Three clients. One holiday table.
Samples, hi-res photography, prices and tested recipes for three clients — the pan it roasts in, the glaze that goes on it, the oil that finishes it. Everything below is cleared for editorial use. Take what you need.
Tamarind Heads
A BBQ sauce built on raw tamarind instead of tomato, which makes it a glaze rather than a slather. It caramelizes onto a ham or turkey instead of sitting on top of it.
Southern Living named Tamarind Heads its go-to sauce for summer, for grilled salmon, chicken wings, and basting a roast chicken. Syndicated to AOL and MSN.
Read the piece →The lineup
Original Bold
sofi Gold winnerThe one that started it all. Tart, tangy, smoky and sweet with just enough heat. The gateway for traditional BBQ lovers.
Equator Nectar
Turn it upA complex spicy-sweet blend that delivers serious heat without sacrificing depth. Built for heat seekers.
Spiced Honey
New · featured in Southern LivingThe newest and mildest. Subtle warm sweetness on the same clean tamarind base. The gateway for anyone new to tamarind.
Fast facts
| SKUs | Original Bold · Equator Nectar · Spiced Honey |
| Size | 14 oz (336 g) |
| Price | $12.99 · duo packs $23.38 |
| Made of | Six ingredients: tamarind, sesame, chili powder, brown sugar, salt, spices. Vegan, gluten-free, no preservatives or corn syrup. Contains sesame. |
| In stores | The Fresh Market nationwide Central Market Texas-wide Fairway NYC DeCicco & Sons Upstate NY A growing number of independent grocers nationwide |
| Online | tamarindheads.com |
| Founded | Launched June 2024 after five years of R&D. Began as an MBA project at Dartmouth. |
| Ownership | Minority, women and veteran-owned |
| Social |
@tamarindheads Share recipes with #TamarindHeads and #TasteTheFutureOfBBQ |
Why it works for holiday
- Tamarind caramelizes into a glaze on a ham or turkey rather than sitting on top of it.
- Three heat levels, so a roundup can pick a lane instead of hedging.
- Holds up on roasted root vegetables, which covers the vegetarian side of the table.
- Under $13 and shelf-stable for two years, so it works as a host or stocking gift.
The people
A visionary entrepreneur born in India, Sashi brings deep cultural knowledge of tamarind's significance in South Asian cuisine to Tamarind Heads. His childhood memories of watching his mother serve food at local farmer's markets directly influenced the company's commitment to authentic flavors and cultural appreciation.
A Chinese-American entrepreneur with family roots in Malaysia, Brittney champions Tamarind Heads' commitment to clean-label ingredients and ethical sourcing. Her passion for connecting modern American consumers with authentic Asian flavors drives the company's innovative approach to traditional ingredients.
With over 30 years of experience in the food industry, Jim's expertise in production, quality control, and flavor profiles has been instrumental in perfecting the Tamarind Heads BBQ Sauce.
Credentials
- 2024sofi™ Gold Award, Best BBQ Sauce. Specialty Food Association. A three-person startup beat national brands in blind judging by chefs and industry experts.
- 2024McCormick & Co. Flavor of the Year: tamarind. The world's largest spice company named the hero ingredient, citing its tang, versatility and depth. See the announcement.
- 2026Southern Living named it the one barbecue sauce their editor would use all summer. Syndicated to AOL and MSN.
- 2026The Kitchn named it one of the eight best things they tasted at the Summer Fancy Food Show. AOL covered the sofi win separately.
- 2025Martha Stewart Fancy Food trends · CNET 8 best of 17 tested · Food Republic on non-tomato BBQ · Simply Recipes · Chowhound · The Food Institute
Assets — direct download
Tested holiday recipes
Some of these are written up and ready to send today. Others are concepts we will build out for you. Either way, tell us your angle and we will develop the recipe around it: your heat level, your dietary constraints, your holiday. The co-founders and chef Jim Giberson are glad to collaborate directly on something original to your piece.
For broadcast
Recent morning show rounds:
About Tamarind Heads
Tamarind Heads brings a bold, better-for-you spin to BBQ. Inspired by global kitchens and powered by tamarind, this award-winning brand crafts sauces that are clean, vibrant, and full of flavor. It's BBQ for modern eaters, where tradition meets creativity, and taste never takes a back seat to quality.
Ciao! Sicily
From volcanic soil to your table. Organic, non-blended Sicilian extra virgin olive oil from groves near Mount Etna, some trees over 250 years old. Bringing taste and joy to your food.
