The team that helped bring Hormel pepperoni stix and turkey pepperoni minis to the world has recently been named the Research and Development Team of the Year by Food Processing Magazine.

The magazine received nominations for dozens of companies that were pitted against one another for the title. From there, the magazine website’s visitors cast their vote. In the end, Hormel’s team came out on top.

“We are grateful to be recognized as the R&D Team of the Year, and we are especially honored to have been chosen for this award by individuals from competitor and peer companies that participated in the voting process,” Vice President of R and D at Hormel Foods said in a written statement.

Based at Hormel Foods Corporation headquarters in Austin, the team of roughly 110 employees is primarily interested in bringing new snacks to consumers. In order to do that, the team is responsible for product development, enhancement, food safety interventions, cost reductions, exploratory science and the application of new technology.