Showing posts with label events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label events. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Join Us for the Sam's Club Roadshow

Great news!  Sam's Club now carries FunniBonz Barbeque Sauces.  And to kick off our introduction into the market, we will be debuting our FunniBonz three-pack at the Sam's Road Show!  The Road Show is the Grand Opening Celebration of the first store of the upcoming Edison Town Center in Edison, NJ.

The brand new, nearly 150,000 square foot, energy efficient facility now takes over the spot that the Ford Motors plant previously occupied, at 939 Route 1 South. It even includes a gas station.

Be sure to come out to the celebration.  It runs from Thursday, September 9 to Sunday, September 12 and the shows last all day long.   Besides FunniBonz, there will be lots of other vendors sampling their wares as well. 

Stop in to shop, eat, find great deals, save some money and eat some more!

Click here to read the full press release!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Girls Gone Grillin'! (Date change!)

The FunniBonz/Elixir Fund "Girls Gone Grillin'!" event will now take place on Sunday, August 22, 2010 beginning at 3:00 pm in Bordentown, NJ.


During this interactive fundraising event, Jim will teach a class of up to 15 ladies the art of Mastering the Grill. The afternoon includes the lesson, food, drinks and a great evening out with friends. And best of all, you will be supporting a great cause as well!


To buy tickets, simply click here and use PayPal or you can send a check or money order* to:


Elixir Fund
PO Box 326
Princeton Jct., NJ 08550

*Please be sure to RSVP to (800) 494-9228, especially if you are sending a check. Space is limited!!!

All proceeds benefit The Elixir Fund. Click here to find out more about this wonderful organization!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Our Weekly Local Markets

You may already know that you can purchase FunniBonz All Natural products at the West Windsor Community Farmers' Market.  After all, that's where we are from and the hometown folks are sooooo supportive of our effort.  On top of the wonderful products from local farms such as Terhune and Stults, you can also pick up some of the world's best kettle corn from Jonathan Lea's Good Times Kettle Corn.  You can also taste some delicious and unusual gourmet short breads from Nicole and Jeff Bergman at Simply Nic's Specialty Foods.  And feel free to indulge at Karen and Bo Child's Village Bakery. Everything that they bake is made with a lot of love (and sometimes bacon!)  In fact, you can't go wrong anyway you turn! We are all there every Saturday morning thorough the October harvest.

Did you also know that you can also find FunniBonz at the Rutgers Garden's Farmers Market on Ryders Lane in New Brunswick?   This market is open on Fridays from 12 pm to 5 pm.  Here you can find products grown and produced locally, such as buffalo meat, cheese, vegetables, poultry, baked goods and, of course, All Natural barbeque sauces.  The Rutgers Garden Farmer's Market will be open until October 29th.

We also sample and sell our products every Thursday from 11 am to 2 pm at the Capital City Market in downtown Trenton.  The market is located on East State Street between Warren and Broad and features Imperial Life Products, cheesecake, cookies, pickles, breads and more.  The market runs through the end of September.

Please come out to any (or all) of these events to support all of the local farmers, bakers, producers and vendors that make these events possible.  The events are always so much fun - most times there is even live music - and there are lots of free samples so that you get the opportunity to try new things and experience some of the freshest ingredients available.  Eating well isn't as hard as you think! 

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Best In Show


Great news!!!  FunniBonz won the 2010 Award for Best Sauces at Food Network's Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival this weekend!  The award came as a complete surprise and we are so proud and excited to show it off!  It rounded out a wonderful weekend in Atlantic City!!  Thanks so much to all of the judges that voted for us!





  

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

What are you doing this weekend?


If you are looking for something fun and exciting to do this weekend, look no further than Atlantic City, NJ.  This weekend, FunniBonz will be participating in Food Network's Food and Wine Festival.

This was one of our favorite shows last year.  Everyone was lots of fun to meet and talk to and, of course, we love handing out samples of our sauces.

Our two newest flavors, Sweet and Tangy Mustard and Fiery Chipotle were not on the market at last year's show so we are also excited about introducing our newest flavors to the folks in the Atlantic City area.

One of our biggest thrills at the 2009 show was meeting Chef Ingrid Hoffman.  She was gracious and sweet and we hope she stops through again this year.


Other celebrity chefs booked for the event include Guy Fieri, Paula Deen, The Neely's, Marcus Samuelsson, Sunny Anderson and our friend Georges Perrier among many others.


