Summer Fancy Food Show 2019

Another great year in the books for the Summer Fancy Food Show held at the Javits Center in New York City. I only had time for 1 day this year, but managed to hit almost every aisle. By the end of the day I walked about 8.5 miles…. not bad, snacked along the way too! ;)

As always there are so many innovative and amazing products being introduced and displayed at the show. Things already on shelves and items just being released. I could write a novel if I discussed every single item I saw from National to International! My post will consist of some of my personal highlights and products that peaked my interest.

I started the morning with breakfast; booth #274 had fresh, tasty Mina shakshuka at the ready. Sunny egg with dipping bread! The shakshuka was hot, a little kick at the end, but a great earthy flavor. This product was made by Casablanca Foods. They also had harissa to try but I had a lot of things ahead of me.

I came across a lot of companies selling coconut water, which has its audience (not me) but there was 1 company Eliya that had a great presentation with the slickest bottle I’ve seen. Very dynamic and peaked my interest to try their coconut water. Other than coconut water there was a spike in oxygenated water brands showing. Being an avid exerciser I’ve seen and read about these brands but never decided to try them. I know it has its benefits, it’s better for you than Gatorade, but I still need to do more research on my part.

On the topic of drinks, today’s consumers are drinking less alcohol. The market for non-alcoholic drinks is climbing. Consumers want to enjoy the drink, socialize, and not leave with a buzz. The show usually has companies promoting their drink mixers, but also a handful of companies were playing off the flavorful drinks without the alcohol. One company showing was called Mingle Mocktails. I believe they were at the show before? Either way, this is a great time to be in the market. Their flavors were great and I felt worked really well in this marketplace. Also their drinks are available on Amazon!! Perfect for our generation. A new vendor showcasing their sparkling drink was Spindrift Beverage Co. Again, a great stand along sparkling water with real fruit. Their website does offer drink recipes but this can be consumed as is. I tried it and really loved the flavors they offered.

The list goes on with drink vendors, coconut water, and cold brew coffee. If I had more time I would love to talk more about the drinks.

Overall I’m a healthy conscience eater and I do love cauliflower. So it was exciting to see the company Caulipower at the show. I believe they have showed in the past. I got to try their pizza and chicken tenders, boy were they amazing! Coming to stores in September, I think they are going to do really well. I highly recommend checking out their products. YUMM.

Some buzz words shown around the show were KETO, Protein! Nothing wrong with that, and they were great products to back up the names. These products relate really well to today’s consumers so it is important to see those and try them. Dang Foods was premiering their new keto bar which was amazing. The right chewy texture and bite your looking for. Will keep you full and feeling good. A product under Elma Farms was The Protein Ball Co. Again that was really tasty. A good amount of chewiness and flavor. To wrap up my post I was lucky enough to try BNutty! Beyond peanut butter, gourmet peanut butter. I had irresistible pretzel and was hooked. Check these guys out!

Already planning for next year. If you want me to come by your booth and check out your latest products just let me know. In the meantime, send me an email or connect on LinkedIN!

-Felicia

https://www.specialtyfood.com/shows-events/summer-fancy-food-show/

https://www.casablancafoods.com/products/mina-shakshuka-16oz

https://www.eliyanyc.com/

https://www.drinkoxigen.com/

https://www.minglemocktails.com/

https://spindriftfresh.com/

https://eatcaulipower.com/

https://dangfoods.com/

http://www.elmafarms.com/

https://www.bnutty.com/

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Felicia Perretti is a commercial food and beverage photographer and director based in New York City. She works nationally with food and beverage clients in advertising, packaging, editorial, and video. She has worked with food and drink in all shapes and knows how to craft the right team to get the job done! Her passion for food and beverage shine through on set as well as outside of work in her everyday life. Whether it’s trying new restaurants, traveling, or cooking with her husband Joe. Send her an email or give a call to discuss your next project, she would be more than happy to chat!

Fancy Food Show 2017

Jacob Javits Center

Another year has come and gone for the Fancy Food Show in New York City. Every year there is so much buzz and energy going through the aisles showing new foods, trends, making connections, and seeing old faces. It’s such a well organized and well attended event I always look forward to writing my follow up posts.
    The show comes at a unique time with the huge shake up of Amazon with Whole Foods. Some say it’s a double edged sword with this deal and the show did feel an impact. The idea of efficiency at the supermarket could disrupt the shelf space for potential food suppliers making competition more fierce. On the other hand this could open opportunities for brick and mortar as well as online retail space. Still early so we will see how things unfold!    
    My time at the Fancy Food show was a long and exciting Monday and into Tuesday afternoon catching up on aisles I may have missed. The layout of the show this year was a little different but in a good way because it was bigger. I always keep an open mind when looking into new products and seeing how innovative people are. One item I came across that really impressed me was The Matzo Project. I have some jewish food clients and I’ve had my fair share of matzo, but when I tried their version is was amazing. None of the dried out taste you get in traditional matzo. This was much more like a cracker and a very tasty one at that. Please check these guys out, amazing!  https://www.matzoproject.com/
    A poppy brand and nostalgic taste it was exciting to run into Megpie’s Booth. They are New York based but have made the leap in expanding. I know I’ve seen their colorful treats at my local Starbucks but was great to see them at the show too. I tried their blueberry tart which was oh so good. Immediately I felt like a kid again. Really if your looking to enjoy poptarts as an adult this is your breakfast or snack on the go choice.  https://www.megpies.com/
    Another local find was actually a friend and food stylist I know Olivia Marjoram. She has her very own hand made oatmeal cookies and sweets. The cookies have a great crunch to them and not too heavy. I could have one with ice-cream or even my morning coffee; yum! You can buy them direct from her site or find a some local shops here: http://olivias-kitchen.com/    
    Miyoko’s Kitchen was a stellar product I came across down stairs. I had a couple booths upstairs raving about it! All the products are vegan but you wouldn’t know it by looking at it. Miyoko Schinner set out to make the best vegan products possible to help that craving of butter and cheese. She had her first success with her book Artisan Vegan Cheese back in 2012. From that point she has produced and sold her product across the country. It was great to have her in NY showing off her amazing products.  http://miyokoskitchen.com/
    Now I did not get to try this product because the line was really long probably because they had an eye-catching booth and packaging. Also a ton of energy from the staff at the booth. Checking out their produce online it really looks like a all in one stop and shop quality hot dog. I really enjoy the packaging and simple approach to the concept. If you did get to try the hot dog I would love to hear about it. If you want to check it out here is where you can purchase it today: https://denshotdogs.com/#@wheretobuy       

