REVIEW OF 2022 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW

The Specialty Food Association (SFA) Winter Fancy Food Show ran from February 6-8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and featured more than 800 companies from around the world showcasing thousands of products. The Fancy Food Show is clearly the industry’s largest show for specialty food products

 

The huge show filled the entire North Hall of the Convention Center.  Components of the show included:

• Incubator Village: Incubator Village features ten incubators from around the U.S. showcasing dozens of companies they have helped launch or grow.
• Education Sessions: The SFA is presenting a full program of workshops and business-building seminars to help startups, established manufacturers, and buyers with all levels of expertise succeed in the ever-changing marketplace. All sessions open to press, space permitting. Full Schedule
• sofi™ Awards Showcases for Outstanding Specialty Foods of 2022: Established in 1972, the sofi Awards advance culinary excellence and creativity worldwide by recognizing the outstanding work of SFA member companies. The 2019 sofi Awards produced 139 winners in the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and New Product categories.
• Leadership Awards Ceremony,  Main Stage, celebrating the outstanding modern contributions of three remarkable Association members in Business Leadership, Citizenship and Vision.
• Front Burner: Foodservice Pitch Competition,Main Stage: Three exhibitors, Bob Trently, Pourable Cream Cheese, Savencia Cheese; Christine Lantinen, Fizzy Drink Bombs, Maud Borup; Dinesh Tadepalli, incrEDIBLE - Spoons you Eat!, Planeteer, will pitch their foodservice-ready products to a panel of specialty food buyers in this live competition. All contestants get feedback on their products, and the winner will receive a promotional package from the SFA.
• What's NEXT in Food!, South Building – Level 2, Room 202 - an interactive 'show within the show featuring:
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• The Mediterranean Diet Roundtable will host exhibits and feature leading scholars, analysts, and foodservice experts from around the world presenting scientific findings, trends, and other insight about the health values, commercial benefits, and market trends for Mediterranean foods. "The Science Behind the Mediterranean Diet" program is a show add-on seminar running on Monday.
• The FCIA Fine Chocolate Pavilion is focused on the artistry and craftsmanship of fine chocolate professionals and products, the FCIA believes in using best practices in cacao processing and chocolate production and transparent labeling and marketing practices. The Fine Chocolate Pavilion will feature specialty talks from experts in the fine chocolate industry, 20 exhibitor kiosks, chocolate pairings, and so much more.
• Industry Newcomers -- "New Brands on the Shelf" will feature up-and-coming specialty food producers who are Specialty Food Association Member Candidates. They will showcase dozens of niche and artisanal products.
• Plant-based food producers – many never before at a Fancy Food Show. See the latest in plant-based food products.

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We found some new products that  deserve a shout-out as “Best of Show,” in addition to a review. Here are our own “winners”—the products upon which we bestow gold, silver and bronze stars, plus honorable mentions. For a list of the show's official award winners, click here.   

 

 

On the humantarian side, Fancy Food Show Exhibitors Donated Over 20,000 Pounds of Specialty Food to Las Vegas Organizations

 

On the final day, exhibitors donated their surplus specialty food to Three Square Food Bank, Southern Nevada’s only food bank, and largest hunger relief organization, serving four counties–Clark, Lincoln, Esmeralda and Nye, and F.R.E.E. International, an anti-human trafficking organization.

 

·         “The Specialty Food Association traditionally ends its Fancy Food Shows with food rescue,” said Jennifer Carney, Director, Tradeshow Operations, for the SFA. “Our members were happy to partner with Las Vegas organizations working hard to support people in their community.”

·         Both organizations received donations of specialty foods and beverage products, which included meat, cheese, plant-based, confections, snacks, and more. Three Square received a total of 8,573 pounds of food which equates to approximately 7,144 meals, with F.R.E.E. International receiving perishables weighing in over 12,000 pounds.

·         "Nearly 364,000 Southern Nevadans are food-insecure, that's one in six people who don't know where their next meal is coming from," said Three Square Food Bank President and CEO Brian Burton. "Thanks to the generous donation provided by the SFA Winter Fancy Food Show, we're able to distribute additional meals to those in need right here in our community. It's partners like SFA that continue to drive us, fueling our fight against hunger and pursuit of a hunger-free community."

·         "On behalf of F.R.E.E. International, we are so grateful to The Specialty Food Association's Winter Fancy Food Show for providing us with such a generous donation of perishable foods. F.R.E.E. International works to Find Restore Embrace and Empower families in the Las Vegas valley through a variety of outreach, training, services and care to reduce human trafficking and exploitation, and we couldn't be more appreciative of this incredibly bountiful donation,” said Aaron Hansel, Free International Las Vegas, 1000 Men for Freedom Director. “It's truly an honor to be a recipient of these much-needed products, and they will be distributed immediately to the deserving individuals, families and partnering organizations that serve our community."

·         The Summer Fancy Food Show, which will also have a food rescue component, will take place June 12-14 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. For more  information, click here.

by Rob Long Editor  and Tara Thompson