The lineup & prices
Finishing Oil
Truffle
Chili
Basil
Rosemary| Finishing Oil flagship | $22.99 · 500ml / 16.9 fl oz · squeezable recyclable PET |
| Infused, each | $12.99 · 100ml and 250ml aluminum cans · truffle, chili, basil, rosemary |
| Infused Gift Pack gift pick | $39.99 · four 100ml cans, one of each infusion · truffle, chili, basil and rosemary · sold as a gift set |
| Cooking Oil | $18.99 · 750ml / 25.4 fl oz · squeezable recyclable PET |
| Kitchen Set gift pick | $37.99 · the finishing oil and the cooking oil together · the everyday-cook version of the gift |
| Selezione | $45.99 · 100% organic single Giulia olive, early harvest, first cold pressed, hand-picked · 600+ mg/kg polyphenols |
| Merch | Apron $8.99 · trucker hat $9.99 · tees $15.99 · hoodie and sweatshirt $19.99 |
Why it works for holiday
- Two gift sets, already boxed. The Infused Gift Pack at $39.99 is four 100ml cans, one of each infusion, and the Kitchen Set at $37.99 pairs the finishing and cooking oils. Both sit exactly where foodie gift guides cluster, and neither needs a guide to assemble a bundle for us.
- The price ladder is complete. $12.99 single, $37.99 and $39.99 sets, $45.99 splurge. Most guides need all four slots and rarely fill them from one brand.
- A finishing oil gets used at the table, not stored in a cabinet. That's what makes it a gift and not a pantry staple.
- Single-origin and non-blended, the real point of difference in a category full of supermarket blends.
Best uses
Finishing pasta · drizzling over pizza · bread dipping · salad dressings · finishing soups and vegetables. Anywhere pure olive oil flavor should shine. This is not a background ingredient.
Fast facts
| Where to buy | Online only, at ciao-sicily.com. Not yet in retail. Target placement is Whole Foods, Sprouts, Fresh Market and independent specialty grocers. |
| Launched | October 2023. Grew from 200 liters shared among friends to nationwide DTC. |
| Sourcing | Non-blended, single-origin. Volcanic soil, Mount Etna region. |
| Certifications | Organic and kosher |
| US operations | Cornelius, North Carolina. Bottling, labeling and sealing in-house. |
| Social |
@getciaonow |
The story an editor can actually use
Americans consume about 1 liter of olive oil per person per year. Italy is 18. Greece is 21. The brand's own framing is that the US market isn't saturated, it's undereducated, and most Americans have simply never tasted real extra virgin olive oil.
Milton Vavassori started by hand-bottling oil from his family's grove near Mount Etna and giving a few hundred liters to friends. The reaction was always the same question: where can I buy this. That's the origin, and it's the piece worth pitching.
“Olive oil should taste alive. My goal is simple: bring Americans the real flavor of Sicily, exactly as it's meant to be experienced.”Milton Vavassori, co-founder
“This isn't just about selling olive oil. It's about changing perception and creating a category people finally care about.”Pedro Sega, co-founder
“Great design respects culture. Our role is to honor Sicily visually, without turning it into a cliché.”Daniel Manzi, creative director
The people
Sourcing and operations. His family's olive grove near Mount Etna is where Ciao! began, hand-bottled and shared with friends until the same question kept coming back: where can I buy this. Family heritage traces to Bergamo in northern Italy.
Brand, marketing and partnerships. Over 20 years in growth, positioning and innovation across multinational brands, now building a category most American shoppers have never really tasted.
The Italian-American cook behind one of the largest food followings on the internet. Over 13 million on TikTok, more than 8 million on YouTube, 25 million-plus across platforms. Author of Italian/American: It's a QCP Cookbook, Betch! (DK / Penguin Random House, 2024) and host of The Angry New Jersey Cooking Show. Paper Magazine called him the Pasta King.
A North Carolina story as much as a Sicilian one: Gianluca grew up in his family's Italian restaurants in Charlotte, and Ciao's US bottling facility is twenty minutes up the road in Cornelius. Available for interviews on the brand, the sourcing, or Italian-American cooking generally.
Trained in Rome and Madrid, with over 50 international awards. Leads the brand's creative direction and storytelling.
