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:
- 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.
·
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
