Products from Mochidoki and Lewis Road Creamery were announced as the top winners of this year’s sofi Awards during the Fancy Food Show Live coverage on Tuesday.
In interviews after the announcement, Ken Gordon, co-founder of Mochidoki, and Steve Muir, vice president of sales and operations at Lewis Road Creamery, discussed their companies’ successes, challenges and plans for the future with Susan Choi, digital media director, Food Institute, which was broadcasting live from the show in partnership with the Specialty Food Association.
“I was confident coming into the show because we had been gaining traction for the flavor and texture of our mochi,” said Gordon of Mochidoki, which won the sofi New Product of the Year award for its Vegan Passionfruit Mochi Ice Cream.
Mochidoki first launched in 2015 as a supplier of premium, all-natural mochi desserts to several high-end restaurants.
“We listened to the chefs,” Gordon said of the company’s product development.
He cited Mochidoki’s ability to thrive despite the Covid pandemic—it opened its first retail store, in the SoHo area of New York, the day before the pandemic shutdown in 2020—as a highlight of the brand’s success story.
Mochidoki is currently available in a range of flavors, and offers both vegan and dairy varieties. The brand could expand with more varieties eventually, Gordon said, although the current focus is on maintaining a high level of quality in the company’s current line.
Lewis Road Creamery, which won the sofi Product of the Year award for its 10 Star Certified Salted Butter, is a New Zealand-based company supplied by nine family farms, Muir explained.
“The cattle are out in pasture 365 days a year,” he said. “They have a great diet, and it just comes through in the quality and the taste and the texture of the butter.”
Muir said the biggest challenge the company faces is that the premium butter category has become very crowded.
“We can only get a very small amount of shelf space typically, so it’s challenging to secure that space, and then challenging to ensure that the velocity supports it,” he said.
Lewis Road Creamery is focused on expanding the distribution of its salted and unsalted premium butter varieties, but it could eventually expand into more dairy products, Muir said.
Pitch Slam Winner on a Mission
Choi also interviewed Neil Dejkraisak, co-founder, and CEO, Jasberry, who won this year’s A Fancy New York Pitch Slam competition, sponsored by Naturally New York, at the Show.
Jasberry supplies Jasberry rice, a nutrient-dense variety of rice developed through cross-breeding, nationwide through Whole Foods and in other specialty stores and online. The company has committed to helping lift rice farmers out of poverty with Jasberry, which is grown by 2,500 family farmers in Thailand.
“I always wanted to live a life of purpose, a life with meaning,” Dejkraisak said. “We are truly happy when we give.”
He said the company, which also seeks to protect the environment by teaching organic farming practices and minimizing water use, emulates the socially and environmentally conscious outdoor clothing brand Patagonia.
“We say we want to be the Patagonia of food one day,” Dejkraisak. “That’s the kind of brand we want to build.”
Dejkraisak launched the company as a college student in 2013 and spent the first year and half working with rice farmers to learn how they operate. By switching from traditional rice farming to growing Jasberry rice, the farmers earn about 14 times more, he said.
Ingredients Key for SFA Trendspotter
Kantha Shelke, principal at consulting firm Corvus Blue and an SFA trendspotter, said she pays very close attention to product ingredients, and has been impressed with much of what she’s seen at this year’s Summer Fancy Food Show.
Both consumers and product manufacturers have become much more attuned to the functionality of product ingredients, she said in an interview with Choi during the live broadcast. She cited mushrooms—which she described as a top trend at the show—as an example.
“It’s not just, ‘Here’s a mushroom crisp,’” Shelke said. “It’s, ‘Here’s a mushroom crisp that is perfect at 3:30 in the afternoon so you don’t need an energy drink,’ and ‘Here’s a mushroom perfect to calm you down and de-stress you.’”
Other trending products and ingredients that caught her eye at the Show included honey, available in an increasing variety of forms, as well as coffee, tea, chocolate, chili, and a variety of condiments.
“We have companies here that are talking about ingredients that are actually good for you and good for your soul,” Shelke said.
She also cited the increasing variety of cheese on display, including plant-based cheese alternatives and niche cheese products from all over the world.
As an ingredient watcher, Shelke also called out the importance of front-of-package labeling, to give shoppers a quick view of a product’s benefits.
“Labels do a very unique thing. They act like beacons to attract customers,” she said. “Those front of pack icons very quickly tell them what they are looking for.”
Ingredients not only imbue products with their healthy attributes, but they also impart flavor, she noted, citing cumin and ginger as examples of ingredients that provide a range of flavors depending how they are prepared and incorporated.
Trends from the Show Floor
In visits to the exhibit halls at the Jacob Javits Center, the Fancy Food Show Live coverage also took viewers to the Spanish Pavilion, which had a record 84 companies displaying their products at this year’s Show.
Ron Tanner, a reporter for SFA, spoke with Consorcio Serrano, which is a group of suppliers of traditional Serrano ham from Spain, and with a supplier of tinned seafood, which was cited as a key product trend at this year’s show.
Meanwhile Jordan Wiklund of Food Institute visited the Confectionary, Snacks & Sweets Pavilion, and met with The Saucy Ladies, a maker of artisan-inspired kettle chips, based in New York and founded by former employees of Italian products maker Rao’s Homemade. The chips, which feature a variety of unique flavors, such as Arrabbiata, Marinara, and Truffle, are available in several specialty markets, Lowes Hotels and other venues. The Saucy Ladies’ newest product is a Movie Theater Butter Kettle Chip.
Wiklund also visited syrup maker Blackberry Patch, a winner of multiple sofi awards. The company’s small-batch syrup products are available in an increasing number of retail banners. Among its new entries are sugar-free syrups made with allulose. The company also supplies preserves and condiments.
Related: Jasberry Wins A Fancy New York Pitch Slam; The Goods Mart's Krupa Explains How She Buys.