Assets — direct download
Recipes on file
- Sicilian Eggplant Caponata
- Focaccia
- Classic Basil Pesto
- Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
- Orange & Rosemary Olive Oil Cake
- Gorgonzola Olive Oil Spread
- Marinated Peppers
Some of these are written up and ready to send today. Others are concepts we will build out for you. Tell us the angle and we will develop the recipe around it.
About CIAO!
CIAO! is a single-origin, organic extra virgin olive oil brand from Sicily, founded by Milton Vavassori. Every bottle traces to a single harvest from 250-year-old groves on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna. The full portfolio includes base extra virgin, finishing oils, infused varieties, and the Selezione premium reserve. CIAO! is available at ciao-sicily.com.
Wyda Packaging
Recyclable aluminum foil and pans, made in Charlotte. The part of the holiday meal nobody photographs and everybody needs — turkey tents, make-ahead sides, transport, leftovers.
Recipes on file
Also written up and available on request: Hanukkah brisket and latkes, Kwanzaa jollof rice packets, sweet potato casserole, Caribbean jerk chicken and Southern collard greens — each paired to a specific product and size. If your angle needs something we have not built yet, tell us and we will develop the recipe around it.
Holiday Aluminum Pan Kit 16-piece set
One kit for the holiday spread: oval and deep roasters, full-size and half-size pans, pie pans, and a 37.5 sq ft roll of heavy-duty foil. Prep ahead, cook and serve in the same pan, then send the leftovers home. Oven, freezer and grill safe, with disposable, recyclable aluminum pans.
Sold and shipped by Wyda Packaging. Walmart price checked October 12, 2026; subject to change.
Shop the holiday kit at WalmartStart here — three SKUs that carry the holiday story
Heavy Duty Foil, 150 sq ft
$12.9950 yards by 12 inches, with a built-in cutter. Tents a whole bird and still has plenty left for leftovers. Best-reviewed product in the range at 4.2 stars across 57 ratings, and the cheapest per square foot at nine cents.
Oval Roaster Pan
from $15.9917.4 × 13.7 × 3.1 inches, sold in tens. Holds a 12 to 15 lb turkey or a prime rib, collects the drippings for gravy, and goes in the recycling instead of the sink.
Heavy Duty Wide Foil
$12.4937.5 sq ft, extra-wide at 18 inches, three rolls to a pack. The width is the entire point — large roasts, wide trays, foil packets that actually seal.
Foil — the lineup & prices
| Heavy Duty 150 sq ft best seller | $12.99 · 50 yd × 12 in · $0.09 per sq ft |
| Everyday 225 sq ft | $12.99 · 75 yd × 12 in · best value |
| Heavy Duty 37.5 sq ft, wide | $12.49 three-pack · $38.49 ten-pack · 18 in wide |
| Everyday 75 sq ft | $8.15 |
| Everyday 25 sq ft | $8.99 three-pack · $12.99 six-pack |
| Heavy Duty 50 sq ft out of stock | Currently unavailable. Ask us before building around it. |
Foil prices are single-unit consumer pricing on Amazon. wydapack.com carries the same rolls in five, ten and sixteen-packs at a lower per-unit price.
Pans — the lineup & prices
| Oval Roaster | from $15.99 · 17.4 × 13.7 × 3.1 in · turkey, ham, prime rib |
| Full Size | from $23.99 · 20.4 × 13 × 2.8 in · brisket, casseroles, feeding a crowd |
| Half Size / lasagna | from $12.99 · 13 × 10.1 × 2.6 in · sides, gift packaging, transport |
| Cookie sheet | $17.99 · half sheet, 16 × 11 in |
| Pie pan | $14.99 · 9 in · leak-resistant |
| Square cake pan with lid | $14.99 · bake and take |
Pan prices are ten-packs at wydapack.com. The roaster and half-size pans are also on Amazon at a higher single-pack price.
Why it works for holiday
- Every reader needs it. It is the only thing on this page that applies no matter what someone is cooking or which holiday they keep.
- Recyclable aluminum survives fact-checking, which most holiday "green hosting" copy does not.
- Make-ahead and transport is the real holiday pain point. Cook in the pan, refrigerate in the pan, reheat in the pan, send the leftovers home in the pan.
- Made in Charlotte at scale. That is a domestic manufacturing story as much as a kitchen one, and it is currently in the news.
Best uses
Turkey tents and foil-wrapped roasting · make-ahead sides stored and reheated in one pan · pie shields · casserole transport · cookie and candy sheet lining · gift platters · leftovers.
