January: Welcome IFMA's New Members (3)

Each month IFMA highlights the newest companies that make up our diverse membership community.

Damascus Bakeries, home to the Original Pita, serves delicious satisfaction through our line of artisanal flat breads. Headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Damascus has been pleasing customers for 84 years. With grandsons Ed and Dave Mafoud at the helm, old-world traditions and new-world technology provide the perfect recipe for their extensive bakery. Their products now sell in all fifty states, and even other countries.

Maple Leaf Farms, Inc. is North America’s leading producer of quality duck products, supplying retail and food service markets throughout the world with innovative, value-added foods. Founded by Donald Wentzel in 1958, Maple Leaf Farms started out as a small duck operation in Northern Indiana. In its first year, the company produced just 280,000 ducks. By 1964, Maple Leaf Farms quickly grew its annual duck production to more than 1 million. In 2001, Wentzel's grandsons, Scott and John Tucker, were named co-presidents of Maple Leaf Farms and leveraged the company's expertise into new business opportunities. Today, the Tucker family continues to set the direction for the company based on its values and commitment to family, community and, of course, quality products.

Ripple Foods believes it exists to make dairy-free as it should be: high in protein, low in sugar, loaded with nutrition and delicious. They believe good food should be simple. And for food to be good, they believe it needs to taste great, nourish your body and leave a small footprint on the planet. Ripple believes it is built on the truth that even the smallest actions can have far reaching impacts. They are convinced the beat of a butterfly wing can produce a wave of change, and they love to flap their wings. They see that everything is connected and believe the world will be saved not by grand plans or heroic gestures, but by simple choices each of us will make everyday. Like what’s for breakfast.

Rosina Food Products, Inc. is a family-owned business founded in 1963. The proud tradition of Rosina began with a small store front sausage business in Buffalo, NY, servicing neighborhood meat markets, supermarkets and restaurants. Founded by James Corigliano, he named this family-owned business after his wife Rose, which in Italian translates to Rosina. Rosina specializes in the manufacturing of branded and private label frozen meatballs, pasta and eggplant cutlets. Customer formulations are available.

Teatulia Organic Teas are true tea experts - they are the farmers - so they care deeply about every element of tea cultivation, production and enjoyment. Teatulia’s single-garden direct, sustainably grown teas hail from their very own tea garden in the Tetulia region of Northern Bangladesh. Their 3,000-acre regenerative tea garden was started from scratch in the Teatulia region of Bangladesh in 2000. The establishment of their garden has rejuvenated the land and economy in a previously impoverished region of the world. They created a new tea-growing region, nestled between Assam and Darjeeling at the base of the Himalayas, that has introduced the unique flavor profile of Bangladesh teas to the rest of the world.

A.J. Letizio Sales & Marketing are a professional sales & marketing agency serving the food and non-foods/disposable products industry. Following a century old family legacy as experts, tracing their origins back to 1912, they operate separate Retail and Foodservice Divisions that deliver specialized service and expertise in each sector as food brokers and non-food brokers. Included in their portfolio of clients are leading national and regional manufacturers of food and non-food/ disposable products. They are passionate about what they do and that passion translates into results that are consistently delivered to their clients and customers.

Esrock Partners, Inc. is the premier, independently-owned and operated food agency with more than 40 years of experience in developing, nurturing, and growing food and foodservice brands. Based in the suburbs of Chicago, Esrock delivers award-winning creative, specialized services, customized solutions and results-driven marketing campaigns for a wide array of clients.