To find out more details about the weekend's events or to purchase tickets, click here: http://www.acfoodandwine.com/

And be sure to stop by the FunniBonz booth and see what's new!  Can't wait to see you there!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Photos from Charity Weekend

Here are some photos from Melanie Ault's Breast Cancer Event:



And here are some shots from the Wilson 10-33 Bike A Thon:

 

The Farmer's Market is Open for the Season

The West Windsor Farmer's Market is open on Saturdays throughout the Summer and early Fall from 9 am to 1 pm - rain or shine! Come out and try our newest FunniBonz flavors (and don't worry, we still have your classic favorites as well).

You will even see some new vendors this year including our friend Catherine Perry from Catherine's Vegan Sweets who serves delicious treats that you would never guess are completely vegan and Hopewell's Nomad Pizza which will serve their tasty fare from a wood fired brick oven right on their truck.

Come out and enjoy fresh Jersey produce, hear local music and see local entertainment and even get a massage from Synchronicity Bodywork Holistic Massage Therapy. You will absolutely love this year's Farmer's Market.

See you on Saturday!



Wednesday, April 28, 2010

FunniBonz Charity Weekend

The weather is supposed to be great this weekend. Why not get out, share some sunshine with FunniBonz, and help out a charity all at the same time.  This Sunday, FunniBonz will be participating in two charity events. 

The first is Wilson’s 10-33 Benefit Ride and Picnic which will take place on Sunday, May 2, 2010 in Hillsborough Township, NJ.  The event will include an escorted motorcycle run ending with a day of fun, picnic style. The $21 registration fee for this event will cover the cost of the ride, food (with lots of FunniBonz BBQ sauce), beverages and entertainment throughout the day.  You can pay in advance right online with your PayPal account.

All of the money raised at this event will benefit the Wilson’s 10-33 Foundation Inc. (10-33 is the universal code in the Emergency Service for “Officer Needs Assistance”) The Foundation was created in 2009 to raise funds to aid Officer David Wilson, who was diagnosed in 2008 with Leukemia, with the financial burden caused by mounting medical expenses. Sadly, Officer Wilson succumbed to his illness in September of 2009. His wish was for the Wilson’s 10-33 Foundation was to continue to assist others in the Hillsborough Emergency Services community.

Here is the schedule of events:
  • 9:00 am: Arrival and Registration of Bikes
  • 11:15 am: Opening Ceremonies and Welcome
  • Noon: Bikes leave for ride
  • 1:00 pm: Food – Live Music – Vendors – Prizes
Please come out and help us support this worthy cause.   For more information, please visit their website at http://www.wilson1033foundation.org/.

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Our second event will be held to support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk.  It will also take place on Sunday, May 2 at St. Michael's Mutual Club at 406 Memorial Ave in Gibbstown, NJ.  

Event host Melanie Ault will be walking 60 miles in honor of her grandmother who won her battle with breast cancer.

This shopping event will run from 12 pm to 4 pm and will also include an auction for some wonderful items.  Please come out and show Melanie (and FunniBonz) some support! 

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Did You Miss the Demo?

Click HERE to see Jim Barbour of FunniBonz and Glenn Coleman of Glenn's Gourmet Goodies cooking live in their demo at the DC Metropolitan Luxury Home Show in March 2010.

Monday, March 29, 2010

A Weekend at National Harbor

This weekend FunniBonz participated in the DC Metroplitan Food, Libations and Luxury Home Show at the expansive Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor, MD.

Jordan King at Gaylord Hotel

There were so many vendors there including smooth jazz by Bertram McLeish, wines and spirits supplied by Legends, jewelry by Adal Jewelry Designs and Pale Fire Designs, art by J. Bertram White and Matthew Johnston, fashions from Let's Wine and Debra Murray Wearable Art, handbags by Bette's Bags and, of course, several gourmet tastes including FunniBonz Barbeque Sauce. 

Some of our favorites included the white BBQ Sauce varieties from Glenn's Goumet Goodies,


the amazingly versatile gourmet cheeses from Rising Sun Farms (the Key Lime is my absolute favorite!),












The delicious vinegars, sauces and oils from JD Gourmet,

the Southern-style barbeque sauces from Picky Vicki,
and the amazing upscale rice treats from Mallow Munchies.

Antre Lewis of Mallow Munchies with Lauryn King

Throughout the show, Jim joined up with Glenn Coleman of Glenn's Gourmet Goodies for some product demos.  On Saturday they made FunniBonz Sloppy Joe wraps served with Wasabi Bleu Cheese cole slaw and freshly-made SLAP chips.

