BANDI BETTER BREAKFAST

OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES

1. General Provisions

1.1. BANDI Better Breakfast is an online contest for original breakfast recipes featuring BANDI Foods products.

1.2. The purpose of the Contest is to recognize original, practical, and reproducible breakfast ideas, showcase different ways to use BANDI Foods products, and encourage the sharing of culinary ideas and experience.

1.3. The Contest is organized by BANDI Foods (the “Organizer”). The Organizer’s full legal name, address, and official contact information will be confirmed before the final version of these Rules is published.

1.4. The Contest’s media partner is the Russian-language media project “Buro.”

1.5. The Contest is conducted online and is open throughout the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.

1.6. The Official Contest Rules, Contest webpage, key announcements, and results will be published in both Russian and English. The official Contest webpage will allow users to switch between the Russian and English versions. Both language versions must contain the same material terms of the Contest.

1.7. No entry fee, social-media subscription or follow, repost, or other action unrelated to the Contest entry is required to participate.

2. Contest Schedule

2.1. All Contest deadlines are stated in Pacific Time (PT), with daylight saving time or standard time applied as in effect on the applicable date.

2.2. Contest opens and entry submission begins: October 1, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. PT.

2.3. Entry submission deadline: November 8, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

2.4. Administrative review of entries and correction of formal deficiencies: November 9–12, 2026, inclusive.

2.5. Expert judging of eligible entries: November 13–December 4, 2026, inclusive.

2.6. People’s Choice Award public voting: November 13–29, 2026, inclusive.

2.7. Verification of public votes, compilation of judges’ scores, and determination of preliminary results: November 30–December 7, 2026, inclusive. Public-voting results will not be disclosed to the judges until they have completed their own expert evaluations.

2.8. Identification of potential winners and verification of their eligibility under these Rules: December 8–11, 2026, inclusive.

2.9. Confirmation of results, review of alternate candidates if necessary, and preparation of the final results record: December 12–16, 2026, inclusive.

2.10. Official Contest results and winner information will be published on December 17, 2026 on the official Contest webpage in both Russian and English. The media partner, “Buro,” may also announce and cover the Contest results in its programming and other content. The timing or rescheduling of such media coverage does not affect the official determination or publication date of the Contest results.

2.11. The Contest schedule may be changed only when objectively necessary. Any such change must not arbitrarily alter the established judging criteria or unfairly disadvantage participants.

3. Eligibility and Contest Categories

3.1. The Contest is open to individuals residing within the Contest territory.

3.2. An entry for a participant under 18 must be submitted by a parent or other legal guardian.

3.3. The main Contest categories are: Adult Amateur — age 18 or older; Professional — age 18 or older; and Young Chef — two separate age groups, ages 6–12 and ages 13–17.

3.4. For purposes of this Contest, a “Professional” is a participant who, during the 24 months preceding the Contest, received compensation for preparing food, developing recipes, teaching cooking, or creating culinary recipes as part of a professional activity.

3.5. Each participant may submit no more than three different Contest entries. Each entry must be submitted separately.

3.6. Judges, individuals directly involved in administering the Contest, employees of the Organizer who are directly involved with the Contest, and their immediate family or household members are not eligible to participate.

4. Entry Requirements and BANDI Foods Products

4.1. Each Contest entry must feature an actual breakfast prepared by the participant.

4.2. The Contest recipe must use at least one BANDI Foods-branded food product bearing the BANDI Foods logo on its packaging. There is no separate list of eligible products; participants may use any such BANDI Foods product available to them during the Contest period.

4.3. The BANDI Foods product must actually be incorporated into the recipe or serving of the dish and must serve a meaningful culinary purpose. Merely placing a package next to the finished dish does not qualify as use of the product.

4.4. Participants are responsible for obtaining their own ingredients. The quantity of BANDI Foods products obtained, the cost of ingredients, and the place of purchase do not affect judging.

4.5. Each entry must include the name of the dish; a recipe listing ingredient quantities; preparation instructions; number of servings; estimated preparation time; the name of the BANDI Foods product used; and a brief description of the breakfast concept.

