The Fancy Food show is all about adventure — discovering new flavors, new ingredients, and new ways to eat better food.  And the Summer 2010 show did not disappoint – a staggering array of delightful foods of all kinds, from the local farm and from far away, filled the booths in New York City late last month.  The show was heavy on confectionary items (cookies, candies, chocolates, baked desserts),  snack foods, cheeses, “New Age” beverages, and sauces.  And there were certainly themes that echoed current top food trends.

Creative ways of incorporating healthy ingredients into a variety of foods. There were new products made with tried-and-true whole grains such as oats, corn, rice, and wheat. Companies like Food Should Taste Good have multigrain chips with flavors like chocolate, jalapeno, olive, and sweet potato, in addition to the more traditional corn and cheese.  I also saw scores of new products made with healthy grains that are newer on the scene – flax, quinoa, bulgur, barley, and farro.  Shapes are changing too — flat snacks in particular were very popular.  The Suzie’s and Effie’s lines of flat breads and thin cakes were good examples of this trend. The booths of companies like Alexia  that have made their name with products featuring a healthy ingredient (sweet potato) were very busy.

The yogurt and kefir (yogurt for drinking) category continues to grow in popularity. I counted at least four Greek yogurt companies, with Chobani being the biggest, and many displays of kefir.  Pregel America offers a tart new variety of Tenero soft serve frozen yogurt that’s healthier by virtue of being made with skim milk.

Products like Sukhi’s “Naanwich” highlighted the theme of exotic mobile food (echoing the Street Truck phenomenon). The Naanwich combines the current taste for Indian flavors and products with the convenience of a sandwich that can be microwaved and eaten on the go. An appealing booth built in the form of a street truck (Alter Eco Fair Trade)  drew people in because it conveyed a sense of freshness and interesting food.

Although convenience was not a major theme at the show, a few convenience products are worth a mention. The “Naanwich” product mentioned above is one convenience product, but I also saw quite a few slow cooker kits, including Delicae Gourmet “Slow Cooker Dinners” and Purely American’s “Slow Cooker Gourmet Salt Free Dinner Kits.”  Slow cookers (I probably date myself by referring to mine as a “crock pot”) are making a comeback as more people are cooking at home and want a convenient way to have a family meal ready at the end of their hectic days. I see an opportunity for growth in this category. GoPicnic shelf-stable “Go Meals” offer a healthy alternative to products like Lunchables. GoPicnic makes airline meals and is leveraging its manufacturing expertise to make the Go Meals line along with other derivatives like the “Mighty Munch” line for kids.

The Indian cuisine category is still growing, as demonstrated by the appearance of products ranging from ketchup (Dulcet Cuisine’s “Indian Curry Ketchup“, which won a gold Sofi award in the condiment category) to cheese (Cabot’s Tikka Masala-flavored cheddar).  Although Indian flavors are growing in popularity, this is still a fairly narrow (niche) concept. When I asked Cabot how this flavor was moving, the response made it pretty clear that it was never going to be a top seller. Another niche product is Laura Santini’s “Taste No. 5 Umami Paste,” which delivers a so-called “fifth taste” (beyond sweet, salty, sour, and bitter) that the Japanese dubbed “umami” more than a century ago. For more information about the fifth taste check out this NPR story.

Finally, a trio of products that don’t quite fit the above trends, but which struck me as worth noting, given their adventurous nature:

• Strange and unusual products: the Possmei line of “Popping Boba” drinks, a bit hard to describe if you haven’t tried it. It’s essentially large tapioca pearls in a sweet drink.
• Surprisingly good: Mercer Dairy’s “Wine Ice Cream,” which blends ice cream with wine to create an elegant, delicious adult dessert.
• Unique and different: Delice Co’s “Magic Pop multigrain cakes,” which are popped on the spot in their own Magic Pop machine.

Below is a gallery of Fancy Food Show photos of the companies &  products described above