Business Ticker Sugar Bob's sriracha takes home food honor; One Credit gets OK to expand in Vt., N.H.

Sugar Bob’s sriracha honored by Specialty Food Association

Sugar Bob’s Finest Kind, a small, family-owned business owner by Londonderry residents “Sugar Bob” Hausslein and Andrea Ogden, took home another win last month from the Specialty Food Association for its Smoked Maple Sriracha.

The winning hot sauce is a take on the spicy Thai condiment that uses Sugar Bob’s Smoked Maple Syrup along with a blend of peppers, garlic and apple cider vinegar. Sugar Bob’s Finest Kind runs its operations out the Vermont Farmers Food Center in Rutland, turning out smoked maple syrups and barbecue sauce as well as roasted nuts and bear repellent from the by-products of the hot sauce production process.

“The recipients of these awards are chosen by top industry professionals through totally blind taste testing,” says Hausslein. “When we won our first in 2016 for our Smoked Maple Syrup, we thought it was just beginner’s luck. Then came the second one for the Smoked Maple Barbecue Sauce in 2018 and we thought, ‘huh, maybe we’ve got something here,’ and now this third one really nails it for us: It affirms the validity of our Smoked Maple Syrup and its accompanying family of products as legitimate, ground-breaking, and deliciously innovative.”

The Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation Awards are considered a top honor in the specialty food industry, celebrating culinary excellence and creativity through recognizing the outstanding work of passionate and innovative food artisans nationally and internationally.

Sugar Bob’s VT Maple Sriracha was one of about 150 winners selected by a national panel of 60 top specialty food experts including chefs, journalists, recipe testers and specialty food buyers from over 3,000 entries across 39 categories.

One Credit Union OK’d to expand membership in Vermont, N.H.

One Credit Union, based in Springfield, has been approved to expand its field of membership to the entire State of Vermont and Cheshire, Coos and Grafton and Sullivan counties in New Hampshire, Brett Smith, president and CEO of One Credit Union, announced at the credit union’s 67^th annual meeting held in Montpelier on Saturday, April 27.

Both the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation and the New Hampshire Banking Department approved the expansion.

“With the required regulatory approvals in place, One CU is now able to meet its growing demand for membership. Throughout Vermont and our neighboring counties along the Connecticut River in New Hampshire, we will be able to service the financial needs of more people,” said Smith.

Chairman Jeff Taft noted the unprecedented demand for One CU services: “In my nearly 50 years of service to the board, it’s been a remarkable journey to see where we have come – and even more exciting to see where the Credit Union is going.”

At the meeting, Linda Moore, Ricky Padgett and Jeff Taft where unanimously re-elected to three year terms as directors. The board also announced Peter McDougall of Paul, Frank + Collins, and Cheyenne Holland of Silver Light Consulting will be joining the supervisory committee.