4.6. Each entry must include at least one original photograph of the finished dish. Additional photographs, including preparation photos, are optional. A video of up to 60 seconds is also optional. An entrant may submit a breakfast they have already prepared that meets the Contest rules; preparing it again specifically for entry is not required.

4.7. The entry must be created and prepared by the participant. Editing, translation, and digital tools may be used to prepare written materials; however, generated images used in place of the actual dish, photographs belonging to others, and fabricated preparation materials are prohibited.

4.8. For Young Chef entries, an adult may assist with tasks involving safety. The entry must identify which portions of the work were completed independently by the child.

5. Special Awards

5.1. The following additional awards will be presented: Best Gluten-Free Breakfast, the BANDI Special Award, and the People’s Choice Award.

5.2. Special Awards are separate from the main Contest categories and are determined independently.

5.3. Valentina Churaeva is the sole judge of Best Gluten-Free Breakfast and determines its winner based on the submitted recipe and supporting materials. The award does not constitute medical certification of the dish or the kitchen in which it was prepared.

5.4. The BANDI Special Award is selected from Adult Amateur entries. Its sole judge is Stanislav Hmelevschi, Marketing Director of BANDI Foods, who independently evaluates the entries and determines the award recipient. Votes from other judges are not required for this decision.

6. Judging Panel

6.1. Contest entries will be evaluated by a professional judging panel that includes representatives from the Organizer, the culinary field, nutrition, and media.

6.2. The final roster of judges will be approved before the Contest begins and published together with a brief professional biography for each judge.

6.3. Each judge will evaluate entries independently using the same published criteria. The Organizer’s commercial interests, a participant’s social-media following or public profile, and a participant’s involvement in promoting the Contest will not affect the expert judging.

6.4. A judge must not evaluate an entry where a material conflict of interest exists. If necessary, that judge’s evaluation will be replaced by an evaluation from another qualified judge.

6.5. Each entry considered for an award in a main category must receive at least three valid, independent evaluations. This requirement does not apply to Best Gluten-Free Breakfast or the BANDI Special Award, which are evaluated individually by the judges designated in Sections 5.3 and 5.4, respectively.

7. Judging Criteria

7.1. Entries will be evaluated on a 100-point scale:

7.2. In the main categories, an entry’s final score is the arithmetic mean of the valid scores awarded by the judges. For Best Gluten-Free Breakfast and the BANDI Special Award, the final score is determined by the sole designated judge using the respective scoring rubric; scores from other judges are neither required nor included for these awards.

7.3. In the Young Chef category, independence, complexity, and technique will be evaluated in light of the participant’s age and any permitted adult assistance.

7.4. In the event of a tie in final scores in the main categories, the tied entries will be compared, in order, based on: Culinary Concept and Technique; Original Contribution; Reproducibility and Practicality; Composition and Balance; Role of the BANDI Product; and Clarity of Presentation. If the tie remains, the tied entries will be reviewed again by a panel of judges without a conflict of interest. For judged Special Awards, criterion scores are compared in the order listed in Sections 7.6 and 7.7. If a tie remains, the designated judge of that award reviews the entries again, and the decision is recorded in the results record.

7.5. The Organizer will document the principal judging results and decisions in a final results record.

7.6. Best Gluten-Free Breakfast scoring rubric (100 points): Ingredient Selection and Verification — 30; Original Gluten-Free Adaptation — 25; Reproducibility — 20; Explanation of Restrictions and Prevention of Gluten Cross-Contact — 15; Role of the BANDI Product — 10. The judge assigns a score from 0 to 5 for each criterion; points are calculated proportionally to that criterion’s weight.

7.7. BANDI Special Award scoring rubric (100 points): Meaningful Role of the Product — 40; Originality of Use — 30; Recipe Reproducibility — 20; Clarity of Explanation — 10. The judge assigns a score from 0 to 5 for each criterion; points are calculated proportionally to that criterion’s weight.

8. Determination of Winners

8.1. First, second, and third place will be awarded in the Adult Amateur category.

8.2. One winner will be selected in the Professional category.

8.3. One winner will be selected in each of the two Young Chef age groups: ages 6–12 and ages 13–17. Entries in different age groups do not compete for the same prize place.

