Running Saturday, June 30th to Monday, July 2nd at New York City’s Jacob Javits Center, the Summer Fancy Food Show promises 6 football fields worth of specialty foods, including chocolate, cheese, olive oil and snacks. The largest special food industry event in North America, the Fancy Food Show is known to showcase its field’s best products and newest innovations. As presented by the membership-based Specialty Food Association — as founded in 1952 — attendees come from all walks of life, and over 34,000 people are expected to attend the 2018 Summer Fancy Food Show.
As getting through over 1,100 booths — in addition to dozens of scheduled events and presentations — ought to be very challenging, I decided to make it easier for readers of A Global Lifestyle who will be attending this year’s Summer Fancy Food Show. In turn below are 15 must-try, recommended brands that will be exhibiting at the Javits Center.
1) Bubba’s Fine Foods
Bubba’s Fine Foods is a paleo snack brand based in Colorado offering Snack Mixes, ‘Nana Chips and UnGranolas. All of its products are not only paleo, but grain-free, gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, non-GMO, and free of refined sugars and artificial flavorings. The Colorado-based company — as run by gourmet chef Jared Menzel and health coach and former CrossFit trainer Jeff Schmidgall — is less than 5 years old, yet already available via Whole Foods, Amazon and Sprouts.
2) The Zen Of Slow Cooking
Founded and co-created by Meg Barnhart, The Zen Of Slow Cooking makes spice blends for slow cookers, multi-cookers, and pressure cookers. The company currently offers 9 spice blends: Coq Au Vin, Indian Dal, Mediterranean, Moroccan Tagine, Mulling Spices (seasonal blend), Provençale, Sichuan Spice, Southwest Fiesta and Smoky BBQ. Each packet of its spices are gluten-free, aimed to flavor a meal for 4 to 6 people, while most of them are also salt-free.
3) Daelmans Stroopwafels
A family-owned company since 1909, Daelmans Banket BV is the leading stroopwafel baker in the world, producing stroopwafels for sale in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. Its stroopwafels are simultaneously UTZ certified, Certified Kosher-Diary, and have earned the Green Palm certificate from the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil, while its bakeries are HACCP, BRC and IFS approved. The waffles themselves contain no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or trans-fats, and they are currently available in three varieties: Caramel, Honey and the newly released Chocolate-Caramel. The waffles can be enjoyed hot or at room temperature; when heating it, just place one above your hot coffee cup for a minute. This has become my favorite dessert of the moment, no matter the flavor.
4) Crispy Green
Crispy Green makes the best-selling freeze-dried fruit snack in the United States. Sales aside, its Crispy Fruit products are non-GMO, gluten-free, kosher and vegan, while having no added sugars. Crispy Fruit is available in 7 flavors currently: Apple, Asian Pear, Banana, Cantaloupe, Mango, Pineapple and Tangerine. The New Jersey-based company is opting to unveil its colorful new packaging at the Summer Fancy Food Show.
5) CAULIPOWER
CAULIPOWER is the fastest-growing frozen pizza brand and is reportedly the #1 gluten-free pizza in the United States. At the Summer Fancy Food Show, CAULIPOWER will be showcasing a never-before-tested Frozen Paleo Pizza Crust and an All Natural Uncured Pepperoni Pizza. The company — under the leadership of Gail Becker, former Edelman President — only launched in 2017, yet it has quickly gone from 30 stores to 9,000 stores in 1 year. Furthermore, CAULIPOWER is already making the world a better place via its partnership with OneSun.
6) From The Ground Up
Speaking of cauliflower, From The Ground Up is a line of cauliflower-based crackers and pretzels. Its products also include cassava flour and vegetable blend powders made from real vegetables. From The Ground Up’s snacks are non-GMO, gluten-free and made from vegan ingredients. In turn, a 1-ounce serving is low in calories and a good source of vitamins while still feeling like a snack. From The Ground Up is now available via Amazon.
7) Mrs. Renfro’s
A brand focused on adding flavor, Mrs. Renfro’s 33 products currently on the market fall into 1 of 5 categories: salsa, relish, peppers, barbecue sauce and cheese sauce. One of the more interesting products from the Texas-based brand, to this writer at least, is Mrs. Renfro’s Craft Beer Salsa. The company’s 20th salsa on the market, it was made in collaboration with the Rahr & Sons Brewing Company, which added in its Texas Red amber lager. Also of note is that Renfro Foods President Doug Renfro will be inducted into the Specialty Food Association’s Hall Of Fame on July 1st at the Javits Center.
8) RW Garcia
A family-owned and operated snack brand, RW Garcia has been around since 1982, as known for its high-quality, organic corn chips, tortilla chips and artisan crackers. In time for the Summer Fancy Food Show, RW Garcia just launched a new line of USDA Certified Organic and non-GMO chips in 4 flavors, including Yellow, Blue Corn, Bar-B-Q, and Chili Cheese. All of this follows the recently-launched RW Garcia’s Organic Lentil with Turmeric and Organic Chickpea 3 Seed Artisan Crackers. The California-based company also takes pride in its snacks being kosher, gluten-free and preservative-free.
