Author Topic: Roma Pizza Sauce Base (Read 2409 times)

NepaBill · « **on:** July 12, 2019, 07:27:02 AM »

Trying to source Roma Pizza Sauce base.. Company won't give me the time of day.. This brand is only distributed to businesses, not sold to restaurant supply.. Performance Foodservice carries or owns the "Roma" brand.. The picture attached is not very good.. Here is the link to site that carries.. Any info on how to obtain would be greatly appreciated.. https://performancefoodservice.com/Explore-Products-and-Services/Our-Brands/Roma

ScottVinzant · « **Reply #1 on:** August 22, 2019, 01:16:43 PM »

Quote from: NepaBill on July 12, 2019, 07:27:02 AM

Trying to source Roma Pizza Sauce base.. Company won't give me the time of day.. Any info on how to obtain would be greatly appreciated.. https://performancefoodservice.com/Explore-Products-and-Services/Our-Brands/Roma

NepaBill, Try contacting this outfit. Way back in the day, TPC was a large distributor, it then morphed into PFG/Roma/etc.,etc.
Maybe they carry it in the C&C store, or can get it dropped off, if so, let me know and I will check it out.
TPC Cash & Carry

NepaBill · « **Reply #2 on:** August 22, 2019, 02:40:16 PM »

TY! I will give it a shot..

Zing · « **Reply #3 on:** September 17, 2019, 12:40:45 AM »

I find this discussion interesting because it explores the problem of trying to buy from what used to be smaller distributors that got bought up by PFG - Performance Food Group. As Bill noted, PFG doesn't want to do cash-and-carry, at least not in the Northeast and Middle Atlantic areas. For people trying to clone a food item using Roma products, this is a challenge. Back in 2014, I wrote about scoring some Roma private label cheese made by Leprino at a PFG-owned cash-and carry called IFH ChefSmart in Winston-Salem, NC. IFH was owned by PFG at that time. This story from the local newspaper indicates ChefSmart was closed down in August, 2018:

https://www.journalnow.com/business/chefsmart-will-close-aug/article_51a794c0-853d-11e8-bf2e-6f0c64acbf22.html

Note that the article indicates that Winston-Salem was the only location of a PFG-owned cash-and-carry.

Then ScottVinzant wrote about TPC Cash & Carry in Davenport, IA. I found this interesting, so did a desktop study. Web articles from 2002 indicate PFG acquired Thoms-Proestler Company of Rock Island, IL. From the link that Scott provided and a Youtube video made by Rock Island television station WHBF:

it seems PFG owns TPC Cash & Carry in Davenport directly. So the manager of the store in Winston-Salem was not correct in saying his was the only cash-and-carry that PFG owned.

It is my opinion that the only items you will be able to buy or order in Davenport are ones stocked in the Rock Island warehouse.

If I was in the market for a Roma item, my current plan of attack is to find a friendly restaurateur who buys from PFG. Since Roma seems to have been gobbled up by PFG, that means there are lots more possible establishments who, for a little payola, might be inclined to order something from PFG for you than when Roma only sold to the Italian places. It has to be cheaper than flying to Davenport. In my neck of the woods, Carroll County Foods used to do cash-and-carry. Now, that PFG branch in New Windsor, MD won't give me the time of day, as NepaBill so eloquently put it.

NepaBill · « **Reply #4 on:** September 17, 2019, 03:51:25 AM »

I did manage to obtain a single can of Roma from the Iowa location noted in here.. The gentlemen was awesome to deal with.. The only problem... The product was only $5.xx.. The shipping was ridiculous! Needless to say, my 3+ month pursuit made it a small price to pay. The product is very good... I would regularly buy this if sold locally.. In my area, we are very fortunate to have numerous cash and carry businesses that cater to Mom & Pop pizza businesses.. One such place even carried a "Roma" product easily spotted by the logo.. I asked if they carried the pizza sauce, but no such luck..

