2015 Winter Fancy Food Show: Trends and highlights

There’s no place like the Fancy Food show to see the hottest trends in specialty foods since many of these will eventually be mainstream in both retail and foodservice. Here are a few of the trends we spotted in San Francisco:

Nuts for coconut
From top billing as a snack ingredient, to coconut sugar and flour, it’s clear that it’s coming into the spotlight.

Popcorn goes upscale
No longer is popcorn accompanied solely by butter. We saw it as a base for sweet, spicy and savory additions like Toasted Sesame and Seaweed. We highly recommend King of Pop’s Buffalo variety!

What a jerky
Forget the jerky you see at your neighborhood convenience store. With the protein trend in full force, jerky has come into its own with grass fed varieties and exciting flavors like Bourbon Glaze.

Bring on the Sriracha
This spicy staple has made its way into everything from ketchup to snacks, and it doesn’t look like this hot trend will cool down anytime soon.

Peanuts with personality
Peanuts have moved beyond the roasted salted variety to a whole new world of exotic flavors like Merlot and Thai Curry Lemongrass. Gourmet peanut butters have taken center stage too.

Less-is-more packaging design
If traditional packaging design screams from the shelf, today’s packaging is more like a soft whisper. The effect speaks volumes with minimalist graphics that give a hand-crafted appearance.