A producer of authentic Italian-style salami was honored recently by winning the top prize in an independent award program designed to recognize conscious CPG companies and products. 

California-based salami maker Olli Salumeria took home top honors in the 2023 Mindful Awards, winning the “Overall Food Product of the Year” award for the company’s new OlliÒ Salamini line of preservative-free salami snacks. 

The Mindful Awards highlights conscious companies, recognizing the best in transparent, fair, organic, sustainable, healthy and delicious CPG products. OlliÒ Salamini was selected from more than 1,825 nominations, including competition from several other deli brands. The Mindful Awards are offered across a wide variety of categories including Snacks, Food, Beverages, Supplements, Home Products and more.  

“Sustainable, conscious business practices are at the heart of everything we do at Olli Salumeria,” explained Colmignoli. “We strive to exceed the highest standards in the industry for every aspect of our production, from sustainable farming of 100 percent vegetarian-fed, antibiotic-free pork to innovative production techniques that focus on simple, quality ingredients and food safety. We are honored to receive this award for our new Salamini line, which represents our commitment to quality, innovation and ingredient transparency.” 

Olli Salamini is the latest in a line of innovative snack offerings from Olli Salumeria. In addition to capitalizing on the growing trend of convenient, high-protein snacking, Olli Salamini represents the industry’s first preservative-free salami product — reflecting growing consumer preference for clean-label ingredients. 

“Salamini is the latest in our company’s mission to reposition salami as an accessible, healthy alternative to convenience store snacks like jerky and meat sticks – and prove that we can produce the world’s best salami entirely without preservatives,” explained Colmignoli.   

Olli’s proprietary curing process is a revolutionary step for modern salami making. Most salami has added nitrates and nitrites, either as a synthetic or through natural sources such as cultured celery juice powders and sea salt. These additives stabilize the product during curing, making it safe for consumption. Olli’s new curing process eliminates nitrates and nitrites, relying instead on a simplified salt cure in combination with natural polyphenolic compounds — the same healthy antioxidants that doctors recommend in consumption of berries, dark chocolate and red wine. This unique process produces a salami that is effectively free of preservatives.  

According to Colmignoli, Olli Salamini was developed and timed specifically by Olli’s product innovation team to leverage the company’s breakthrough preservative-free formula and offer high-protein, convenient snack options that focus on clean-label ingredients. “Consumers are actively seeking high-protein snacks that are satiating and taste great. But they’re also health-conscious and look for products with complete transparency of ingredients. People want to easily understand the label on packaging, so producing a clean-label snack product with only simple, quality ingredients was our primary focus for Salamini.”

Originating as an Italian hunter’s sausage known as Salamini Italiani alla Cacciatora, salamini is a small, cured salami chub that is designed to be a portable snack. Olli’s Salamini line offers a modern take on this classic snack recipe, available in four gourmet flavor varieties including Classic, Bourbon, Smoked and Pequin. Olli Salamini offers a convenient, high-protein snack option that delivers big flavor in a small portable package. Each 2.6-ounce package contains six individual mini salami sticks, at a suggested retail price of $4.99–5.99. 

For more information on Olli Salamini, visit www.olli.com/salamini or visit www.mindfulawards.com for information on the 2023 Mindful Awards. 

Source: Olli Salumeria