Best Team Tie-In: Banana Dog (2025 Excellence In Concessions Awards) 

The Savannah Bananas are a true phenomenon. What was once a foundering collegiate summer league team on the coast of Georgia playing in a century-old stadium is now a cultural behemoth.

The idea – formulated by team owner Jesse Cole – was to make a night at the ballpark immersive, energetic and fun. There’s backflip catches, TikTok dancing, a pitcher on stilts. A foul ball caught in the stands is an out. Runners can steal first. Scoring rules essentially create a chance for a walk-off – baseball’s most exciting result – in every inning.

The team has TV deals that put their games on ESPN a handful of times each summer; the relationship with the Worldwide Leader started with a documentary miniseries that followed preparations for the team’s first tour — a seven-city loop in 2022 to minor league parks.

This year? The team is in Major League ballparks and NFL and college football stadiums, drawing more than 80,000 on some nights. The team has more followers on TikTok than any MLB team.  

And, not for nothing, the rule changes notwithstanding, the team plays a genuine game of baseball. 

The takeaway here: the Bananas honor the traditions of baseball, they just have a lot more fun doing it. Which makes the special concession item Aramark developed for this year’s Bananas tour so perfect.

There’s perhaps no food more iconic at the old ball game than the hot dog. And, like baseball, people are (strangely) very serious about hot dogs (just try to put ketchup on one in front of a Chicagoan). 

But just as Banana Ball is the more fun, less grumpy version of baseball, Aramark Sports+Entertainment’s Banana Dog honors the tradition, it just has more fun doing it.

The creation features a banana on a caramelized New England Roll with whipped toppings, fresh sliced strawberries and Hershey’s syrup.

Clearly inspired by the classic banana split, the caramelized bun transforms the dessert favorite into something more portable for the ballpark.

The dish made its debut at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium and was available at Aramark’s partner MLB parks – Boston’s Fenway, Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank, Denver’s Coors Field and Pittsburgh’s PNC Park –  during Banana games.

“Like the Savannah Bananas, the fan is our No. 1 priority, and our team strives to deliver dynamic food and beverage experiences that create memories and leave a lasting impression,” said Alison Birdwell, President and CEO of Aramark Sports + Entertainment. 

And how does it stand up in comparison to the hot dogs we all know and love? Ask Joey Chestnut, the Babe Ruth of competitive eating, who, during a game in Philadelphia, won a Banana Dog eating contest, downing 17 of them in just three minutes.