Jim Barbour and Glenn Coleman

On Sunday they made Barbequed Shrimp with White BBQ Wasabi Grits.  Both dishes were absolutely delicious!

Our table had a non-stop line of customers all day long.  We sampled all-beef meatballs and our famous vegetarian FunniBonz Five Bean Medley. 


Jo Barbour, Darryl King and Lauryn King working the booth.

We even had some extra help when our cousin Sharon Phox popped in and threw on a shirt.  Within a few minutes she was selling like a pro!  Look for her at our next event as well.  She's HIRED!!!

Sharon Phox and Evonne Ellis

Cousins Mark, Theresa and Mark Jr. also came by to support us and enjoy the show.  There's really nothing like the love an support of family!


Theresa King, Darryl King, Mark King Jr. and Mark King Sr.

We made lots of new friends and FunniBonz fans this weekend.  In fact, we made so many fans that we ran out of samples and compltely sold out of sauce.  We are eternally grateful to the area residents of Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC and the surrounding areas that tasted our samples, watched the demos, and love and support us and our products!  Keep spreading the word about FunniBonz to your friends and familes.  And thank you!!!

Special thanks to Tammy, Linda and Sherry for their kindness and patience.  They are the Official FunniBonz Fans of the Week!

Sherry, Tammy and Linda
 
And we'd also like to thank Phyllis and Stacy Pesacov for putting on a GREAT show. 

Jo and Phyllis

See you at the next show!  Harford Live at Ripken Stadium beginning April 24th, 2010!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Demo Weekend to Kick Off Summer Season!

In spite of all of the excessive snow we've had on the East Coast and the soaking rains on the West Coast, Summer is always, inevitably, around the corner.  This weekend, as we Spring our clocks ahead, we are reminded that warmer weather is on the way.  And what better way to is there to celebrate the warmer weather than a barbeque on your back deck surrounded by friends and family?

FunniBonz is here to make sure that all of your barbeque events are a blast to attend and the talk of the town for weeks afterward. (But in a good way!  Not in a "could you believe Uncle Ulysses wore that ridiculous hairpiece?" kind of way!) 

Haven't tried FunniBonz yet?  We're giving you lots of opportunities this weekend.

Funnibonz will be at ShopRite in Marlton with free samples for all that happen by. 

We will also be at Corrado's in Clifton, NJ and at Whole Foods in Union, NJ.  Stop in, say "Hi" to the FunniBonz Street Team and even take a picture or two, if you'd like.  If you send them to us, we'll post them on our website!

So, ignore the impending rain!  Make a stand!  Demand your Summer right now and come to a FunniBonz demo near you!  Can't wait to see you there!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Winter Slow Food Market at Tre Piani

On Sunday, February 28, FunniBonz participated in the Slow Food of Central Jersey indoor Farmer's Market.  The event took place on the top two floors of the gorgeous Tre Piani Restaurant at Princeton's Forrestal Village Shopping mecca.  Live music from John Henry Goldman and his Straight Jazz Ensemble permeated the entire restaurant as local and sustainable vendors sampled their wares to passers-by. 

The Hopewell Valley Vineyards, from Pennington, NJ were a favorite of ours, namely due to the Pinot Grigio that they make.  Proceeds from sales of this wine are dedicated to Autism Research which is a cause that is very near and dear to our hearts.

Hopewell Valley's 2008 Pinot Grigio supports Autism Research


We also met Nicole and Jeff from Simply Nic's Specialty Foods.  They handmake wonderfully unusual and daringly original shortbread bars which include flavors such as Rosemary, Lavender and Cardamom-Candied Ginger.  With their delicate artisian flavors, these aren't cookies you'll want to share with the kiddies.  These are "curl up with a hot cup of tea and a good book" cookies. 

Look for this heart-shaped logo on packages in local places around Central Jersey including Princeton's Whole Earth Center and Lawrenceville's Cherry Grove Farm.   You can also purchase them online.

 
Nicole Wilkins Bergman and Jeff Bergman of Simply Nic's with Jo Barbour of FunniBonz.

To learn more, check out this great article about Nicole and her endeavor with other working moms in this U.S.1 article about Cooperative Kitchen.


We made another friend in Catherine Perry of Catherine's Vegan Sweets.  If the word "vegan" sounds scary to you, my fellow barbeque sauce lovers, don't be afraid.  Catherine's dairy-free sweets will make a believer out of you.   

