The sold-out to exhibitors Summer Fancy Food Show gets started today at the Javits Center in New York, with attendee registration back to pre-COVID levels.
New for the 2023 Summer Show are New York-themed Pavilion Pop Ups called Sips Bay in the Beverage Pavilion, The Plant-Packing District in the Plant Based Pavilion, and Lower Cheese Side in the Deli Pavilion, where attendees can sample products, network, and take part in interactive sessions about trends.
New Now Next, an area featuring products from incubators and startups, will feature the New Now Next pitch stage where makers will pitch their products from 9:45 to 10:15 a.m. and 2:45 to 3:15 p.m.
Judging for the sofi Product of the Year and New Product of the Year Awards is open to those with buyer badges in Hall D today and tomorrow.
Those not attending the Show can tune in to livestream programming today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The coverage is made possible by a partnership between SFA and Food Institute. Livestream coverage will also take place Monday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Tuesday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 9:45 a.m. in the Crystal Palace.
Hall D will open to all Show attendees at 9:30 a.m. all three Show days. Key buyers will have access to all areas of the Show Floor at 9:30 a.m., each day. The remaining Show Floor areas will be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and tomorrow, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
The Maker Pass session called Social Media Lab: Top Ten Strategies, takes place at 9 a.m. on Level 1, Hall E. A Maker Pass is required to attend Maker Pass sessions. The pass can be added to attendee registrations any time. The cost is $99 for SFA members and $199 for non-members.
At 10:30 a.m., Diversity Buying: How it Works, takes place on the Big Idea Stage. Speakers include Nona Lim, founder and CEO of Nona Lim Foods; Travis Reams, category manager, Meijer; and Lori A. Rodriques, supplier diversity manager at UNFI.
Dwight Richmond of Town & Country Markets will present the session How I Buy at 11 a.m. on the Big Idea Stage.
In the Deli Pavilion Pop Up: Lower Cheese Side, Adrienne Messe, associate director of events & solutions with the Organic Trade Association, will share the latest organic industry data from the 2023 Organic Industry survey, at 11:30 a.m., as part of the session Organic: What’s Trending at the Supermarket with Organic Trade Association.
At 12 noon, the Taste it Live! cooking stage will feature chef-led demonstrations with specialty foods from Italy.
A session titled The Rise of Specialty: Expanded Opportunities, is happening at 12 noon on the Main Stage with speakers Bob Burke, Natural Products Consulting; Melinda Villalba, ADWW; Jeff Turnas, Whole Foods; and Matthew Bunevich, 7-Eleven.
The Deli Pavilion Pop Up: Lower Cheese Side will feature What Makes Jamon Special and Different with CJSE (Consorcio Jamon Serrano Espanol) at 1:30 p.m.
The Taste it Live! cooking stage will feature specialty food products from the Kingdom of Morocco at 1:30 p.m.
Flavorful, Healthy, and Sustainable – Tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oils for the Plant-Forward Pantry with Extra Virgin Alliance will also take place at 1:30 p.m. at the Plant-Based Pavilion Pop Up: The Plant-Packing District.
The Next Generation of Drinking: No-Alcohol Alcohol will take place in the Beverage Pavilion Pop Up: Sips Bay at 2 p.m.
Also taking place at 2 p.m. is the Maker Pass Session titled Perfect Pairings: Sync Your DTC and Grocery Strategies with Ori Zohar co-founder and co-CEO of Burlap & Barrel.
How I Buy with Hayley Celentano, Citarella will take place at 2:30 p.m. in the Deli Pavilion Pop Up: Lower Cheese Side.
The Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame Awards Celebration will take place at 4 p.m. on the Main Stage. The ceremony will be livestreamed on Specialty Food Association's Instagram Live.
Another celebration, the 5-Boro Block Party, kicks off at 4 p.m. at the Level 2, Inner Roadway.
Related: Member Anniversaries Celebrated at Show; Summer Fancy Food Show Edition of Specialty Food Now Available.