A live broadcast from the Summer Fancy Food Show on Monday included a focus on trends, award winners and new elements of the conference, which returned to New York City after a two-year hiatus.
“It’s been hard with COVID for the last two years, not being able to connect in person,” said Charlie Apt, CEO of gourmet jelly and jam maker Sarabeth’s and chairman of the board of the Specialty Food Association, which produces the Fancy Food Shows. “There have been shows done virtually, but it’s not the same as being in person and connecting and networking.”
The live broadcast was conducted by the Food Institute in partnership with the SFA.
Now in its 66th year, the show has evolved in many ways, Lynch said, and so has the board — with a more diverse a well-rounded group of individuals from different backgrounds that are leading the SFA in a more progressive and inclusive direction.
“We want everyone to feel comfortable that this association has a home for them,” said Apt. “We are a community. We offer a lot of benefits to members. We want people to really appreciate that we are not just a trade show. We are an association of members who are helping each other, and who are building on something that will get greater and greater, and provide value well into the future.”
For the first time, SFA is partnering with an organization called (included), a member collective of CPG companies led and mostly owned by people of color, to help gain visibility for those specialty makers, said Bill Lynch, president of the SFA.
“Hopefully this is something we can continue to build upon,” he said. “I know buyers are looking for companies that can bring some great products to the marketplace.”
Jomaree Pinkard, CEO and founder of Hella Cocktail Co., who as an African-American board member of the SFA has been involved in the association’s efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion, said the Show’s spotlight on diverse-owned companies provides a platform for members to help each other.
“The idea of sharing and paying forward is really important to me, and also to a lot of other people out there,” he said.
Companies featured in the (included) pavilion include Mocktail Club, a maker of better-for-you mocktails, and Bon AppéSweet, a maker of better-for-you chocolates.
“A lot of food companies said they were going to focus on BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and People of Color] owned brands, and the Fancy Food Show actually showed up,” said Thereasa Black, CEO of Bon AppéSweet.
Trends in Plant-Based, Global, Better-for-You Products
Denise Purcell, vice president of content and education, SFA, identified several key trends on the floor of this year’s Summer Fancy Food Show, including what she called “alternative comfort foods,” such as plant-based meatloaf and cream cheese made from sunflower seeds.
In fact sunflower seed have emerged as a popular ingredient for a variety of products, including other dairy substitutes and flour, which Purcell attributed in part to the sustainability of the plant.
In addition, she cited several new products from Latin America, such as curdito, a fermented cabbage dish from El Salvador, and dried shrimp snacks from Ecuador.
“South American and Latin American Foods have been trending for a while, but we have seen them from more specific regions, and companies are bringing those authentic recipes to the U.S. consumer,” said Purcell.
She noted that the SFA’s Trendspotter Panel was busy gathering insights at the show, and that SFA would compile their observations into a report and a webinar after the show ends.
David Lockwood, a consultant and co-principal of SFA’s State of the Specialty Food Industry report, said the plant-based trend appears to be entering a new phase of evolution, after plant-based sales growth tapered off in 2021, relative to the sharp increase in 2022.
He described the new era of plant-based foods as the “new proteins market,” or NP 2.0, which will deliver a host of new products from companies such as Nature’s Fynd, MyForest Foods, and others.
Other trends he identified included the negative impact that inflation is having on the industry, as many consumers have begun either trading down or trading out of certain specialty food products. Unit sales of soup — normally a category that does well during economic downturns— have declined 5 percent in the last four weeks, for example, despite a 15.8 percent increase in dollar sales.
“The industry is as thriving and robust as ever, but every single thing it takes to be a success in the specialty food market has gotten more complex, harder, and more expensive,” he said.
Mike McMahon, director of grocery at retailer Bristol Farms, said one of the key trends he has noticed is that more companies from overseas are focusing on better-for-you formulations specifically for the American market. They are paying closer attention to sugar and salt content, for example, and catering to specific diets, such as keto and vegan.
“Before it just had to taste good,” he said. “Now the ingredients have to match that.”
Award Winners, Education Programs
The live broadcast also included interviews with several award winners, including several of this year’s sofi Award winners. They included:
• Sunday Night Foods, a maker of chocolate sauces that was exhibiting in a special area of the show reserved for new companies. The company launched its preservative-free products last November;
• Vermont Butter & Creamery, which won a sofi in the foodservice category for its cultured butter, and
• Scamps Toffee & Sweets, which won three sofi Awards.
Russell Kolody of the SFA said the association received more than 2,000 entries for sofi Awards this year, an increase of 40 percent.
Other award winners profiled in the live broadcast included Kathrine Gregory of The Entrepreneur Incubator Space, in Long Island City, Queens, and Mi Kitchen Es Su Kitchen in NYC, who is winning a Leadership Award.
Ron Tanner, a consultant who works with the SFA, roamed the floor of the Fancy Food Show interviewing sofi Award winners and others, such as Rogue Creamery. The company pivoted during the pandemic to repackage its cheese in fixed-weight wedges rather than wheels, and began supplying blue cheese crumbles to local restaurants, and saw big growth in its ecommerce business.
Also in the dairy pavilion, Tanner spoke with Jill Giacomini Basch of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, who said returning to in-person shows was “like riding a bicycle.”
“Once you are back on the show floor, and you start seeing old friends, you just get right back into the groove,” she said. “All the people walking the show are qualified buyers, so everyone who comes by is someone you have done business with or have an opportunity to do business with.”
This year’s show also included several educational programs, including an all-day pre-show educational event on Saturday called The Basics, said Gretchen VanEsselstyn, education programs director at the SFA.
Other programs at this year’s show include sessions on co-packing and co-manufacturing, new models for distribution and sales, and others.
The show also includes a pitch competition, in which companies get to showcase their product sales acumen, presented in partnership with Naturally New York, Van Esselstyn said.
The educational programs don’t stop at the show, she noted, citing ongoing webinars, white papers, and other educational opportunities in the SFA Learning Center.
Lynch said this year’s show overall appears on track to exceed expectations around attendance, and that exhibitor interest has also been strong, with more than 300 first-time exhibitors, compared with an average of about 200 at a typical Fancy Food Show.
That highlights the resiliency of the industry, he said, noting that demand for specialty foods “skyrocketed” during the pandemic.
“We are pretty excited about what the next few years have to come for the industry,” said Lynch.