scott r · « **Reply #5 on:** September 17, 2019, 09:24:17 AM »

I tried a few of the Roma tomato products sold by PFG and realized that they were just rebranded Escalon products. Im not sure if they are all Escalon (I was mostly checking out whole peeled tomatoes or close to that) but If its a thick product that needs to be thinned down I have a strong suspicion that its an Escalon product called Bonta. There are a few different viscosities of Escalon pizza sauces. If you can describe the product I can help you figure out which Escalon product you have. The weight on the can can be a clue as most of them have slightly different weights and it will be the same for Roma or Escalon.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/bonta-10-can-pizza-sauce-with-basil-case/106990335.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwqW72frX5AIVAa_ICh1iZwOGEAQYASABEgLN5PD_BwE

NepaBill · « **Reply #6 on:** December 29, 2020, 07:28:31 AM »

I don't think the Roma brand is repackaged Escalon.. I've tried Bonta.. I don't want to offend anyone, but I find Bonta to be rather disgusting in my opinion.. The taste is reminiscent to a jar of Ragu found in the the supermarket.. Roma is rather unique compared to Stanislaus/Escalon/Gangi brands.. Gangi being my current favorite due to the fact I can't source Roma.. Roma is much too expensive to pay for the shipping.. Out of curiosity, I bit the bullet and paid the ridiculous shipping cost on a $5 can of Roma.. I think it cost me almost $20 to have a single can shipped from the middle of the country to Pennsylvania. LOL.. A fool and his money are soon parted. It was a very nice product to work with.. I wish I could get my hands on a case..

scott r · « **Reply #7 on:** December 29, 2020, 08:02:46 AM »

Bill, I did some tomato testing recently and for sure some of the Roma line is made by Escalon. I asked my rep and he confirmed it. The sauce base must not be Bonita (im assuming its not that thick), but it may still be theirs, they make quite a few viscosities. If you still have a can and can get a picture of the codes on top you can call Escalon and find out if it is one of their products.

NepaBill · « **Reply #8 on:** December 29, 2020, 08:05:25 AM »

Wow! That is hard to believe.. Especially since my taster detects zero similarity.. I wish you had some proof to show.. Too much "Fake News" these days. LOL..

scott r · « **Reply #9 on:** December 29, 2020, 08:11:02 AM »

I only know that some of the Roma tomato product line is Escalon, im not guaranteeing it is the sauce base too, but it is possible its theirs since I have opened two cans of tomatoes side by side that were identical, one Roma, and one Escalon, and then a confirmation from the rep and a subsequent look at the can codes. I learned many years ago when dealing with Italian tomatoes that its all about the code. I have found five different brands with the same ROA1 can code. Get me the code and lets try to figure this out. If its not Escalon we should be able to find some way to decipher the code, find out the plant, contact them and see who else they pack for.

Do you still have a can? If not I can ask my rep for a case or see if he can tell me the manufacturer.

Pete-zza · « **Reply #10 on:** December 29, 2020, 05:04:16 PM »

Quote from: NepaBill on December 29, 2020, 07:28:31 AM

I don't think the Roma brand is repackaged Escalon.. I've tried Bonta.. I don't want to offend anyone, but I find Bonta to be rather disgusting in my opinion.. The taste is reminiscent to a jar of Ragu found in the the supermarket.. Roma is rather unique compared to Stanislaus/Escalon/Gangi brands.. Gangi being my current favorite due to the fact I can't source Roma.. Roma is much too expensive to pay for the shipping.. Out of curiosity, I bit the bullet and paid the ridiculous shipping cost on a $5 can of Roma.. I think it cost me almost $20 to have a single can shipped from the middle of the country to Pennsylvania. LOL.. A fool and his money are soon parted. It was a very nice product to work with.. I wish I could get my hands on a case..

