4 Idaho companies are in the running for Good Foods Awards. Who are they?
Looking to freshen up your fridge with good food? Idaho has four options to add to your grocery list.
On Jan. 29, the Good Foods Foundation announced the 234 finalists of its Good Foods Awards — representing businesses in 40 states.
Four Idaho businesses were named as finalists, including Boise companies Idaho Kombucha Co., ERTH Beverage Co. and Free Spirits Beverage Company.
Brush Creek Creamery in Deary was also recognized as a finalist.
What are the Good Foods Awards?
The Good Foods Foundation hosts an annual tasting and sourcing competition to recognize “exceptional food crafters who top the charts in a blind tasting and meet the environmental and social responsibility standards,” the organization said on its website.
Winners of the Good Foods Awards are recognized as “driving towards tasty, authentic and responsible food in order to humanize and reform our American food culture,” according to the foundation.
“The Good Foods Foundation exists to celebrate, connect, empower and leverage the passionate and engaged, yet often overlooked, players in the food system,” said the foundation.
What is Brush Creek Creamery in Deary?
Brush Creek Creamery specializes in artisan cheeses and its marinated labneh placed as a finalist in the cheese category. Brush Creek is the only food category nominee from Idaho in 2026.
“To create this award-winning Mediterranean soft cheese, we make yogurt with pasteurized cows milk and drain it through cheesecloth until it is thick,” the creamery said on its website.
The cheese is then flavored with “fresh garlic, parsley and salt” and shaped into balls before it’s placed into olive oil seasoned with peppercorns.
According to the creamery, the labneh is “delicious on pita bread and crackers or as a vegetable dip.”
What does Idaho Kombucha Co. make in Boise?
Idaho Kombucha Co. was one of only two companies recognized for kombucha in the drinks category.
“Idaho Kombucha is passionate about crafting traditionally fermented, certified organic kombucha that reflects the vibrancy of the Pacific Northwest,” Terri Landa, co-founder of Idaho Kombucha Co., told the Idaho Statesman via email.
Good Foods recognized the company’s “all-time favorite” Pear Party drink, which combines “succulent organic pears with ginger, star anise and helichrysum flower,” according to Landa.
Pear Party “is delicate and nuanced, whether enjoyed straight from the can or served on the rocks with a slice of pear as a non-alcoholic cocktail,” she told the Statesman.
The other kombucha brewer named as a finalist for the Good Food Awards was Stargazer Kombucha in New Mexico.
ERTH Beverage Co. recognized for 2 drinks
ERTH Beverage Co. had two finalists in the Good Food Awards’ drink category: the Lemon Turmeric switchel and the Green Apple Fennel switchel.
Sam Herrera, co-founder of ERTH Beverage Co., told the Statesman in an email that switchels were the Gatorade of the 1700s.
“Historically it was apple cider vinegar, ginger and typically sorghum or molasses as a sweetener,” she said.
Herrera said that ERTH’s recipe uses Idaho-sourced apple cider vinegar and honey combined with housemade cold pressed juice or steeped botanicals.
Each switchel gets topped with “a little Utah pink salt to bump up the minerals,” Herrera said.
Herrera said the “bright and earthy” Lemon Turmeric switchel is her favorite.
“These flavors feel quintessential to me and like they belong together,” she said.
The inspiration behind ERTH’s Green Apple Fennel switchel “was in our backyard,” said Herrera. “We have a green apple tree that is surrounded by a massive bed of bronze fennel.”
She told the Statesman that company co-founder Eric Herrera spontaneously tried a bite of both and “the rest is history.”
The Green Apple Fennel switchel “is crisp and bold with a sweet and herbal fennel finish,” Sam Herrara said.
Free Spirits Beverage Company makes alcohol-free cocktails
Another Idaho-based finalist that had two products recognized by the Good Food Awards was Free Spirits Beverage Company.
“It’s awesome, like our persistence and hard work is paying off,” co-founder Melissa Nodzu told the Statesman. “We’re getting recognized and that’s pretty stinking amazing.”
According to Nodzu, Free Spirits specializes “in shrub-based alcohol-free cocktails.”
She told the Statesman that shrubs are “a drinking vinegar.”
Free Spirits uses locally sourced ingredients that contain natural preservatives, so each bottle is shelf and fridge stable, according to Nodzu.
“We’re super loyal to our region and to our food system,” she said. “We work really hard to represent as many people as we can beyond ourselves in our bottles.”
Two of Free Spirit’s cocktails were awarded as finalists in the elixir category: the Rose Cosmo and the Luke Peary.
“Even though rose is in the name, the flavor profile is mulled cranberry with cardamoms,” co-founder Briana Beford about the Rose Cosmo. “It’s actually meant to be drank exactly like a cosmopolitan.”
Beford said the Rose Cosmo can be mixed with gin or vodka. If you prefer a spritzer, she added, “You could actually just add some seltzer and some fresh lime juice.”
Free Spirits’ other finalist, Luke Peary, has a bit more spice to it, according to Beford.
Luke Peary’s flavor comes from comice pears “that are smoked with their own hardwood” then “combined with guajillo pepper and pumpkin seed and some mulled spices,” Bedford said, specifically “cinnamon, chocolate, currant and clove.”
When will winners be announced?
Winners for the Good Food Awards will be announced no later than Sunday, Jun. 28, organizers said.
