A woman stopped by the Red Hawk Premium Peppers stand in the PA Marketplace at the 98th Pennsylvania Farm Show for a sample of one of Dan Lowenstein's hot sauces.
She was cautious about the hit of heat but licked a sample off of a small plastic spoon.
“It doesn't really start out that hot. It kind of just builds,” Lowenstein told her.
His stand is stocked with jars and bottles of condiments such as Fiery Pineapple Spread, Wildfire Hot Sauce and Strawberry Scorpion Sting. The sauces, spreads and rubs are made in Pennsylvania and the peppers used in the products are grown in Pennsylvania.
To guide shoppers, Red Hawk's bottles are adorned with a small PA Preferred sticker.
In addition, a banner at Red Hawk's stand includes the familiar PA Preferred logo with a keystone and a bright yellow checkmark with the words “Made in PA. It makes a difference.”
"It's keeping the Commonwealth healthy and keeping our businesses going," Lowenstein said.
Certainly, the PA Preferred logo is recognizable.
Shoppers see it in the supermarkets and at their favorite farmers markets. Visitors at the 8-day Farm Show have seen the bright green banners and signs throughout the Farm Show Complex & Expo Center advertising PA Preferred.
The signs hang in the food court, in hallways, near escalators and prominently on the PA Preferred Culinary Connection stage in the Main Hall.
But it is in the PA Marketplace where visitors see and taste the culinary cross-section the state has to offer.
PA Preferred companies such as Torchbearer Sauces in Mechanicsburg, LeRaysville Cheese Factory in LeRaysville and Herlocher's Dipping Mustard from State College set up booths for the week.
Free food samples are the driving force for the sometimes elbow-to-elbow crowds but farm show visitors also come to purchase venison jerky, candies, drink mixes, mustards and bologna to take home.
The PA Preferred program was created by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture as a way to brand agricultural products grown or made in the state. The idea of the program is to help consumers identify products from their home state.
Members include a mix of retailers as well as independent companies, farm markets, brewers and wineries.
Three years ago, the PA Preferred program received a boost when Gov. Tom Corbett signed a bill requiring the agriculture department to trademark the logo and register companies. Today about 600 independent companies are registered as PA Preferred.
Registration is free but companies must meet certain criteria to be included in the program.
“It's a recognizable brand. It's a Pennsylvania company, a Pennsylvania product. They know it's grown or raised in Pennsylvania which makes a difference,” said Lela Reichart, director of marketing for the department of agriculture's marketing bureau.
But the question is do shoppers wheeling their carts through grocery stores pay attention to the label? Do consumers specifically go out of their way to look for PA Preferred products? The answer depends largely on who you ask.
“If I go to a store and I see it I will purchase it but I won't drive 20 miles out of my way to purchase it,” said Kirby Lentz of Lower Paxton Twp.
Others like Hannah Kerr of Carlisle said PA Preferred “It's always fresher. I know it hasn't been trucked across the country.”
Certainly the national push to buy-local helps. Chefs are turning to locally sourced foods, whether it be apples grown at the local orchard or pasta made by a Pittsburgh company.
“The local trend is so hot right now – local food, local economy, local products,” Reichart said.
For companies in the PA Marketplace such as Shaffer Venison Farms in Herndon being part of the PA Preferred program is an invaluable marketing tool that gives the company exposure.
Owner Darrell Shaffer said the PA Preferred program helps companies get picked up by retailers in the state.
Shaffer smoked venison products such as its jerky are now sold in Weis Markets, Giant Food Stores, Redner's Markets and several convenience stores throughout the state, he said. In addition, Shaffer jerky also is available for sale in 35 states and parts of Canada.
"We wouldn't be as large as we are," Shaffer said.
For Lowenstein, being a part of the PA Preferred program is a networking tool that provides resources and exposure via food shows. But in the long run, he said, it's more about giving consumers what they want.
"Have we seen more business because of it? Maybe so. But it's more people are apt to buy a Pennsylvania product opposed to a product they can go anywhere to buy," he said.
