The Specialty Food Association’s Specialty Food Live! virtual event begins today and runs through Friday.
As was the case with the inaugural Specialty Food Live! event in September, food makers will showcase their new and bestselling products in virtual showrooms and be available to interact with buyers during the event. Qualified, specialty food buyers will discover the exact types of products they’re looking for and be matched with makers they may not have known about.
In addition, there will be four virtual tasting sessions throughout the week where specialty food makers will present their products to buyers, all of whom have received the samples ahead of time. Each session is focused on a rising trend of 2021. Today’s tasting session, the Snack-tastic New Year, will take place at 4 p.m. Other tasting session themes include Plant-Based’s Continued Revolution, Functional Foods, and the Restaurant Dining at Home.
New additions to this Specialty Food Live! event include SFA’s Incubator Village and International Pavilions.
Educational sessions for attendees will begin today at 12 p.m. with Better than “Normal”: Disrupting the Food Business Forever, which features a panel of specialty food innovators sharing how they are striving to expose deficiencies in our old systems, alter the landscape, and serve up a healthier future. Panelists include Dan Wise, founder and CEO of RealEats America Inc.; Lindsey Ofcacek, co-founder, managing director, and mentor at The LEE Initiative; and Alita Kelly, founder of South East Market.
Other sessions include Consumer Insights for Entrepreneurs, with Katie Hagan, vice president of innovation at Mattson, taking place tomorrow, Wednesday January 20 at 2 p.m.; Holiday Hangover: Specialty Food Edition, featuring a panel of retail and e-tail leaders including Greg Sarley, senior vice president of merchandising revenue at Harry & David, Maren Trocki, director of dairy & frozen at The Fresh Market, and Natalie King, chief sales marketing officer at Stonewall Kitchen, taking place Thursday, January 21 at 12 p.m. On Friday, January 22 at 12 p.m. the Trendspotters Take on SF Live!, hosted by SFA vice president of content and education, Denise Purcell, and featuring panelists Melanie Zanoza Bartelme, global food analyst at Mintel and Jonathan Deutsch, founding director of Drexel Food Core Lab, who will discuss the trends from 2021 and beyond.
SFA’s 2021 Leadership Award winners will be announced today at 5 p.m. These awards honor exceptional individuals who champion specialty food and the good within the industry in the areas of citizenship, business leadership, and vision. Lisa Curtis, founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli, will host the ceremony, which is open to all members. Register here.
There will also be two roundtable discussions, open to all SFA members, even those who are not registered for Specialty Food Live!. These will be interactive discussions of issues that affect specialty food businesses and plans for the coming year. The first discussion, about channel strategy and hosted by Scott Jensen of Rhythm Superfoods, will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, January 20 at 3:30 p.m. Register here. The second, on the supply chain, will be hosted by Megan Gusick of FOODMatch and take place on Thursday, January 21 at 3:30 p.m. Register here.