Image courtesy of Specialty Food Association
This year’s Specialty Food Association Fancy Food Show was buzzing and very well attended. The number of international booths seemed to have blossomed this year, showcasing Italian, Spanish, Brazilian, Moroccan, Indian, Egyptian, and Japanese brands, just to name a few.
As always, it was a pleasure to visit with our valued clients to thank them for their ongoing support. A few of the notable booths that stood out were Bobo’s Oat Bars, Betty Buzz, Vegan Rob’s and Food Match, which all had great (and tasty) booths.
Several interesting trends emerged during the show. In addition to the traditional BBQ and pasta sauces, there was a wide variety of ethnic sauces, hot sauces, marinades, mustards, and various other condiments on display. Honey products, including hot spiced honey, were also on display to taste and enjoy.
As has been the case for the last couple of years, the trend to healthier and more environmentally friendly products continued to be strong with sustainable and vegan (plant based ‘dairy’, protein, ‘milk’) companies being very well represented, including upcycled food products which were both interesting and delicious.
Another observation was the increased number of beverage companies catering to the flavour of alcoholic beverages without the addition of alcohol itself.