NepaBill,

Some time ago, when I was trying to reverse engineer and clone the Mellow Mushroom dough and pizza, I discovered that Mellow Mushroom, the pizza chain, used Bonta tomatoes in its sauce, along with 6-in-1 Crushed Tomatoes in Heavy Puree, both of which are Escalon products. I had a document, now removed from the Internet, that gave the ingredients for their pizza sauce, as I so noted in Reply 38 at:

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=58726.msg590839;topicseen#msg590839

Peter

RHawthorne · « **Reply #11 on:** December 29, 2020, 10:01:04 PM »

'Only distributed to businesses, not sold to restaurant supply'...

?? Where else would restaurants get their products from but restaurant supply companies? I've certainly never heard of any company selling their products directly to restaurants without any middle man. What exactly is this supposed to mean?

NepaBill · « **Reply #12 on:** January 07, 2021, 07:10:24 AM »

For Scott r..

scott r · « **Reply #13 on:** January 07, 2021, 10:31:08 AM »

Bill, guess what showed up at work! Its the case on the bottom. We will get this figured out.

scott r · « **Reply #14 on:** January 14, 2021, 05:03:35 PM »

Bill, we are making some headway! I was able to get the can code to Heinz who owns Escalon. They have confirmed that it is in fact an Escalon product. Unfortunately with the Heinz takeover the phone number has been removed from the Escalon website, and the phone number for Escalon listed on their google site doesnt work any more. The nice people at Heinz explained to me that when they bought the company they got rid of any way to directly communicate with Escalon, and now it all goes through Heinz.

Heinz did say that the Bonta Pizza Sauce with basil and the Bella Rosa pizza sauce with basil are listed as an equivalent product in their book to the Roma Pizza sauce code I gave them. I am waiting to hear back from Escalon themselves via email, as Heinz said they cant be 100% sure about that they are identical, but that the factory would know. I did notice that the can weights are identical on all three of those products, so I do believe that it is one of them.

It may even end up that all three of these products are the exact same thing. I have run into this many times before, and I dont understand it, but that just seems to be the way it goes with tomatoes (they like lots of names and looks for one product!). I guess it all comes down to marketing. I think that the reason you may have not liked bonta in the past is that there are a number of different bonta products, and some are much heavier/thicker, probably with less flavor or a different flavor.

I will keep you informed as I find out more.

NepaBill · « **Reply #15 on:** January 15, 2021, 03:32:03 AM »

Hi Scott.. Thanks for all the work and info.. While Heinz/Escalon may own Roma brand, the product is not equivalent to Bonta.. I've used both Roma and Bonta.. In my opinion Bonta is pretty bad.. No offense, but I hated it for my use.. I found a business that is willing to order extra Roma for me..

scott r · « **Reply #16 on:** January 15, 2021, 01:04:56 PM »

I believe you, but I just wanted to note that there are a number of very different products that say Bonta on them. Bonta is just the name of one of their lines. Its similar to the way Stanislaus has many products that say Saporito on them, ranging from a whole peeled tomato to a thick paste like product called saporito. Another interesting thing to note is that there are bontas and saporitos not listed on their websites that are available as well. One of my favorites is something called saporito "special pack" whole peeled tomatoes found on no websites. Im not sure why they do this.

NepaBill · « **Reply #17 on:** January 15, 2021, 01:10:34 PM »

Good to know... If I see one of the other products I may have to try it.. TY!

scott r · « **Reply #18 on:** January 15, 2021, 01:11:23 PM »

we will know soon the exact product (if it exists)

Chet · « **Reply #19 on:** January 17, 2021, 10:54:04 AM »

Quote from: NepaBill on January 15, 2021, 03:32:03 AM

Hi Scott.. Thanks for all the work and info.. While Heinz/Escalon may own Roma brand, the product is not equivalent to Bonta.. I've used both Roma and Bonta.. In my opinion Bonta is pretty bad.. No offense, but I hated it for my use.. I found a business that is willing to order extra Roma for me..

try jay at genoa

chet