Old Arthur's Barbecue Sauce Wins Inaugural Peapod's Next Best Competition

It is official! Peapod, the nation’s leading online grocer, is proud to announce Old Arthur’s Barbecue Sauce the winner of the inaugural Peapod’s Next Best competition in partnership with ABC7’s Windy City LIVE. A fifth-generation family-owned business, Old Arthur’s will receive a one-year distribution deal across Peapod’s Midwestern markets – Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis – and be available online at Peapod.com to nearly 100,000 households. Old Arthur’s beat out nearly 200 local food and beverage entries for its unique flavor and compelling story, and was voted the winner by a panel of expert food industry judges.

"We’ve known for years that Chicago is one of the best food cities in the world, and Old Arthur’s Barbecue Sauce is a shining example of the passionate food and beverage talent that the Windy City has to offer,” said Tony Stallone, Peapod’s Vice President of Merchandising and Peapod’s Next Best mentor. “We’re so proud that Old Arthur’s Barbecue Sauce has won the official title of Peapod’s Next Best and that Peapod can lend its food industry expertise to help launch this great product on a wider scale.”

A Chicago-based success story itself, Peapod was formed over 25 years ago in Evanston, Ill., and created the competition with ABC 7’s Windy City LIVE program as a means to lend its food industry expertise to the next generation of food and beverage entrepreneurs.

"Peapod is one of the great 'born-in-Chicago' success stories. We started here in Chicago over 25 years ago and gradually expanded to 24 U.S. markets. It was exciting to be part of ABC 7’s Windy City LIVE’s on-air contest and to share our knowledge of the grocery industry with the next generation of food and beverage entrepreneurs," Stallone said.

A Story You Can Taste

First crafted more than 160 years ago, Old Arthur’s Barbecue Sauce was created by Arthur Watts who was born a slave. Upon his release from bondage with the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Arthur’s only valuable possessions were his recipes which he brought with him to his new home in Illinois. People fell in love with Arthur’s sauce and it remained a popular item in high demand until his death at age 108. Old Arthur’s recipe, packed with the freshest natural ingredients, has been passed down in the family for five generations.

Matt Knutson, executive producer, ABC 7’s Windy City LIVE said, “We are so excited Old Arthur’s Barbecue was selected as winner of Peapod’s Next Best. This is a tremendous opportunity for their brand to grow and for America to get to know the story behind a great BBQ sauce. Knowing the rich tradition behind Old Arthur’s makes an already great sauce excellent.”

Searching for Peapod’s Next Best

The live, on-air six-week competition began Feb. 1 with a call for submissions on Windy City LIVE. Thirty-three innovative entrepreneurs – narrowed down from more than 170 – pitched their products to a panel of three celebrity food expert judges – Alpana Singh, Kevin Pang and Ina Pinkney. Peapod’s popular food expert Tony Stallone acted as a mentor to the contestants, offering advice and insight on what drives customer appeal and commercial success.

Applicants were scored on their product’s taste, packaging, marketability, innovation and product strategy and culled to six finalists who faced off in on-air head-to-head match-ups. In addition to Old Arthur’s, finalists included the following:

• Oak Brook’s DiMario Snack Sticks – a low calorie family friendly meat snack
• La Grange’s 10th Avenue Tea – a healthy and eco-friendly matcha tea blend
• Chicago’s Chef Crafted “El Mejor” Tortilla Chips – simple, restaurant style tortilla chips made with non-GMO oil
• Carpentersville’s Butcher on the Block Gourmet Bratwurst & Sausages –cheese stuffed gourmet bratwurst and sausages, filler-free
• Chicago’s The Zen of Slow Cooking’s Slow Cooker Spice Blends – a lovely way to make easy, delicious meals from scratch

On March 7 on Windy City LIVE, Old Arthur’s Barbecue Sauce emerged the winner of Peapod’s Next Best.

Old Arthur’s Barbecue Sauce will be available to Peapod customers in the near future. For more information on Peapod, or to order, please visit www.peapod.com or download our free mobile and tablet app for Apple and Android devices.