9) Auga Group AB
The largest organic food company in Europe, Auga Group AB is making its North American debut at this year’s Summer Fancy Food Show. In terms of packaging, Auga’s products are packaged in unique, low-CO2 emission pouches, or doypacks, and are BPA-free. The foods themselves are produced with a 12-month shelf life in mind while also being organic, vegan, preservative-free and non-GMO. At the Javits Center, Auga will be presenting 5 soups (Minestrone, Creamy Tomato, Mushroom, Carrot, and Beet Borscht), mushrooms in brine (both whole and sliced), marinated mushrooms, 2 flavors of pickled beets, various beans, and canola oil (cold-pressed and from kernels). The Lithuanian agricultural giant is currently distributed in Costco, Whole Foods U.K. and IKEA.
10) Harmless Harvest
Harmless Harvest is the producer of acclaimed, pure and organic coconut water. The company was founded in Brooklyn in 2009 — it has since moved to San Francisco — and launched the first non-thermally pasteurized coconut water in the United States in 2011. In 2014, Harmless Coconut Water became the first coconut water to achieve Fair For Life Certification. Now, the company also has a line of non-dairy yogurt drinks, Harmless Coconut Probiotics, on the market. Meanwhile, Harmless continues to act as an industry pioneer by continually working towards a zero-waste ingredient model. Ultimately you have yourself products that are both delicious and responsible.
11) Explore Cuisine Pasta
Explore Cuisine is known for creating gluten-free pasta alternatives. While known for its pulse, bean and rice protein pastas, its latest product is the Organic Mung Bean Rotini. All of the Explore products are not only loaded with plant-based protein and fiber, but they are also organic, vegan and non-GMO. Already popular and in stores are the Organic Edamame Spaghetti, Organic Red Lentil Penne, Organic Brown Rice Fusilli and the Organic Brown Rice Pad Thai Noodles. Admirably, the brand is known to give back via its Food To Thrive Foundation
12) Nielsen-Massey
Nielsen-Massey has a reputation for creating flavors from fine ingredients, having launched in 1907. Nielsen-Massey’s new Pure Lemon Paste is being showcased this year’s Summer Fancy Food Show before hitting shelves. This is the first flavor paste from Nielsen-Massey and was modeled after the company’s popular vanilla bean pastes. Pure Lemon Paste is designed to give chefs and home cooks a flavorful finishing touch to elevate gourmet dishes and everyday favorites, without the need to zest or juice. It is all-natural, allergen-free, non-GMO, kosher and gluten-free. Meanwhile, 10 percent of the company’s proceeds go to The Nielsen-Massey Foundation — as started up in 2009 — which benefits disadvantaged children and adults with education and leadership development, especially in the field of culinary arts.
13) Lotito Foods Cheese Folios
A century-old family business founded in the 1890s — now led by 3rd generation owner Chris Lotito — Lotito Foods now elevates Italian street staples by offering classic recipes from Rome, Naples and Sicily. These authentic, specialty foods are imported directly from Italy, made fresh from traditional, all-natural ingredients, then frozen fresh. Low-carb Cheese Folios dishes will be served a Lotito’s booth at the Summer Fancy Food Show, as available in the Jarlsberg, Parmesan and Cheddar varieties and prepared by celebrity chef George Duran.
14) A&H Kosher Hot Dogs
Abeles & Heymann — also known as A&H — makes award-winning premium kosher hot dogs and deli meats. Since 1954, A&H Kosher Hot Dogs have been 100% beef, filler-free, nitrate-free and gluten-free. The New Jersey-based brands hot dogs are available in regular, uncured, mini and knockwurst form, in addition to low-sodium and reduced-fat options being on the market. The company also produces beef fry, kishka, cervelat, salami, chipotle franks, corned beef and pastrami, all of which certified glatt kosher by the Orthodox Union, Kehillah Kashrus and Rabbi Yecheil Babad.
15) The Pickle Juice Company’s Pickle Juice
Last but definitely not least, The Pickle Juice Company is a leading sports beverage company that has transformed the way muscle cramping is treated with its functional and USDA Organic formula. Its bottled Pickle Juice is free of allergens, gluten and sugar, and is loaded with up to 14 times more electrolytes than the average sports drink. The drink also aims the engage the same neurological receptors in the brain that causes cramps and stops them, reportedly quicker than anything else on the market today. In turn, this can mean no longer experiencing cramps during exercise, laborious jobs, sleep or pregnancy. Science aside, Pickle Juice tastes exactly like the name implies while carrying a long shelf-life and not requiring refrigeration. Healthy, tasty — assuming you like the taste of pickles — and easy.
