The SFA’s 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show brought together industry professionals, retailers, distributors, and CPG brands for three incredible days of culinary inspiration and innovation. As EatQ walked the floor, several brands and products captured our attention. Join us as we highlight the top four trends that are sure to revolutionize the food industry.

Unique Flavors Reinventing Categories

Prepare your taste buds for a flavor revolution! This year, we witnessed a delightful trend of unique flavor profiles invading staple categories like chips, snack bars, granola, nut mixes, and jerky. From unique takes on classic staples to a boom of bold, Asian-inspired flavors, these products are sure to revolutionize the way we snack.

Standout Brands
  • Industry veterans, The Saucy Ladies impressed with their unique flavors. From arrabbiata to truffle, these kettle chips bring excitement to a classic snack.
  • For Good Granola is bringing buckwheat to breakfast with granola flavors like sweet curry and cranberry spice.
  • Homiah, a woman-founded brand, offers Southeastern Asian spice kits. Wiets can’t wait to cook with their Indonesian Rending Spice Kit.
  • Brooklyn Delhiare producing small-batch sauces with Indian flavors like tomato achaar, coconut cashew korma, and more.
  • Amazin’ Graze is a woman-founded brand making plant-based snack mixes and granolas. One of Wiets’s favorite bites out of the entire show was their pandan coconut nut mix.

Still Hungry for Healthy & Convenient

We saw continued innovation in better-for-you snacks and convenience foods. We loved seeing fun new interpretations and innovations of classic products.

Standout Brands
  • Michele’s Granola introduced us to spreadable granola, and we’re never looking back.
  • The Hampton Grocer lemon poppy and dried blueberry granola is perfectly baked in small batches. They add the perfect level of sweetness with wildflower honey.
  • Women-owned snack brand B’cuz wowed us with their cherry pistachio granola bites.

Innovations in Sustainability

Brands are taking significant strides toward sustainability by introducing eco-friendly ingredients. We are so inspired by brands committed to regenerative farming, sustainable sourcing, and reducing food waste.

Standout Brands
  • Matriark Foods makes flavorful sauces that are Carbon Neutral and Upcycled Certified.
  • The Spare Food Co. is a refreshing addition to the beverage category. Their sparkling tonics are made from quality ingredients, like upcycled whey.
  • Matomani gave Wiets her first taste of a mopani protein bar. This is a great source of low carbon footprint animal protein. This South African woman-founded brand brings traditional Tsonga cuisine to snack bars.

A Nurturing Entrepreneurship Community

The Fancy Food Show highlighted the importance of incubators and community kitchens in supporting small food brands. Chicago’s The Hatchery, New York’s FoodFutureCo, and New Jersey’s Hudson Kitchen stood out as valuable resources.

These organizations offer guidance and tangible advice on how to help brands grow. These incubators provide aspiring entrepreneurs the necessary tools, knowledge, and support to navigate the challenges of scaling their businesses.

The Takeaway

The Specialty Food Association’s Fancy Food Show showcased a multitude of exciting trends that are set to reshape the food industry. This show presented endless possibilities for CPG food brands to create fresh flavors, blend cultures, and reinvigorate classics. The future of the food industry is full of potential for more culinary delights, sustainable practices, and growth.

Curious to know how your CPG food product compares to the industry’s latest trends?

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About EatQ

EatQ is a leading product data platform that specializes in helping small, health, and sustainability-focused brands differentiate themselves in online grocery retail. The EatQ platform provides affordable pre-sales planning, marketing, and research tools including Competitor Comparison and Claim Finder features.