When more than 2,000 exhibitors from around the world get together to showcase their latest and greatest in the food industry, trends are bound to be noticed. That’s exactly what happened as The Specialty Food Association’s (SFA) Trendspotter Panel made its way through the Summer Fancy Food Show last month.
Taking place from June 25-27 at the Javits Center in New York City, the panel tasted all sorts of products and flavors that are expected to influence the industry in the coming months.
“Specialty food and beverage makers are innovators whose creativity drives our $194 billion industry,” said Denise Purcell, SFA’s vice president, resource development. “The trends identified at the 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show will influence not only specialty, but the food industry at large, in the months ahead.”
The Trendspotter Panel identified six new trends gaining in popularity in 2023:
Flavor Fluidity
Crossover flavors were popping up across the summer show, including snacks featuring cocktail flavors, teas with dessert vibes and even savory meat flavors in some sweets.
“Flavors that are traditionally representative of one category are entering new and not only adjacent ones,” said Trendspotters Mikel Cirkus and Hannah Rogers.
Examples: The Barreled Bee Buzz Sticks; Golden Nest Mint Mojito Coffee Latte; Global Teas ChocolaTea; Naïve Dry Aged Beef Steak Chocolate
Chipping In
For the first time, salty snacks took the top spot in best-selling retail categories, according to the SFA’s State of the Specialty Food Industry Research, 2023-2024 edition. Companies are finding new ways to innovate traditional chips while also exploring alternative grains and vegetable chips.
Examples: Confetti Snack Mushroom Chips; Maname Tempeh Chips; Nantucket Stubby Jamaican Jerk Chips; Sal de Ibiza La Vie en Rose; Wine Chips Furikake Private Reserve Wine Chip.
One-Step Convenience
Cooking at home is still in style even as we get further into the post-pandemic era. One-step products that help limit waste, messes and overall effort with making a meal are on the rise.
“Convenience isn’t just on the go. It’s whatever works for you,” said Trendspotter Melanie Bartelme.
Examples: Black & Bolyard’s Brown Butter; Cornhusker Duck Fat Spray; Fine Italian Food Mantova Poke Spray Oils; Mantis Sweet Heat BBQ Dust; Pasta Noodles Co. Rapid Cook Meals; Shmallow Aerosol Marshmallow Topping
African Specialties
Ingredients, flavors and recipes from Africa began gaining traction a few years ago with products like Yolele’s fonio, foods and beverages. The “bold Tanzanian flavor” and use of “functional botanicals” are standouts, said Trendspotter Chala June.
Examples: Monatea beverage in Ginger, Peach, and African Olive Leaf; Chakalaka Mathata; Zwita Smoky Harissa; Curio Spice Co. Rose Harissa; Ubah Hot Hot Sauces
Asian-Inspired Snack Flavors
Flavors of Asia are making waves with sweet and salty snacks for a taste of the unexpected. Some examples include:
- Edie’s for Everybody vegan and organic sunflower seed butter cups in dark chocolate black sesame, white chocolate matcha, white matcha Vietnamese coffee, and white chocolate chai.
- Næra Snacks Crunchy Capelin with Roe in Wasabi, made from wild caught sustainably harvested Icelandic haddock
- Tochi Popcorn in Salted Egg, Black Sesame, Black Milk Tea, and Ube.
When Bad Tastes Good
Products that make “brazen statements, evocative claims, or even flavor/ingredient combinations that appear to be ‘in bad taste’ but contribute to the brand’s allure by design,” said Cirkus and Rogers.
Examples: BeeBad Energy Drinks; Bitchin’ Sauce Heat; Dirty Cow’s XXXMas Pudding Chocolate; Sway’s Endless Libido Gummies
The 2024 Winter Fancy Food Show will take place January 21-23 in Las Vegas, while the Summer Fancy Food Show will be back in New York City in 2024 June 23-25.
The 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show Trendspotter Panel included Melanie Zanoza Bartelme, Mintel; Osei Blackett, chef/owner Ariapita and Everything Oxtail; Mikel Cirkus, Foresight & Trenz, dsm-firmenich; Jenn de la Vega, Put A Egg on It; Jonathan Deutsch, PhD, CHE, CRC, Drexel University; Thomas Joseph, Martha Stewart and Sur La Table; Chala June, writer; Hannah Rogers, Foresight & Trenz, dsm-firmenich, Stan Sagner, Founder, We Work for Food, LLC; Emily Schildt, founder, Pop Up Grocer; Kantha Shelke, Ph.D., CFS, IFT Fellow, Corvus Blue LLC.
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