Following a successful Winter Fancy Food earlier in the year, The Specialty Food Association’s June show, Summer Fancy Food, was back in person for the first time since 2019. A lot of the trends we spotted in February were still apparent, with many new added players. The upstairs was buzzing with international brands that have a variety of ethnic flavors to satisfy the palate. And the downstairs was packed with innovative designs that proved effective and pleased the eye. The food world is ever changing, and these brands and products were at the forefront. Here are some of the major trends we saw and the brands that were apart of them.
Plant Based that’s Better than the Real Thing
Grown As* Mac is the adult version of mac and cheese. Cheesy, creamy, delicious, and entirely plant-based, this mac and cheese cooks and satisfies like a dairy-based version with the upside of being made from plants; no animals or cholesterol. Keeping flavor at the forefront, Grown As* Mac also contains no nuts or soy, is non-GMO, and is plastic free.
Bold Palate Foods created plant-based, wonderfully addictive dressings and sauces that put your tastes buds, health, and happiness first. Believe it or not, dressings and sauces can taste amazing and be good for you, and Bold Palate is proving that through their “Now Cows on this Ranch,” “The Beet Goes On,” and the rest of their delicious and nutritious products.
Healthy for you and the planet, The Farmer Foodie is on a mission to bring consumers the most healthy, delicious, convenient, multi-use dairy alternatives that are shelf stable through its Everything Cheeze products while keeping sustainability at the forefront. Everything Cheeze is a cashew parmesan alternative that can blended into a cream queso, ricotta and so much more.
Lattini is your new favorite milk alternative that harnesses the power of sunflowers to create a creamy, nutrient-rich plant milk that is packed with flavor. It is rich, silky, and perfect for everyday drinking. It also is an excellent source of calcium, vitamin E, and B12. And it is also good for the planet because it grows with drought-tolerant roots that improve soil health and attracts pollinators like bees.
Armored Fresh is on a mission to bring vegan cheese that everyone can enjoy no matter if they are plant-based or not. Made out of almond milk, Armored Fresh packs high levels of protein into their cheese, making it rich in flavor and nutrients. Now you can enjoy your cheese while protecting our environment and our animals.
Sober Curious
Ghia has all of the spirit and none of the booze. Inspired by the Mediterranean, Ghia is made with only good ingredients combined to keep you calm and connected. A spirits-free aperitif adapted for modern times. It’s an invitation—to take a moment for yourself, to watch the sunset, to move from work into play and to take care of your loved ones. Their goal is to change the way we think about drinking and socializing: one night off at a time.
Free Spirits was created to enable people to enjoy their favorite cocktails while controlling the amount of alcohol that’s used in their creation—without sacrificing taste. From a non-alcoholic cocktail when you replace your traditional spirit 1:1 with Free Spirits, to “half & half,” when you split the recipe between Free Spirits and its boozy cousin, and so-on. Free Spirits give a never-before-had control to the cocktail drinker.
Better For You Snacking
Popadelics is a mushroom centric company that is innovating the snack world with intense flavors and its revolutionary cooking method. Offering a new, healthy snack that is unique and delicious, Popadelics is shining light on mushrooms and other under-loved veggies—all while supporting social causes.
Biscottificio Belli combines tradition with genuine ingredients and a whole lot of passion. This 3rd generation biscotti (cantuccini) company has been family-owned since 1958 and making biscuits with an ancient flavor that tell new stories. Belli is introducing the American market to real, authentic masterpieces of taste.
Root Foods focuses 100% on vegetables—their amazing flavors, beautiful colors, and, of course, their exceptional nutritional benefits. Their chips are a celebration of all of the above: gorgeous, farm-fresh vegetables that are not mashed into oblivion, mixed with fillers, and processed into funky aerated tubes—but simply hand-sliced, flash crisped, and presented to you in all their natural gorgeousness. Every chip bursts with flavors so bright and delicious, you’ll forget you’re eating vegetables.
Shaking up the whipped cream industry, Whipnotic is reimagining the classic whipped cream experience by adding a colorful swirl of flavor to each can that will trigger your taste buds into sensory overload. With the touch of a button, their patented swirl technology infuses all-natural fruit juices and flavor essences into whipped cream, creating a treat that transcends the topping category.
