More of what’s going around:
-A fund-raising event for a proposed North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Sept. 7 at Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria on Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville.
-Preliminary plans for Enka Village call for a movie theater, sporting goods retailer, a pet store, a potential 4,500-square-foot store, a hotel and more, my blogger buddy Daniel reports. Preliminary plans do not currently call for a Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club or Costco, he reports.
-UNC Asheville’s 4th annual African Americans in WNC Conference is set for Oct. 19 – 21.
-Duck Donuts is still in the works for 182 Merrimon Ave. in North Asheville.
-BimBeriBon restaurant on Haywood Road in West Asheville and Polanco on North Market Street in downtown have both opened, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports.
-Asheville-based No Evil Foods is set to release their redesigned compostable packaging for its plant-based meats, according to a press release. Here’s more:
The new cartons will make it even easier for consumers to dispose of packaging in an environmentally-friendly way. The colorful and groundbreaking boxes will hit the store shelves in mid to late September.
The packaging for the three flagship products offered by No Evil Foods received a revamp to a more sustainable. eye-catching, and educational design. The co-founders of one of Asheville’s fastest growing young food companies believe that the most exciting feature of the new design is the focus on going green. “Our new design illustrates our commitment to environmental responsibility in a really fun way. They’re bold and edgy and unlike anything we’ve seen in the alternative-meat space before, all while showing off our personality as a brand,” says Co-Founder Sadrah Schadel.
The new box is fully compostable, even in a home composting system, a positive change from the harder to recycle butcher paper and sticker of the first-generation packaging.
The not-yet released packaging has been recognized as a Nexty Awards finalist.. Comrade Cluck, the company’s newly re-named No-Chicken variety, was chosen as a finalist in the Best New Packaging Innovation category and El Zapatista Chorizo was selected as a finalist in the Best New Meat Alternative or Dairy Alternative category. The NEXTY Awards, an awards program at Natural Products Expo East recognizes innovative leaders in the natural products industry. Winners in each category will be chosen and announced during the Expo East trade show, September 13-16.
The new packaging was designed by award-winning creative director, Michael Kravit. Kravit has worked for many years in natural foods and beverages, including serving as creative director of Honest Tea. He is particularly passionate about helping brands create exciting packaging that conveys a brand personality while encouraging sustainability.
Consumers will begin seeing the new packaging in stores in mid to late September. Most grocers carrying the brand should have the all new No Evil Foods packages by October.
The increased durability of the new packaging will encourage broader distribution and help bring No Evil Foods innovative Plant Meats to more consumers.