Savory, sweet, spicy and even cheesy… can you pick a favorite flavor? To be fair, that’s a hard decision for most of us. Most likely it will depend on what you’re adding that incredible flavor to. Lucky for us Carolina Ingredients has all of our seasoning needs covered and best of all use sustainable practices in their quest to help other companies produce their fantastic products. In fact, the research and development team at Carolina Ingredients work tirelessly to create custom seasoning blends and new products that they know people will love. This week we’re heading to South Carolina to check out how Carolina Ingredients is decreasing their carbon footprint and optimizing sustainable practices all while helping other companies make the food we eat even more tasty!
The Story
Since 1990 Carolina Ingredients has been working hard with businesses you trust to meet and exceed their seasoning needs for products that make their way onto your grocery shelves. Since 1990 the business has grown substantially and in 2009 Carolina Ingredients relocated to Rock Hill, SC. Just a year later in 2010, Carolina Ingredients became the first seasoning manufacturer to achieve Silver Award LEED status. So, what does LEED mean? LEED stands for The Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. Carolina Ingredients earned the Silver Award Status by using green material on their building. The greener features the higher the LEED rating. We don’t mean the color green of course. When we reference green, we mean using material, design, and construction that are safer for the environment. This helps generate savings with water and energy while decreasing waste. Every story involving a LEED partner is a story about the people who support the best environmental practices. So now that we know how they are helping to conserve the environment, what about sustainability when it comes to food?
Today, Carolina Ingredients has the ability to package as small as 1oz seasoning packets to as large as full totes. The companies that they sell to, that ultimately make delicious products that we consume, seasoning needs are met through their comprehensive warehouse and global sourcing departments. They provide the service, expertise and consistency in snack seasoning notes, flavor profiles and flavor systems to become each company’s personal blending room. They have a highly trained research and development team that helps blend “Better for You” products. So, what makes these seasonings so unique?
All of their seasonings are created with the consumer in mind. They create recipes by removing artificial flavor and colors. They even eliminate high fructose syrup and companies can even customize sodium level requirements. Maybe they are looking for a seasoning that’s Gluten free? No problem! Carolina Ingredients has them covered on that too. Maybe they want seasonings with vitamins. Yes, they can even add vitamin fortification to their blends. Maybe they want to cater to those with a more basic palette and prefer simple flavors like French Onion, Garden tomato, or cheese blends. They can find it all at Carolina Ingredients. Carolina Ingredients can also provide more complex blends like Ancho Chili, Avocado Cilantro, and even Birthday Cake. Yes! We did say Birthday Cake. Can you imagine that delicious flavor on something like your popcorn? Sign us up!
So, what’s their trick to being so successful? That’s easy! Partnering and listening to their customer’s needs and understanding consumers.
In January 2019, Mitsubishi International Food Ingredients acquired 100% of Carolina Ingredients and they continue to stress the importance of partnering with their customers and creating value.
Verification
Carolina Ingredients is USDA Organic Certified through International Certification Services (ICS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Where Food Comes From, Inc. This means that they can meet all of their customer’s organic seasoning needs! The best part is if there is something that a customer wants but they don’t see an organic flavor they need, the team and Carolina will develop a sample especially for them. How awesome is that?!
Carolina Ingredients also carries many Non-GMO seasoning blends. The Non-GMO Project Verification is the leading independent verifier of Non-GMO foods. Carolina Ingredients is leading the way when it comes to evolving seasonings in the food industry. You can learn more about their products and their customized blends by visiting their website.
Why Verify
As you can see from their efforts, sustainability and verification is extremely important to the team at Carolina Ingredients. In fact, it’s part of their core values. They pride themselves in being a steward and leader of sustainability. It’s not just about being environmentally responsible, it’s about being environmentally responsible while also providing a quality food product to their customers that will help them make the best products for you and your family to enjoy.