Restaurant to Retail

This summer saw Chicago’s fast-casual restaurant chain Wow Bao expand its retail frozen grocery distribution through new partnerships Meijer and Ahold Delhaize. Officials said Meijer is the first retailer to carry Szechwan-Style Spicy Pork Bao, made with roasted pork, cabbage, ginger, garlic, and chili crisp-gochujang sauce inside a soft, fluffy bao.

In June, the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association recognized Wow Bao with the group’s “Most Disruptive Product Award.” Other new summer offerings have included Ginger Chicken Potstickers and Chicken and Pork Soup Dumplings.

Taste of Italy

Mooney Farms, Chico, Calif., extended its Bella Sun Luci Italian products line with a Tuscan Rice variety at Los Angeles-area Costco stores. Officials say each box contains six microwavable pouches featuring a blend of whole grain rice, tomatoes, and Italian herbs including basil. Each microwavable pouch is ready in under 90 seconds and the offerings are free of preservatives and artificial flavors.

"We're thrilled to introduce the Tuscan Rice to Costco," said Mary Mooney, Mooney Farms CEO at. "It's a taste of Italy in every bite!"

Mooney Farms’ Bella Sun Luci line include sun dried tomatoes in premium oil, sauces, spreads, and salad dressings.

Growing Distribution

Having started as modest brick-and-mortar shop in Bellevue, Wash., in 2018, MìLà (officially The XCJ Corp.) has grown to become a national Chinese foods products company. It added two new potsticker-style dumplings in two flavors, Chicken and Beef, to select Walmart stores nationwide. 

Chicken Dumplings feature savory ground chicken, plus fresh cabbage and green onion, all wrapped in a traditional Chinese dumpling skin (14 count, SRP $7.99). Beef Dumplings are made with ground beef, onions and soy sauce (14 count, SRP $7.99). Made for versatility and ready in minutes, the dumplings can be pan-fried, boiled and/or steamed, directly out of the freezer.

The MìLà line includes soup dumplings, potstickers, Chinese noodles, vegan Chinese noodles, and Asian sauces.

Vegan Dumplings

New to the online market are DamduOne frozen vegan dumplings, imported and distributed by K Food America (Hitrons Solutions Inc.), Westwood, N.J. Varieties include Original Vegetable Dumplings, Vegetable and Japchae Dumplings, Vegetable and Kimchi Flavor, and Vegetable and Mushroom.

Officials say DumduOne dumplings feature “wheat protein that has no odor or aftertaste and provide great texture to the filling.” They arrive frozen and can be prepared by steaming, air frying, microwaving, boiling, or pan frying. They are available at Amazon and Walmart.com

New Line

This June saw Laoban Dumplings, Washington, D.C., expand its frozen line with new bao buns in select Whole Foods Market stores nationwide. Flavors include Chinese Style BBQ Pork, Spicy Beef, and Sesame Chicken. Each 10oz package contains four buns and the bao buns are microwave-ready in just one minute.

"I'm so excited for Laoban's new Bao Buns to hit freezers nationwide," says Co-Founder Chef Tim Ma. "We've spent the last year working on the recipes to make sure we're bringing the restaurant experience straight to your home kitchen. The final recipe gives me visceral memories of eating Bao buns as a child with my family, and I hope it evokes that same feeling for everyone who eats them."