The 56th Summer Fancy Food Show
By amy • • Jul 10th, 2010 • Category: Baked Goods, Supplies, Beverages, Canned Goods, Columns, Condiments, Dressings, Oils, Vinegars, Dairy, Frozen Foods, Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Mixes, Pantry Items, Pasta, Grains, Beans, Prepared Foods, Seasonings, Spices, Snacks, Sweets, Uncategorized, sauces, spreads
This place is enormous, and packed to the gills: to use a term borrowed from the Oreo people, what we have here is a Double Stuf event. Picture a stadium–sized exhibition space in New York City, filled with booths displaying tempting-looking snacks, sweets, and savouries. Behind these irresistibly designed and invitingly lit items stand busy, hopeful vendors who are passing out tote bags, distributing samples, and explaining to passersby how they came to develop their Tandoori Chicken Naanwich or their South African Pepperdew pepper pop. Approximately 24,000 people are here, from all sectors of the food industry, many of whom have been specially bused in from the major hotels. Oprah’s people are in the house, and culinary celebrities such as Padma Lakshmi, Paul Prudhomme, and the CBC’s own Kary Osmond, plus 180,000 articles of packaged food spread over two floors, 2500 exhibitors from more than seventy countries, and someone dressed in a giant ant costume (promoting a snack called the Octain Brain Bar). Welcome to the 3 most important days on the specialty food calendar.
The 56th Summer Fancy Food Show takes place June 27-29 in New York City’s mammoth Jacob J. Javits Center, a venue which seems to be the size of PEI, if PEI was populated with grocery reps scrutinizing cans of ethically produced tuna or taking notes in seminars entitled ‘Tasting Terroir; The Skinny On Bean-To-Bar Origin Chocolate’. The flavour of the event is overwhelmingly international; in one aisle alone a visitor might encounter Spanish olive oil, Jamaican spring water, Mexican agave syrup, Korean ice cream bars, French mini-meringues, Australian licorice, Moroccan spice kits, and German whipped rice topping. There’s a best-in-show awards ceremony on the final night, and already here on Day One the competitive vibe is starting to heat up – for example, will the Lucini Italia Company walk off with the Salad Dressing Category Gold Sofi Award for their Delicate Cucumber and Shallot Artisan Vinaigrette?
Shelf Life is here to gawk at the likes of keynote presenter Dan Barber of Blue Hill restaurants fame (one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2009); to identify packaged food trends; to happily taste wine-infused ice cream and Icelandic yogurt; and to perhaps smuggle some freebies past the guards (the Fancy Food Show discourages too many product giveaways; its policy is to donate exhibition goods to local food banks). We were also curious to discover if the slow-moving American economy has made a dent in this annual showcase (actually, the reverse is true; 2010 participation is way up. The recession-blighted 2009 Winter Show in San Francisco was the event no one wants to repeat).
Interestingly, behind the blizzards of promotional giveaways and the ranks of beautifully crafted, artfully packaged food, there is a gritty undertone, a sense that The Fancy Food Show is a make-or-break occasion for exhibitors. This is a high-stakes event. Like struggling aspirants at a film festival, thousands of food companies big and small are looking to score a deal, to nail down commitments from retailers and distributors. In order to attract investors, people and products must perform flawlessly for 3 days solid (this was particularly hard on the brands of flavoured popcorn, which tended to wilt in the hothouse atmosphere). For the Fancy Food Show’s ambitious newcomers the mantra is: no sleep ‘ til JFK.
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The Trends:
-Ginger popped up in unexpected places, while ginger ale seems to be enjoying a makeover. Shelf Life counted at least 3 upscale ginger ales – from Fentiman’s, Fever-Tree, and Ginger Ale by Bruce Cost – and was absolutely knocked out by Jansal Valley’s Ginger Vinegar, from Japan. -No signs of a downturn for healthy/organic/sustainable foods, particularly snacks. As one vendor explained to us, “People want to feel good about what they eat, especially when they buy a bag of chips.” Hence the Fancy Food Show seemed to be stuffed with vegetable and legume snacks, particularly lentil and sweet potato flavours. - Exotic ketchups will be mega. For example, we flipped over Dulcet’s 3 varieties: Mild Indian Curry; Peppery Moroccan; and Sweet Orange Chile. -Out on the NYC streets, Shelf Life noticed a whole subspecies of pop that hasn’t quite taken root in Canada: herbal-infused calming soft drinks. Which is odd, considering one of the Show’s note worthy beverages is Quebec’s own Slow Cow Smooth Drink, aka ‘An Acupuncture Session In A Can’. - In the future, the consumer will become a sort of culinary Lego master, building all kinds of food from kits. Shelf Life spotted do-it-yourself kits for such products as churros, funnel cakes, and soft pretzels, plus a sparky, fetching-looking spice mix collection from the Victory Garden Home Pickling Kits people, featuring Dill, Kosher, Sweet, and Polish varieties. - Another, different kind of trend is the continuing issue of Canadian food labeling requirements. While there are several reasons why some products at the Fancy Food Show may never reach Canada, one key obstacle is that American companies find it financially prohibitive to manufacture both French and English labels. |
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The Canadian Contingent:
Some familiar True North names set out their stalls: eg. Lesley Stowe; Wildly Delicious; Fabrice Lafon Ice Wines and Vinegars, and Dufflet Small Indulgences. Toronto’s Sable and Rosenfeld offered their new cocktail skewers in a jar, which brought the crunch. Lodged between a modest presentation area from Jordan and an Italian super-exhibit was the Canadian Food Exporters zone, site of an off-the-wall cooking demonstration. A group of former White House chefs prepared US nosh with Canadian ingredients, whipping up Barbara Bush’s French Toast with Canadian Maple Syrup. |
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The Hits:
- Proving that sometimes heavy hitters are grand fromages for a reason, Shelf Life loved every slurp of Italian TV mama’s Lidia Bastianich’s Marinara Sauce. -Our favourite bright idea turned out to be a spicy, healthy spread that combines almonds and turmeric, called Nutmeric Ultra. These jars of Bollynutbutter are produced by an authentic Indo – American Mom and Pop outfit, whose slogan is ‘Spread The Word!’(sorted!) - Lollibons rock. What’s not to adore about a snazzy sphere on a stick made of ice cream coated with Belgian chocolate? - For Shelf Life, the hands-down superstar of The 56th Annual Summer Fancy Food Show was, of all things, a line if flavoured waters. Shelf Life is usually beyond resistant when it comes to ‘improving’ H20, but this one won us over. Hint brand Unsweetened Essence Water contains no sweeteners, calories, or preservatives, and uses natural condensed fruit extracts to convey fruity zing. Any one of the Pear, Blackberry, Cucumber, or ten other refreshers tastes totally magic. |
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The Chutzpah Award:
Shelf Life was much impressed by vendor Pastor Chuck and his organic applesauce, featuring the unbeatable slogan ‘One Taste And You Will Know The Difference Between Good And Evil!’. We were also struck by the Pup-pies treats for dogs that look exactly like deep dish pizza slices. Ultimately, however, there was room for only one monarch of marketing: the J&D’s bacon product guys. They’ve got slogans (‘Everything Should Taste Like Bacon’). They’ve got razzamatazz (“Hey lady! You need some bacon popcorn!”). Most famously, they’ve got Baconnaise (weirdly, this is an all-natural meat-free product). Justin and Dave the Bacon Guys gave us the best promotional item ever, which is a tube of all-natural vegetarian-friendly bacon flavoured lip balm. For all the fun of the fair, check our photos here: flickr.com |
