection on the right track. Changing directions on few things made me realize that I need to do more work and do more research to ensure all pieces of the puzzle fit together for a successful launch. In every step of the way, I documented everything I did so I would have a complete archive of my story.

Order your olives today and enjoy the hard work that was done by myself. You can order at the website www.sofiaselection.com