SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. – Rupari Food Services, distributor of Tony Roma’s brand ready-to-eat pork ribs, recently unveiled a line of meat entrees that feature cleaner labels and new flavor profiles.

Rupari removed high fructose corn syrup and gluten from its ingredient list to achieve a cleaner label on Tony Roma’s All Natural Ribs and Pulled Pork. Kristin Kroepfl, vice president of marketing for Rupari, said the gap between consumers who have and have not purchased natural and organic meats has closed dramatically since 2010.


“Consumers are demanding higher-quality refrigerated meal solutions, and they deserve them,” Kroepfl said. “Where frozen options once dominated, refrigerated convenience is now driving growth, and we know from both our own and secondary research that premium quality meats paired with clean labeling is fueling consumer demand more than anything else.”

In addition to the ingredient changes, Tony Roma’s includes new flavors that celebrate regional barbecue favorites: Kansas Style Sweet Hickory BBQ, Kansas City Style Kickin’ Sweet & Spicy BBQ and Blue Ridge Sweet & Smoky BBQ. Rupari also developed a new packaging design for the all-natural line.

“We pride ourselves in our passion for authentic barbeque. We have found a way to cater to all of our customers by combining all-natural ingredients with the delicious taste and tender profile people expect from our products,” said Jack Vogt, resident Pit Master and research and development lead for Rupari. “We’ve invested behind a simple manufacturing process that enables us to make BBQ the same way we do from scratch in competition — we season, slow smoke and sauce high-quality meat. That’s it in a nutshell.”

Tony Roma’s all-natural line is available now at grocery stores across the country.