It’s time to perfect the pickles, simplify the salsa, finalize the flourishes in that artisanal apple-crumb shake you’ve been pawning off on your friends for months now. It’s time for The Next Big Small Brand, the contest where edible dreams become fully-marketed, branded realities. In its second year, the culinary contest is looking for a new crop of home chefs, bakers, mixologists and other culinary creators to submit their food product or concept for a chance to win a full design and marketing campaign, dedicated PR and priceless exposure to the tasting-public. Last year, these guys became a house-hold name. Do you have the right stuff? (more…)

Back in November, we wrote about Rooster Design Group’s “Next BIG Small Brand” contest to find the next big artisanal food, drink or other culinary concept. In all, 140 aproned creators from the tri-state area and beyond  submitted foods, drinks and even pet treats for a chance to win a full-force branding campaign from the SOHO-based design group. The winner was announced Tuesday, and it’s the Brooklyn-based, future brewing empire, Kombucha Brooklyn

Kombucha, for the uninitiated, is a Chinese fermented tea that’s been used medicinally for 2,000 years. The drink’s a mixture of green or black tea, sugar and a culture of live bacteria and yeast. These days you can find it under many labels: Wonder Drink, Carpe Diem, Yogi Tea (regular, decaf or with triple Echinacea) and, of course, Kombucha Brooklyn. (more…)