Beating out 130 other new products, Mikee Shitake Teriyaki took home Best in Show honors at the Kosherfest 2007 New Products Competition.

Produced by Exotic Sauce Packaging in Farmingdale, N.Y., Mikee Shitake Teriyaki sauce won in the Best New Savory Condiment category.

 The entries were judged on newness, quality, taste, salability, and retail price point.

Winning products in 15 categories were featured in the New Product Showcase at Kosherfest, Nov. 11-12 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here.

"The judging panel was very impressed by the Mikee product in terms of its taste, high quality and marketability," said Brian Randall, vice president, Diversified Business Communications, the Portland, Maine-based show organizer, in a prepared statement. Gourmet New was unable to reach Exotic Sauce Packaging before press time.

In the Best New Packaging/ Design category, the Exceptional Brownie, created by the Exceptional Dessert, based here, took home top honors for its logo. Claire Sauerhoff, owner, described the logo as "funky and upbeat."

Available in eight flavors and in three-inch dessert and two-inch bite sizes, the Exceptional Brownie is shrink-wrapped.

Sauerhoff didn't set out to create a brownie empire; at least not originally. After prodding from family and friends, she entered her brownie (which is now marketed as the Double Chocolate Brownie) in the People's Choice awards at the Best Darn Brownie Contest at COPIA, the Center for Food, Wine and the Arts, in Napa, Calif., in 2005. She won.

"I had absolutely no thought of changing careers ... and in fact, I didn't care about winning until I received a call that I was one of the semifinalists," said Sauerhoff. "All of a sudden, I had an attitude change and said 'Now I have to win.'"

While she had perfected an award-winning recipe, she knew her packaging would need to entice shoppers.

"I previously worked in marketing communications, so I know how important a logo is," Sauerhoff said. "I put time and effort into the design."

The awards' only double winner was Oxygen Imports of Carteret, N.J. Its Strawberry Vanilla Fruit Fusion won in the Best New Fine Foods from Israel category and Tishbi Estate Red Wine Preserves won for Best New Jam, Preserve or Spread.

* Best New Cheese or Dairy: Kids Pizza Pouches, Quality Frozen Foods, Brooklyn, N.Y.;

* Best New Baked Goods, Breads, Grains or Cereal: Bagle-O's, Kedem/Bagle-O's, Bayonne, N.J.;

* Best New Dessert, Candies, Cookies, or Crackers: Marzipan Sushi, Shabtai Gourmet, Woodmere, N.Y.;

* Best New Snack Food: Zesty Veggie Latke Crisps, Thou Shall Snack, Seattle,;

* Best New Beverage: Totally Light Energy Rush Berry, 4C Food Corp, Brooklyn, N.Y.;

* Best New Pasta, Rice, Bean or Soup: Instant Noodles, D&S Distributing, Los Angeles,;

* Best New Kosher Organic Product: Elite Naturel Honeydew Melon Juice, Elite Naturel/Organic Juice USA, Bohemia, N.Y.;

* Best New Foodservice Product: Shofar So Good Apron, Davida Aprons & Logo Programs, Huntington Park, Calif.;

* Best New Passover Product: Ten Plagues in Pyramid Box, Shulsinger Judaica, Brooklyn, N.Y.;

* Best New Wine, Beer or Spirit: Rimon Pomegrante Dessert Wine - 2005, Rimon Winery (Cannonball Wine Co.), Menlo Park, Calif.;

* Best Meats, Seafood or Poultry: Beef Jerky, R.J.'s Kosher Beef Jerky, Los Angeles.

Judges included, Joseph Plueger, DPI-Midwest, Arlington Heights, Ill.; Marty Stein, Tree of Life, Albany, N.Y.; Yakov Yarmove, Super Val U, Melrose Park, Ill.; and Nancy Dumais, Hannaford Supermarkets, Scarborough, Maine.

Diversified Business Communications is the co-producer of Cultural Food Expo New York, the umbrella brand name for the three tradeshows that showcase Hispanic, Kosher and Asian foods.