Original BBQ pulled Pork and Carolina Honey Boneless BBQ pork ribs, two products from iconic American brand Tony Ramo’s, are now available in Australia.
Country Cooked International is manufacturing the products under license in Melbourne and they are available nationwide through Costco.
“This is very exciting because it is genuine American BBQ,” Loui Marcocci, Director of University Food Group (the parent company of Country Cooked) told Food & Beverage Industry News. “You see pop-ups with American-style BBQs opening and little weekend market BBQ smokers, so this food is becoming a big trend in Australia.”
“These products that we are now making are the real deal. The real ingredients, the real recipes – genuine out of America.”
The products are available in bulk frozen bags. The Original BBQ pulled pork comes in 1.2kg bags, while the Carolina Honey Boneless BBQ pork ribs are available in 1kg bags.
According to Marcocci, if all goes to plan further down the line, the products will be available from independent supermarkets in smaller 0.5kg bags.
The licensing agreement, which covers Australia and New Zealand, means that these two countries are among the first outside of the US where these BBQ products have been released. They are currently also available in Malaysia and Mexico, with Europe soon to follow.
“We could not be more excited about launching our retail presence outside the USA with a company like Country Cooked International,” said Stephen K. Judge, President and CEO of Romacorp (the parent company of Tony Roma’s).
“Tony Roma’s has experienced strong restaurant growth internationally over the past few years, and the brand is poised for continued domestic and international growth with new restaurants and an expanded retail presence. This new licensing deal reinforces the strength of the Tony Roma’s brand and the trust consumers around the world have in our world-famous ribs and one-of-a-kind products.”
Marcocci said the release represents a step forward for Country Cooked.
“We’ve been going for over five years manufacturing for other retailers and manufacturers and this finally brings us out in the spotlight,” he said.
He said the company has been very successful in manufacturing high quality, high end meats and proteins which other manufacturers use in products such as finished meals and salads. “Now we’ll be able to shine in our own right rather than sit behind two or three other major brands,” he said.