The Specialty Food Association hosted Specialty Food Live! May, last week, its third virtual marketplace event since last September. More than 7,000 connections were made between makers and the 1,000-plus food buyers who logged into the event. Following are some stats from the event's educational sessions.
The above figure represents the rate of conversions experienced by a client who launched a text messaging campaign to pre-sell a new product before it launched to its general email list, said Rachel Saul, CMO and co-founder of Chelsea & Rachel Co., during E-Commerce Speed Round: Ask the Experts.
local brands that were launched with help from Danielle Vogel, founder of Glen’s Garden Market in Washington, D.C., were founded by people of color, she said during the session Buying in 2021 and Beyond: DEI, Sourcing and Q4.
is the rate of growth of kheer, an Indian rice pudding, on restaurant menus, said Mike Kostyo, resident trendologist and senior managing editor at Datassential, during the session, Foodservice Updates: The Mega Trends. Kheer, which is often made with spices like cardamom and nuts like cashews, is one of Datassential’s 10 flavors to watch.
A couple of seafood items took top honors in the 2021 sofi Awards. Hancock Gourmet Lobster – Maine Shore Dinner for 2 was the highest scoring sofi Award entry across 49 general categories, making it the Product of the Year Award winner. For the first time, the SFA also named a New Product of the Year Award honoree. It was Regal Double Manuka Wood Roasted Salmon from Regal New Zealand King Salmon.
in specialty food sales were made in 2020, according to the SFA’s annual State of the Specialty Food Industry research. A preview of the report’s findings were presented during Specialty Food Live!
in lost sales are what retailers are missing out on since they don’t have what customers want to buy on hand, said Andrew Lynch, president and co-founder of Zipline Logistics during the session How Food and Beverage Brands Can Win at Retail Fulfillment.