Vegan Baker Catherine Perry with Jo Barbour of FunniBonz

Don't let the fact that she doesn't use and milk, butter or eggs in her baking fool you... or rather, DO let them fool you.  Because her confections are DELICIOUS!!  You will never miss a thing while you snack on a pumpkin spice cupcake or cranberry oatmeal nut whoopie pie. 

Catherine makes her confections to order so shoot on over to her website, call her at (609) 977-7329 or send her an email to talk about all of the possibilities of "quality" vegan baking!
We made a few other friends, too including Ian MacDonald of Cherry Grove Farm and some great folks from Valley Shepherd Creamery based in Long Valley, Morris County, NJ.   Both farms offer wonderful, farm fresh cheeses to please any palate.

And of course, Terhune Orchards topped their famous apple cider and donuts with mouthwateringly fresh guacamole and salsa.  Yum!

Jo and Jim spent the day sampling the sauces, including our new Sweet and Tangy Mustard sauce scheduled to launch this month.  Customers seemed to really like it and we are really excited about the upcoming new release.


All in all it was a great afternoon.  If you missed it, never fear.  Look for us, and many of these vendors, at the West Windsor Farmer's Market beginning in May.  Hope to see you there. 

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Your Top Five FunniBonz Show Questions Answered

We have the honor of meeting hundreds of people at every show - most of them are new to the FunniBonz experience and, of course, we end up hearing the same questions over and over again.  So, to satisfy those curiosities, here are the answers to the most often asked questions from our customers:

1)  How spicy is Spicy? 
This is our most often asked question when we offer samples of FunniBonz Spicy sauce to new potential customers.  And, of course, the answer is completely subjective.  If you like spicy food, it's perfect.  It starts out sweet, rises to a warm and tingly crescendo and then levels out without ever geting "too spicy." It's all about the flavor, not about the "burn." 

If you have a super sensitive tongue, you may want to stick with FunniBonz Original.  It still has some kick but has a sweet and mild aftertaste that your palate will just love.  And this is a favorite among the kids.  It's the best way we've found to get them to eat those pork chops! 

For those of you that like it when that Spicy kick lasts past the end of the meal, you will love the FunniBonz Fiery Chipotle.  It will be on store shelves by mid-March.  If you don't see it next to the regular FunniBonz in your local store, ask for it!



2)  How do you make your FunniBonz Five Bean Medley?
This is (almost literally) the World's Easiest Recipe.  Here's what you do:
At the store, select five cans of your favorite types of beans.  At past shows we have used black beans, pink beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, cannelini beans, kidney beans (light or dark), navy beans, lima beans, butter beans and even black eyed peas.

Drain all of the cans into a single collander and rinse the beans with cold water.  Put into a pot on your stove.  Add sauce to your taste and mix well.  Warm through.  Serve.

Of course, you can aways kick up your beans by adding in chopped onions, peppers, crumbled bacon or diced jalapenos or tomatoes and by letting the beans simmer slowly for a while, just to give the flavors time to blend. But that's completely up to you.  Really - feel free to make it your own!  You can't mess this one up!

And you can always click HERE to see our step-by-step demo.

How easy was that!?!  :-)

Special thanks to our friend Chef Diane Henderiks for the fancy dish name. :-)

3)  Where are you really from?
We know it's hard to believe that great barbeque sauce can come from New Jersey but it's the truth. 

Admittedly, Jim did go to college in Greensboro, North Carolina, however his inspiration for this creation came from grilling on the back deck with his Dad, business partner and brother in law right in West Windsor, New Jersey. 

So yes, we are really from New Jersey and we hope to eventually be the ones to put Jersey on the map for great barbeque sauce!


4)  How long have you been in business?
We are still a fledgling company.  We've been incorporated since June 2008 and have been on store shelves since January of 2009.  We are always grateful to Jack's Corner Market in East Brunswick for giving us a chance and to the folks at Pennington Quality Market for letting us do demo after demo in their awesome store and and all of the residents in Pennington, NJ for their unwavering support when we were just getting started.

5)  Where else can I get FunniBonz besides this show?
On the East Coast, FunniBonz can be found in almost 200 stores from Connectcut through the mid-Atlantic region and down to Georgia.  We are also in The GrapeVine Cottage in Zionsville, IN and Joe's Parkway Market in Bozeman, MT.   And if you are lucky enough to have tickets to the 2010 Olympics, you can pick up a jar or two at Market Meats in Vancouver, BC, Canada. 