A New Way to Take Vitamins
Everydaze is your healthy snack with an added immunity boost. Their jelly snack pouches filled with collagen and other essential nutrients help busy and aspiring individuals with effortless yet essential self-care routines. They are revolutionizing the way to get your essentials through snacking.
Mighty Gum is a functional chewing gum designed to help our bodies cope with the compromises we make. Not getting enough sleep, not working out regularly, letting stress overwhelm us, etc. Mighty Gum contains adaptogens, botanicals, and vitamins that support the body’s natural ability to protect itself. They took the junk out of traditional chewing gum and added vitamins, zinc, ashwagandha, elderberry, and reishi mushroom.
Freshbell is a collagen jelly stick made with pomegranate and marine collagen. One stick contains 18.64 mg of 100% pure Spanish pomegranate concentrate without a drop of additional water, and 1,000 mg of easy-to-absorb ultralow–molecular weight fish collagen.
Innovating the Classics
Thaiwala is Thai Tea (not chai) that’s easy to make with Thai Tea concentrate infused with organic caramel, pure cocoa, cane, and vanilla as well as fresh-cut organic Thai herbs sourced from a tea farm in Northern Thailand.
In a tea market that lacked innovation for decades, iLOLA invented the Tea Disc as a way to make loose leaf easier to enjoy without using a tea bag, which has toxic microplastics that negatively impact the environment and the tea itself. By holding the loose-leaf tea with a clear, cellulose binding—which is packed with probiotics that nourish not only the person drinking tea, but also the land—the company has made loose-leaf simple.
Jus Chill is introducing an exotic fruit, called a breadfruit, to the U.S. market. This native Jamaican fruit is one of the highest-yielding fruit trees in the world. It is touted as an ideally sustainable food source that can be leveraged as a profitable export for developing economies. Jus Chill shows you how versatile this fruit is with its wide variety of products from breadfruit chips to pancake mix to muffin and cake mix.
Santa Sofia agave Vinegar is the world’s first agave vinegar made with blue agave from Los Altos de Jalisco, rich in minerals and other nutrients. Santa Sofia is so versatile, it is made to be paired and celebrated will all kinds of flavors, from recipes on the barbeque to desserts to cocktails.
Crepini has high-protein, carb-free egg wraps that are a delicious, healthy, and nutritious replacement for high-calorie wraps, tacos, breads, pitas, pizzas, and typical dessert and breakfast dishes. The family developed a unique recipe for a product fluffy enough to be a crepe but strong enough to hold a pizza full of toppings. The new products consist of Crepini Omelets, Egg White Omelets, and Eggless Wraps. All are designed to give great versatility and a plant-based option that tastes like eggs but doesn’t come from chickens.
CHKP Foods created the first dairy-free yogurt made of chickpeas that is high in protein and low in fat. It tastes just as good as a traditional dairy yogurt: rich, thick and creamy so you don’t need to compromise taste while eating plant-based, healthy, and sustainable.
Fabalish will brighten your kitchen and bring life to your taste buds with delicious, clean, and organic plant-based foods (without ever sacrificing flavor). This chickpea focused company makes delicious baked falafel chickpea veggie bites that pair perfectly with their dips and sauces made from aquafaba (chickpea water).
Making Food Fun
Noshi makes mealtime fun with simple food paint. It’s a condiment like maple syrup, ketchup, or strawberry sauce, but in tubes small enough for kids to manage. Plus, you can draw with it too! Parents love food paint because it is certified organic, vegan, and gluten free, has no added salt, sugars, or artificial flavors or colors, and is vegetarian, nut, dairy, soy, and egg-free. Kids love all the different partnerships like Peppa Pig, Crayola, and more.
Bringing families together to cook, play, and have fun, mealtime has never been more exciting with Happy Grub. Happy Grub makes squeezable instant pancake mixes with natural and organic ingredients. It comes in four great flavors. The kid-friendly squeeze-top bottles allow for easy pancake (or waffle) making, without the mess. People of all skill levels can “draw” shapes, letters, numbers, and designs right onto the pan.
A Toast to Good Health
Ikeda Matcha is on a mission to supply the world with premium matcha made with the delicate fusion of ancestral wisdom and contemporary manufacturing technology. Ikeda Matcha is a high-quality, organic green tea grown in Japan. All of their teas are blended by a 10th grade Chashi (Master Tea Maker), which is the highest rank of tea makers and only 13 people in the world hold this title.
