Two SKUs from Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe, the Chambersburg, Pennsylvania-based family baker, have received the Superior Taste Award from the International Taste Institute, the Brussels-based sensory-evaluation body whose jury is composed exclusively of professional chefs and sommeliers. The awarded products — the Sandwich Potato Roll and the 4 Inch Potato Roll — were evaluated alongside entries from around the world under a structured blind-tasting protocol.
The Methodology
The International Taste Institute assesses products across criteria including first impression, visual appeal, aroma, taste, texture, and finish. Crucially, participants receive detailed sensory feedback whether or not they earn the award, giving brands actionable data in addition to any designation. Laurent van Wassenhove, Managing Director of the International Taste Institute, noted that jury members bring the culinary expertise to not only assess how good a product tastes, but also explain why — a distinction from standard consumer-panel testing.
For Martin's, whose portfolio centers on rolls and breads made with non-GMO high-protein wheat flour, real cane sugar, butter, and non-fat milk — and formulated without high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, or artificial sweeteners — the award provides third-party validation of an ingredient positioning that has been central to the brand's retail and foodservice messaging for decades.
Foodservice Implications
The recognition carries particular weight on the foodservice side of the business, where operators evaluating bun specifications increasingly face pressure to justify premium SKU costs to procurement teams. An independent taste credential from a credentialed culinary jury can accelerate that conversation. Martin's distributes its foodservice range through distribution networks globally, with a dedicated channel site at foodservice.potatorolls.com.
The company operates two commercial bakeries — its original Pennsylvania plant and a second facility in Valdosta, Georgia — and has expanded steadily from a home-garage operation founded in the 1950s. Both production sites are peanut- and tree-nut free, a spec that has become a meaningful differentiator as allergen-management requirements tighten across school, healthcare, and contract-dining segments.
What's Next
Martin's has not disclosed whether additional SKUs will be submitted for future International Taste Institute evaluation cycles. For operators and retail buyers, the dual-product recognition reinforces the brand's premium-ingredient narrative at a moment when input-cost pressures have pushed many competing bakers toward reformulation. Brands that can demonstrate taste performance through credentialed third-party evaluation are better positioned to defend shelf placement and menu specification against lower-cost private-label alternatives, a dynamic covered extensively by Food & Beverage Magazine in its ongoing coverage of ingredient-quality trends across center-store and perimeter categories.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
