The Biggest Trends at the Fancy Food Show
More than 1,300 exhibitors set up shop in San Francisco last weekend for the Winter Fancy Food Show. Anyone who’s involved in food—buyers, importers, suppliers—comes to this trade show, which is basically the largest specialty food and beverage pop-up on the West Coast. We wandered among the 80,000 products to spot the trends, which we bring to you here. But be forewarned: we’re merely messengers; we do not necessarily endorse this craziness.
Sriracha vs. Ghost Pepper: The hot sauce, named after Thai coastal city Sri Racha, has become the obsessive foodie darling after decades on Asian shelves. The sriracha + [blank] mash-up trend continues, from last year’s vodka and candy canes to this year’s hummus and meat rub. But in case you fear another sriracha shortage, you can seek hot solace with ghost pepper, which we saw everywhere. Eat straight up (Surrender the Booty ghost pepper hot sauce) or a kernel at a time (J&D’s ghost pepper nacho popcorn, by the makers of, um, Baconlube).
Photo credit: Healthee’s
Turmeric: This Indian spice may be responsible for the electric coloring of ballpark mustards, but it’s less familiar Stateside for its anti-inflammatory properties. To wit: it has been credited with staving off the ill effects of cystic fibrosis, tumors, high cholesterol, and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers. Rishi Tea came out with its turmeric-ginger tisane a couple years ago, but its sales have just suddenly picked up. Healthee’s Organic Turmeric with Cinnamon will be available this spring at Whole Foods. As for whether you can claim medicinal reasons when slathering mustard on your hot dog? Eh, sure, stick with it.
Photo credit: Health Sprouted Flour Co.
Gluten-Free, Non-GMO and Other Hyphenations: It’s not enough to be organic anymore: we saw many brands promising no genetic tinkering and no glutens. So what’s a poor wheat purveyor to do to get in the game? Get sprouted. More companies like the Health Sprouted Flour Co. are pursuing sprouted flour (gluten-free and otherwise), which makes for easier digestion and packs extra vitamins and minerals.
Photo credit: DoMatcha
Matcha: You’ve seen the Japanese powdered green tea at Starbucks and Peet’s, and perhaps some local pastry shops. But expect to see even more of it from Teas’Tea, and DoMatcha, which combines two trends by tossing its powder in on-the-go packets, similar to Starbuck’s ready-brew VIA.
Photo credit: IPS
Mindful Snacking: More health products are elbowing their ways into the snack space. Halfpops gives you an air-popped alternative to Corn Nuts but without any unprounceable artificial flavors and preservatives. IPS’s Egg White Chips tastes like a holy union between Cheetos and Popchips all the crunch but without all the fat. Seasnax (which slipped its latest creation in Golden Globes celeb goody bags) has crafted the seaweed craze into its Chomperz chips.
Photo credit: Elki
Decadence: On the flipside of mindful snacking is utter and complete excess: truffle flavors in crisps and ketchup, salted caramel or bacon in everything. Delectable standout in the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink awards: Elki’s bacon blue cheese whipped mustard.
