Paul Guglielmo to make a “pitch” at this year’s competition in November
Press release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Today, the Grow-NY global food and agriculture business competition revealed the top 20 finalists of the 2022 Grow-NY competition. The Craft Cannery team, based in Bergen, NY, is honored and humbled (and so excited!!!) to share that it was selected as one of the 20-finalists. CEO of Craft Cannery, Paul Guglielmo, who is also the Founder and CEO of Guglielmo Sauce, will hit the stage to make a “pitch” at this year’s Grow-NY competition, happening November 15 – 16, 2022 in Syracuse, N.Y.
Grow-NY is one of the biggest food and agriculture business competitions in the world, working to strengthen the food and agriculture innovation clusters of the Finger Lakes, Central New York and Southern Tier regions of New York state. Winners will be required to create a positive impact in the Grow-NY region, grow job opportunities, connect with local industry partners and contribute to a thriving Upstate economy.
Each year, one finalist will be selected for a $1 million top prize; two $500,000 prizes; and four $250,000 prizes will also be awarded for a total of $3 million in prize money.
The winners of the 2022 Grow-NY competition will be selected live at the event on November 16. There were 390 applicants this year and a panel of 30 judges narrowed them down to the 20 finalists based on specific criteria around viability, team, customer value, food and agriculture innovation and regional job creation. The full list of finalists can be found here.
Empire State Development is funding the competition through its Upstate Revitalization Initiative connected with the three regions—Finger Lakes Forward, CNY Rising and Southern Tier Soaring. Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement is administering the competition.
Craft Cannery specializes in taking recipes from individuals, restaurants or food production brands, and adjusting it for large production. With a focus on sustainability, Craft Cannery recently partnered with Intergrow Greenhouses based in Ontario, NY and salvages close to two tons of tomatoes per week that are used in its products and recipes. Customers range from marinara sauces to oils to hot sauces and BBQ sauces to salsas for brands across the region. It’s the exclusive production facility for Guglielmo Sauce, Sticky Lips BBQ, Old Pueblo Grill, Coach Tony’s, Uncle Ralph’s, Red Osier and dozens of other high-profile food brands.
Craft Cannery – a 5,000 square-foot food manufacturing facility in Bergen, NY – is one of only six USDA cannery manufacturing canneries in New York State. It is also certified through Safe Quality Foods (SQF), Food and Drug Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, and New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets.
To read more about The Craft Cannery, click here. For more on the 2022 Grow-NY competition, click here.
About Craft Cannery
Craft Cannery takes your recipes and creates your delicious and special products, just the way you want them. It specializes in sauces, dressings, oils, marinades and more. Craft Cannery is one of 6 USDA-certified manufacturing canneries in New York State, which allows us to produce meat-based products. Craft Cannery earned the Safe Quality Food certification through Safe Quality Foods Institute in 2021 and again in 2022.