Submit a Product

Select the best category for your product at registration:

• Baked goods (non-cakes) — breads, cookies, brownies, danishes, sweet rolls, and pies
• Barbecue sauces & seasonings — includes barbeque sauces, spice mixes, rubs, finishing salts and sugars. Excludes marinades, which compete in condiments and sauces
• Beverages — includes all cold and hot beverages, including smoothies and teas. Excludes alcoholic beverages
• Cakes — includes fruit, nut, and vegetable cakes, cupcakes, cream puffs, eclairs, angel food cakes, sponge cakes, coffee cakes, and crumb cakes
• Condiments and sauces — includes pasta sauces, marinades, hot sauces, ketchups, mustards
• Confections — chocolates, sweet nuts, caramels, candies, and cold confections (ice creams, gelatos, and non-dairy popsicles). Excludes mixes, which compete in miscellaneous
• Dairy products — includes animal-derived milks, cheeses, butters, and yogurts. Excludes ice creams, gelatos and frozen dairy novelties, which complete in confections. Excludes plant-based products, which compete in miscellaneous
• Honey, syrups, jams & jellies — includes honeycombs, infused honey, maple syrup, jams, jellies etc. Excludes chutneys, which compete in condiments and sauces
• Meats and seafood — includes animal-derived cooked or uncooked meats and seafood, excluding jerky, which competes in snack foods
• Miscellaneous — includes mixes, single ingredient products (oils, flour, etc.), nut butters, plant-derived milk, plant-derived cheeses, etc., meat alternatives and any products not represented by another category
• Pickled vegetables, relish and salsas — includes pickles, relishes, chutneys, other pickled vegetables, and salsas
• Snack foods — includes chips, popcorn, jerky, snack bars, cheese straws, crackers, and savory nuts

Final product categories and placement are at the discretion of contest organizers and all decisions are final.

If you have any questions about your entry, please contact us at flavorofga@uga.edu.

Registration is required prior to sample submission and must be completed online. Online registration is completed in two parts; registration of a product is not complete until both parts have been completed. First, an applicant will register the quantity of products they want to compete. Once the initial form has been submitted, applicants will receive a DocuSign form to enter information about their product(s).

Products must be registered and paid in full by 11:59:59 p.m. EST Jan. 31^st, 2027 to be considered eligible. All entry fees are non-refundable.

A valid food license number or co-packer license number is required at the time of registration. Contact the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Division for questions concerning licensing. Or, contact the United States Department of Agriculture for questions concerning licensing if you are a meat producer. Registration without proper licensing will result in products being expelled from the competition.

I have a product that is sold in multiple flavors. Is each flavor considered an individual product, or are all flavors considered as one product?

1. Each flavor is considered to be an individual product, especially if flavors sold separately. The same is true for separate SKUs. If your products are sold in a variety-pack, an exception may be made at the discretion of the contest organizers. Products submitted without individual registration are subject to being voided.

What is the product information form being sent to me from Docusign?

1. After you submit your registration payment, we send you a form through Docusign that will ask you all about your product(s). This form is how we obtain your product and business information that we use for the contest (such as deciding product categories). Some of the form information is also used in the Flavor of Georgia online product directory.

I registered three products but received a product form for four products. Is this correct?

1. Yes! Through Flavor of Georgia’s “Buy 3 or more, get an extra free” registration promotion, if you pay to register three products, you are entitled to have four products in the contest! The same applies to registering four or five products.

Why have I not received my Docusign form?

1. These forms are not sent automatically – our contest team sends them manually once we have been notified of a contest registration. Sometimes, this takes us a business day or so to complete.

When is my product information form in Docusign due?

1. January 31^st, 2027 is the absolute latest date to complete product information forms. After that date, our team will not have enough time to accept information and include the products in the contest.

What is the “Early-bird special?”

1. The Early-bird special is a registration promotion that ends on November 2^nd, 2026. During the promotion, registration is $85 per product. On November 3^rd, the price increases to $100 per product.

What licenses make my business eligible to enter the contest?

1. Eligible licenses are those that are issued by the regulatory bodies that oversee your product(s). These include USDA licenses, manufactured or retail foods licenses from the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA), a valid cottage foods license, etc.

What if my product is produced through a co-packer?

1. Your co-packer’s license number will act as your own!

I’m a new cottage foods vendor and I don’t have a formal license. Is my business eligible for the contest?

1. Yes! Under Georgia’s new cottage foods rule (HB 398), new cottage foods businesses may not be subject to licensing requirements. If this applies to your business, the contest will ask for your identification number that you obtain from the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

I am having trouble with the registration website or the Docusign form. What should I do?

1. Please contact us at flavorofga@uga.edu. Our team will work with you to ensure that your registration process is successful

Products must arrive within the Submission Window: February 1^st – 26^th, 2027**

Products that arrive before February 1^st may be lost or damaged and are not guaranteed to be judged.

Products that arrive after February 26^th will not be included in the first round judging.

All product entries must:

• have two of the same exact product sample submitted.
• have a product label affixed to the samples (it will be photographed for the digital directory).
• be properly secured within a shipping container to prevent damage (i.e. bubble wrap).
• be labeled with the official Flavor of Georgia entry/shipping label affixed on the outer box or container.
• include a duplicate official Flavor of Georgia entry/shipping label inside the outer box or container.
• have required storage requirements appropriately marked on the label – non-perishable, refrigerated or frozen [product must arrive properly cold or frozen if applicable].

Detailed product submission instructions will be sent out after the registration period closes.

All samples must be shipped to or dropped off at:

ATTN: UGA Flavor of Georgia
240 Food Science Building
100 Cedar Street Athens, GA 30602

Instructions for shipping:

• Overnight shipping is preferable for perishable items, but check with your carrier for complete details.
  • NOTE: FedEx and UPS do not have refrigerated trucks AND they don’t typically deliver after 6 p.m. Your cold or frozen product will spoil if it sits on a truck all day waiting to be delivered.
• Samples must be received at UGA’s Food Science Building (see address above) between Monday, February 1^st and Friday, February 26^th, 2027.
• Products received outside of this mandatory window will not be accepted and are ineligible for judging.
• It is solely the responsibility of the entrant to ensure that samples arrive during this time frame and in good condition.

Instructions for in-person delivery:

• In-person drop offs of product samples will be accepted Monday, February 22^nd through Friday, February 26^th, 2027 at the UGA Food Science Building.
• Products may be dropped off without an appointment between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
• Samples should be in a secure container since it will be placed in a large warehouse environment.
• Samples should have the official Flavor of Georgia entry/shipping label affixed on the outer box or container and a duplicate. inside the outer box or container.

Questions? Call us at 706-542-0272 or email us at flavorofga@uga.edu.