Fast facts
| Where to buy | Amazon for single rolls, wydapack.com for pans and bulk. Walmart for the 16-piece holiday kit. Wyda also manufactures for private label. |
| Made in | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Headquarters | Sorocaba, Brazil. Family-owned, 35 years. |
| Global operations | South America, Africa and the United States |
| Material | 100% recyclable aluminum. Built-in cutter, no metal blade. Oven, grill and freezer safe. |
| Name | Wyda is pronounced VEE-dah — vida, life in Portuguese |
| Social |
@wyda_usa |
Inside the Charlotte plant
Wyda's US plant sits in an industrial park in north Charlotte and produces the foil and trays sold under both the Wyda name and private label. Facility exteriors, an aerial, and an operations composite are all cleared for editorial use and linked below. Plant tours and on-site interviews can be arranged.
The people
Twenty-plus years in international business development, and the executive who led Wyda's US expansion — market research, strategic planning and execution. Fluent in English and Portuguese. MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, with executive education at Harvard Business School. She is the interview for anything on private label, retail strategy or how a Brazilian family company decides to build in North Carolina.
Runs US operations from Charlotte. A finance executive by training — MBA from Insper, postgraduate in banking from Universidade Mackenzie, finance degree from PUC São Paulo, and a tenure as a financial instructor at PwC — now responsible for the plant, market development and the brand's integration into the American packaging sector. He is the interview for the manufacturing, expansion and aluminum-pricing side.
Assets — direct download
Credit product and lifestyle photography to Jessica Miller Studio. Credit facility and executive photography to Wyda. Studio product files run 9 to 20 MB each — use the Drive link rather than asking for them by email.
Recent coverage
- Aug 11, 2026Charlotte Business Journal — Brazilian aluminum maker Wyda Packaging eyes Charlotte expansion and dozens of new jobsBy Cooper Metts
- Jul 28, 2026Charlotte Observer — Brazilian aluminum packaging company plans Charlotte growth as demand risesBy Claire Harutunian · also carried by Yahoo Finance and AOL
- Feb 27, 2026Store Brands — Store Brands Spotlight, episode 39 — Celeste Costa on private label growthBy Greg Sleter
- Jan 5, 2026Kara Kimbrough, syndicated — 2025 was a great year for cooking, dining and exploringRan in Long Beach Breeze, SW Rankin News, The Bolton News and The Leland Progress
- Nov 18, 2025Packaging Dive — Orbis, Peli BioThermal, Averra expanding US packaging manufacturingBy Katie Pyzyk · cites Wyda doubling the Charlotte plant to 26,000 sq ft with advanced robotics
- Nov 6, 2025Packaging Digest — Wyda Packaging expands in US amid aluminum price surge
- Nov 5, 2025Packaging Strategies — Wyda Packaging USA announces expansion of Charlotte facilityAlso carried by Packaging Industry News
- Oct 4, 2025Trend Hunter — Elevated premium kitchen essentialsBy Kalin Ned · covers the CIAO! and Wyda collaboration
- Aug 22, 2025FoodTechBiz — Wyda Packaging launches partnership program to drive growth in alternative proteins
- Aug 6, 2025vegconomist — Wyda Packaging launches co-partnership program addressing supply chain needs of the plant-based food sector
- Nov 18, 2024The Food Institute — Wyda Packaging expands into U.S. with new North Carolina facility
- Nov 15, 2024Packaging Strategies — Wyda Packaging opens new factory in Charlotte, NC
About Wyda Packaging
Celebrating 35 years of operation with headquarters in Sorocaba, Brazil, Wyda Packaging is a family-owned global leader in recyclable aluminum foil packaging solutions. With operations across South America, Africa, and the United States, Wyda serves the food, catering, and retail sectors with a portfolio of more than 200 SKUs. Known for its commitment to durability, recyclability, and rigorous eco-friendly certifications, Wyda sets industry standards in responsible packaging for private label and retail. The company's Charlotte, NC facility delivers "Made in the USA" production at scale, offering the agility, reliability, and quality that modern supply chains demand.
Want samples?
Tell me which brand, and for Tamarind Heads, your heat level. I'll get it out the same day. Recipes, additional photography and founder interviews all available.
PR & Communications | Big Smile Co.
brittney@bigsmile.co · bigsmile.co · @big_smile_co
Holiday 2026 · Last updated September 8, 2026