Lifetime Show to Find Supermarket Superstars

Do you have what it takes to be the next Mrs. Fields, Orville Redenbacher or Chef Boyardee? Then you may be a Supermarket Superstar, Lifetime’s all-new competition series that will give every day Americans the chance to prove they have the next great product consumers will love. Premiering Monday, July 22, at 10 ET/PT and hosted by Stacy Keibler, Supermarket Superstar gives undiscovered food entrepreneurs their chance to shine among the big brands in the highly competitive food industry. Almost anyone can cook a great meal, but this is the first food competition show that provides a platform for individuals that can change the way millions of Americans shop and eat.

"Supermarket Superstar is the first time that Americans will get a glimpse into the process of creating a food product and getting it on supermarket shelves. This show takes people on the journey of becoming the next Mrs. Fields or Chef Boyardee - from concept to consumption. Everyone goes to the supermarket, but very few people know how food products are created. Our objective is to show how food entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life,” says Chris Cornyn, food and beverage marketing expert and founder of DINE Marketing, (now a Mattson Company). 

Each one-hour episode of Supermarket Superstar follows three home chefs as they pitch their product concepts to titans of the food world for the opportunity to have their creation launched nationally in a major grocery chain. Chef, vintner, TV host and specialty foods pioneer Michael Chiarello; cookie mogul Debbi Fields of Mrs. Fields Cookies; and branding expert and food product visionary Chris Cornyn serve as the series’ mentors to share their expertise with the contestants as they prepare their products for mass production. With the help of Chef Chiarello and research and development chef Andrew Hunter, the hopefuls must refine and perfect their recipes to impress targeted focus groups of real-life consumers to make it to the checkout line.

“We take each contestant's idea and help him or her make good decisions and proper compromises along the road. From changing their formulation so it can be mass produced to pricing their product properly. Our advice helps them position, brand and package their product. And lastly, we test it with consumers and help them pitch it to a supermarket buyer. All the steps in the process are covered - Benchwork, Branding, Commercialization, Consumer Testing and Selling. It is the real deal,” says Cornyn.  

The surviving contestants must then create professional packaging to present their product to Tom Dahlen, the supermarket buyer for The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), who will determine the winner of each episode.
Cornyn explains, “Producing a food product for mass consumption is an interesting and hard road. Consumers eat with their eyes, so the package is the product. The fact is 9 out of 10 new products fail. However in the end one winner has their idea mass produced and distributed nationally in supermarkets - perhaps one of the biggest prizes in TV. The show brings food innovation and development to pop culture." 

The last cook standing will be rewarded $10,000 in prize money and $100,000 worth of product development from DINE Marketing and Mattson (the largest independent food and beverage innovation company in the country) to create professional samples of their products.  For the Supermarket Superstar finale, three winners from the season will be invited back to compete for the grand prize by presenting their product to A&P CEO Sam Martin, with the hope their dream will be realized when their product is launched in A&P supermarkets and their affiliated chains nationwide.

Produced by The Weinstein Company (Project Runway) and All3Media America (Undercover Boss), Lifetime has ordered ten episodes of Supermarket Superstar. The series is executive produced by Bob and Harvey Weinstein (Co-Chairmen of The Weinstein Company), Meryl Poster and Barbara Schneeweiss of The Weinstein Company, Stephen Lambert, Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman of All3Media America, Rhett Bachner of B17 Entertainment and Rob Sharenow, Gena McCarthy and Stephen H. Schwartz of Lifetime.  Michael Chiarello also serves as an executive producer on the show.

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