Can’t wait till next year; let me know if you will be in attendance and will try to stop by your booth.

Fancy Food Show 2016: Part 2

Where did we leave off? Oh yes! Amazing food…

    Other than chocolates, condiments, and cheese the snack food options were extensive. Personally if I really need to snack or have something savory it has to be a type of cracker or chip. Popcorn is hard for me to eat unless it’s at the movies so this review is certainly a personal preference. At the end of one of the aisles a big bright display of Way Better Snacks was calling my name. The bright neon display and modern design of these chips was really cool. Their actual branding on their bags was very easy to read and nicely put together. What made this a top pick for me was their choice of ingredients. They sprout their own seeds and make this great cracker base of flax, quinoa, and chia. At the show I tried their sweet potato chip and it was so good! Also this brand sold a sriracha flavor. They provided me with a media kit on a really cool USB reiterating their branding.
    Something else I came across that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before was canned chicken! Not chicken of the sea…tuna but actual canned chicken! For me I eat healthy and have a pretty consistence diet. Beside eating tuna fish, chicken is up there in my meals. What deters me from making chicken is the whole process of making it. I get boneless skinless chicken breasts and pan sear or bake when I want. I have to grease the pan and then make dishes to wash. Or I will buy a rotisserie chicken then have to separate from the bones wasting some food and still making a mess. The canned chicken is just as easy and opening a can of tuna. I was able to try the chicken and it tasted fresh. The brand is called Wild Planet and the sales person said they carry it at Whole Foods. I’ll have to look for this next time, also she gave me some coupons. Other products they make is canned tuna, sardines, but canned chicken was pretty unique.
    On a different food note, there was a modest chef and his team making jambalaya and sampling it. Wow! I was blown away! It was jarred and on it said “As Seen on Food Network Best Thing I Ever Ate” They weren’t kidding. I haven’t had too much jambalaya in my life but this stuff was amazing and easy to prep. The product was called Raz’z Foods.
    Other notable moments from this year’s Fancy Food Show was the intense soccer game between Spain and Italy. For a couple hours during the show everyone seemed to forget about it and just watch the game. It was quite comical to see. In the end Italy won! Sunday night was the opening night for the show and with that they had a great party. There was music, passed appetizers, open bar, and more food! haha.

Fancy Food Show 2016

    Another great year at the Fancy Food Show in New York City. Once again I was overwhelmed with the innovative food and beverages that came out. There is a real passion for food from the people that come out to this event. It’s not just about getting your product noticed but being excited to share what you have created and to make a difference. The quantity of vendors are hard to cover closely over just 3 days. You certainly have to go in with a plan on what your looking for and what to accomplish.
    I feel my first takeaways or what I noticed overall at the event was the several different types of chocolate vendors. There’s nothing wrong with chocolate but there was a lot of show for that this year! Another condiment I noticed that still is very popular but has more varieties of it is Sriracha. The one brand that stood out to me the most was the local New York Bushwick Kitchen brands. I remember them from last year and their booth and packaging are very easy to read. Less is more I always think. I tried their Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha which had a great flavor and texture! It wasn’t a smooth sauce which was unique in a good way. Another brand of sauce that I really liked and is also a newer brand at the show was Fix Hot Sauce. They had a Sriracha sauce that was really amazing! I see this brand going far.
    There were plenty more condiments I came across and was in abundance just like the chocolate. Last year’s big condiment; Sir Kensington was featuring their new vegan mayo this year called Fabanaise. It was made with the juice aquafaba which you find in cans of chickpeas.
    When it came to branding that stood out, and bonus if it was really tasty Slap Ya Mama Cajun products took the gold. I couldn’t stop laughing to myself about that name. The way it sounded and with it’s southern personality was just funny! I tried their Cajun pepper sauce which was so flavorful and perfect spicy. The sales guy told me, if you had a little butter you have your perfect buffalo sauce, and he was right. I was able to take home some seasoning packets, can’t wait to use those. Other brands and booths did jump out. There are so many vendors who have to have something unique about your product to catch my eye. One product that had classy and well designed packaging was Suckerpunch. The mix of color and old world illustration looked really nice. They were sampling some of their pickles which were really good. A cocktail mix Bittermilk also had some impressive design. Same idea of the old world look but with a modern approach. The mixtures were good, I sampled their Tom Collins. An extension of the brand that was also there and had good design was their brand Tippleman’s.
    Another big showmanship at the event was gingerbeer. Who would of thought, I feel every year there are a couple more companies there selling gingerbeer. It’s all very good and could be the new soda before we know it. Of the several gingerbeers I saw and tried I will have to mention Top Note. They recently re-did their branding which was well thought out. The color schemes was interesting but worked well. The product itself was very tasty too.
    This show has a lot to cover, I just mentioned some of the US offerings above. Their international reach is another overwhelming factor. I have a little more to say and will have in another post.