Introducing the micro drink cube, Waterdrop. This is the first of its kind beverage cube that can be added to water to give you a burst of flavor and energy while reducing the use of plastic. It can help you drink more water and be more sustainable. Waterdrop makes drinking more water easier because of its delicious flavor. They even have a water bottle as well as an app to track your daily intake.
In a world of hard seltzers, Sunboy is disrupting the market with the originally boozy coconut water. These canned cocktails are made with hydrating coconut water and real tropical fruit, playfully spiked, and sparkled. A joyous gift from the sun—just like the coconut itself. It’s their way of bringing your favorite coconut cocktails to the parks, beaches and rooftops where they’re best enjoyed.
A wellness beverage company serving up plant-powered hydration and health, Recoup is a 100% natural beverage crafted with hydrating tree water and organic ginger to support muscle recovery, digestion, and immunity while delivering electrolytes and nutrients to replenish your system.
Setting the Standard for Quality
Boticelli has 4 generations of roots in Italian growing and grocers and a continued commitment to bringing authentic and indigenous Mediterranean flavors through its healthy tomato sauces. Their products are made with the simplest, purest ingredients and they have expanded as a national staple in grocery stores and supermarkets. They continue the tradition of fine Italian food to make every meal a masterpiece. As the only imported Italian specialties supplier offering a range of premium products grown, packed, and produced in Italy, Botticelli shows what real Italian means by bringing the taste of Italy to the table.
Zeal Creamery is the new standard of dairy coming all the way from New Zealand. Zeal uses regenerative farming and grazing practices that restores degraded soil, improves biodiversity and increases carbon capture, helping to alleviate climate change. They treat their cows with the utmost love and respect. Feel good about dairy that comes from cows that live out their full life span, nurse their calves, and graze freely on pastures.
Ocean Beauty Seafood’s fresh, premium consumer facing salmon brand, Echo Falls, introduces new line of protein salmon burgers that are packed with health benefits. Combining salmon with veggies and added protein, this is the only salmon burger like it on the market. Ocean Beauty Seafoods uses authentic and traditional methods from Alaska, Scotland, and Norway
Miracle Noodle provides healthy, low-carb rice and pasta and ready-to-eat meals with their line of shirataki foods. They’re all made from the Japanese Konjac plant, making it grain free, which has been consumed in Japan for over 1,000 years. They contain only 1g od net carbs per serving and are recipe ready for the perfect healthier carrier for your favorite sauces.
International Flavors
Ponti & Modenaceti is Italy’s leading expert in organic and luxurious vinegars. No other company has Ponti’s experience or legacy in all things vinegar dating back 250 years and 9 generations. This company continues to innovate the vinegar experience with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP, wine vinegars, apple cider vinegars, and rich and creamy vinegars.
Kapka lets you experience authentic vegan Indian food like you never have before with their ready to cook dishes crafted to provide you wholesome plant-based goodness. Bring the goodness of vegan home cooked Indian food to your kitchen that is ready to cook in minutes. No prepping, no chopping, or cleaning, just pour water, cook, and eat!
Balkan Bites is a female- and family-owned business that specializes in wholesome Southeast European comfort foods such as Burek, a portable stuffed phyllo swirl. With their dedication to premium ingredients and authentic recipes, they aim to make their cuisine accessible to all. Bureks are a daily staple in the Balkans that they are bringing to the U.S. with their all-natural phyllo dough made from scratch with premium ingredients.
Fly By Jing is inspired by the amazing flavors of founder Jing’s hometown Chengdu, and its famous fly restaurants—soulful hole-in-the-wall eateries so good they attract diners like flies. They are the first premium Chinese food company that brings thoughtfully crafted pantry staples to the modern kitchen. They’re on a mission to bring uncensored Chinese flavors to the table.
SugarRoti creates Indian spice blends using the finest ingredients for your home cooking. Each of their Indian spice blends includes ingredients like garam masala, turmeric, cumin, cayenne pepper and more. Whether you need to add flavor to your meal or want extra spice, SugarRoti has you covered. Their Indian seasoning blends are made from the finest ingredients, created from time-tested family recipes and with sustainability in mind every step of the way.