8.4. Winners in the main Contest categories will be determined solely on the basis of the judges’ expert evaluations.

8.5. Valentina Churaeva determines the Best Gluten-Free Breakfast winner, and Stanislav Hmelevschi determines the recipient of the BANDI Special Award. These decisions are recorded separately from the main category results. Public voting does not affect the judged results.

8.6. A participant may receive no more than one main-category prize placement. A Special Award may also be awarded to that participant if permitted under the final Rules.

9. Public Voting

9.1. The People’s Choice Award is determined by a separate public vote among entries eligible for that award. Voting takes place after entry submission has closed; instructions for accessing the vote will be published on the Contest website before voting begins.

9.2. Each person may cast one vote for one entry during the entire voting period. The Organizer will use reasonable technical measures to prevent automated or duplicate voting.

9.3. Purchasing votes, automated vote manipulation, offering compensation or anything of value in exchange for a vote, and other artificial methods of increasing vote totals are prohibited.

9.4. The entry receiving the highest number of valid votes after verification will win the People’s Choice Award. Public votes are not added to the judges’ scores.

10. Prizes

10.1. The prize pool, contents of each prize, and approximate retail value will be approved by BANDI Foods before the final version of these Rules is published.

10.2. Separate prizes are expected for first, second, and third place in the Adult Amateur category; the Professional category winner; one winner in each Young Chef age group (ages 6–12 and ages 13–17); the Best Gluten-Free Breakfast winner; the BANDI Special Award recipient; and the People’s Choice Award winner.

10.3. BANDI Foods will provide the prizes and, where applicable, arrange delivery to confirmed winners in accordance with the final Rules and applicable law.

10.4. Taxes and any required tax reporting relating to prizes are governed by applicable federal and state law.

11. Rights in Submitted Materials and Personal Information

11.1. The author retains all rights they hold in the recipe, photographs, and video.

11.2. By submitting an entry, the participant grants the Organizer and the media partner a non-exclusive permission to use the submitted Contest materials for purposes of administering and judging the Contest, covering the Contest, and announcing and reporting its results.

11.3. Any separate commercial use of submitted materials outside the purposes of the Contest requires separate authorization from the applicable rights holder.

11.4. The Organizer will collect only the information reasonably necessary to administer the Contest, communicate with participants, determine winners, deliver prizes, and comply with applicable legal requirements. Non-public contact, address, tax, and similar information will not be published.

11.5. Information relating to minors will be handled through their parent or legal guardian. A child’s image or voice may be published only with any separate consent required by applicable law.

12. Violations and Disqualification

12.1. Grounds for rejection of an entry or disqualification may include: failure to satisfy age or residency requirements; misrepresentation of authorship; unauthorized use of another person’s materials; fabricated images of the dish; circumvention of the entry limit; material concealment of professional status; verified manipulation of public voting; or another material violation of these Rules.

12.2. A disqualification decision must be based on a specific violation, documented by the Organizer, and communicated to the participant.

12.3. A correctable technical error that does not change the substance of an entry should not, by itself, automatically result in disqualification. The Organizer may provide a reasonable opportunity to correct such an error.

13. Final Provisions

13.1. The final version of these Rules will be approved by BANDI Foods following legal review and published before entry submission begins.

13.2. Before publication, the following must be finalized: the Organizer’s full legal name and contact information; the names and professional credentials of the judges; the contents and value of the prize pool; and the official methods for submitting entries and conducting public voting. No separate list of eligible BANDI Foods products is required; Section 4.2 governs product eligibility.

13.3. After the Contest begins, the Organizer must not arbitrarily change the judging criteria, the main prize structure, or other material terms in a way that could affect entries already submitted.

13.4. These Rules are subject to applicable U.S. federal law and any mandatory requirements of the laws of the states applicable to the Organizer and individual participants.

13.5. Before the Contest begins, this document may be revised based on legal review. The approved version will be published simultaneously in Russian and English, and both versions must contain the same material Contest terms.