The producer of all natural mixes for soups, stews, chili and chowders grew from humble beginnings. To thank customers, case discounts of up to 25 percent are being given as well as a commemorative stainless steel soup lovers thermos.

Starting in the early 1980s with one bean soup mix packaged in a brown paper bag, Trisha Anderson has built the kind of business that food entrepreneurs dream of. Frontier Soups™ is celebrating its 25th anniversary in August and its 20th anniversary as an exhibitor in the NASFT Summer Fancy Food Show.

As a thank you for the customers who have helped Frontier Soups grow over the years, a commemorative stainless steel “soup lovers” thermos will be included as a gift for 10 case orders placed at the show, and a sliding scale of discounts up to 25 percent for 25 cases are being offered as part of the 25th Anniversary celebration, said Trisha Anderson, company founder.

Since incorporating with three gourmet soup mixes in 1986 and exhibiting at its first Fancy Food Show with six mixes in 1991, Frontier Soups has grown to 36 all natural soups, stews, chili and chowders with no salt, preservatives or MSG; 31 of the mixes are gluten free. The company also has been a long-time specialty producer for Stonewall Kitchens and other food service companies.

“The intention was to provide home cooks with easy to follow recipes and all the dry ingredients they need to make a healthy, satisfying meal that would taste like it had cooked all day,” Anderson said. “We also add an inventive variation to our recipes so home cooks can always bring something interesting and delicious to the table. We consider our mixes to be meal solutions and want to live up to our claim that it’s ‘soup so good you’ll call it dinner’.”

Each of the mixes is a faithful reproduction of traditional regional American flavors, including the top selling Illinois Prairie Corn Chowder™ and the newest mix Colorado Campfire Chicken Stew™. Recent additions have expanded on America’s immigrant heritage with mixes like Little Italy Wedding Soup. Over the years, the company also has added a line of soup-accompanying cornbread mixes and a line of Party Starter Mix™ meal maker and dip mixes.

The initial long-simmering soups to feed a crowd became the Hearty Meal™ line, which has performed strongly in the specialty food trade, Anderson said. As consumers’ quest for quick and easy meals gained momentum, the grocery-oriented Homemade in Minutes™ line was introduced in 1991 to offer more convenience with quicker cooking times and a lower price point.

More recently, Frontier Soups has converted some of its most popular soups to gluten free, including Connecticut Cottage Chicken Soup, Ohio Valley Vegetable and Wisconsin Lakeshore Wild Rice Soup, substituting high-quality corn pasta for semolina wheat pasta. “We have always tried to stay in close contact with home cooks to understand their evolving needs. That’s why we initially introduced the Homemade-In-Minutes line and now are looking to provide more gluten-free options,” Anderson said. “I think our willingness to adapt to those needs is one of the secrets to our longevity, and that’s an important part of our future plans.”