To find the location nearest to you, simply log on to our Store Locator page, type in your zip code and the nearest location will be at the top of the list right along with a convient map of the area. 

We will be expanding to all of the Whole Foods locations in the Mid-Atlantic region by mid-March. We will also be adding a new store to our list of business partners.  You will be able to find FunniBonz Barbeque Sauces in all 92 of The Fresh Market locations by the end of March.


We hope we were able to answer some of your burning questions.  If you have any more, feel free to reply to this blog and we will try to get all of your questions answered.


See you at the next show!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Jim speaks at The University of Georgia

Jim gave a lecture to students at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business this morning about leaving the corporate world behind and becoming an entrepreneur. 

"They were very enthusiastic," Jim said about the future MBA's after his talk.  "They all made me feel very comfortable even though they asked some really compelling questions.  I am very grateful to Scott Lord for inviting me down."

Jim with Dr. James Verbrugge of the Terry College of Business

Asked what he plans to do next, Jim says he plans on concentrating on the launch of his two brand new sauces in March and to continue spreading the word about all of his sauces to stores and new venues.  

"I'm really excited about the new sauces," he says.  "I think people are really going to like them.  They went over really well at the Fancy Food Show last month so that's a really good sign.  And, of course, there's always more to come!"

Of course there is!

If you're interested in having Jim speak at your upcoming event, please send an email to eellis@funnibonz.com or call (877) 300-2669.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

FunniBonz, San Francisco and the Fancy Food Show


Back from our journey to the West Coast and boy did we have a great time at the Fancy Food Show.  We met a lot of new people, tasted lots of great food, and made some valuable connections. 

Our two newest flavors, Sweet & Tangy Mustard and Fiery Chipotle seemed to go over very well.  These two exciting new flavors will be available in mid-March.  If your store doesn't carry them, be sure to ask for them!



Retailers, distributors and vendors that visited our booth were able to take a complete flight through all four of our delicious tastes and decide which was best for their stores, their markets and their customers.


 
During most of the show we had large crowds gathered around Jim while he talked about his sauces, told his story and sampled the newest additions to the collection. 



During the three-day convention, we met several great vendors including Gaye from Marie Callender's Gourmet. (They had wonderful cornbread and corn pancakes)...



...and the guys from Green County Foods that sampled delicious flavored party cheeses such as Cranberry Orange, Chocolate Walnut Cheese Fudge and Triple Berry Almond as well as fresh and gorgeous petits fours...











They served their sweet cheeses in mini-wafer cones which we thought was genious!







Our next-booth-neighbor was Tim from Tennessee.  He brought his tasty Aussie Crunch gourmet popcorn (and his little hungry crocodile) to the show... (be sure to take note of the Sofi award on the right side of his table!)



One of our favorite tastes was at Sukhi's Gourmet Indian Food.  It was hard to believe that this food was pre-packaged.  Delicious and, if you like Indian food like we do, highly recommended...



One of the more social booths was at American Express.  Alhough they weren't sampling food, Leo, Marlon and Kris made the booth a fun and humorous stop during the show...



Some of our other favs included Josh at Island Treasures Gourmet (moist, flavorful rum cakes), Susan and her hubby at Tea Spree (tried the Vanilla Rooiboos in a silken tea infuser - best I've ever tasted), Ayala's Herbal Water (based right here in the Philly area - the Lemongrass Mint Vanilla was my fav.  Drink it ice cold!), Sahale snacks (gourmet candy coated nut blends.  Seriously... how much better can it get?), Sweet Sam's Banking Company (we're still drooling over that Lemon Frosted Pound Cake), Oskri Organics (their Coconut Bars are to die for!), the folks at PopChips (the Sea Salt and Vinegar flavor is really good but try the Original with a squirt of FunniBonz Spicy!  Wow!) and Peanut Flips (imagine PB Cap'n Crunch without all the sugar. Yum!)...






All-in-all, in spite of the rainstorms passing across the west, it ended up being a great show.  We had an awesome time meeting new people and experiencing the show on the West Coast for the first time.  We hope you were able to follow our tweets.  If not, be sure to sign up and become a FunniBonz follower so you don't miss anything in the future.  Better yet, sign up for our newletter on the left! 

We look forward to seeing you all again at the Jacob Javits Center in June.


(Thanks to the folks at the Jacuzzi Winery for the full family shot!)