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Gourmet News June 2014

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GOURMET NEWS JUNE 2014 www.gourmetnews.com SUMMER FANCY FOOD SHOW PREVIEW 1 8 BY ZACH CALVELLO Each year, the sofi Awards honor truly out- standing specialty foods in 30 categories, ranging from cheese and dairy to diet and lifestyle products. This year, judges gath- ered in New York at the Specialty Food As- sociation from March 31-April 4 to commence the first step of a two-month se- lection process. Among the judges were a diverse group of highly qualified profes- Food Show. "We really enjoy going to the show. It gives us the perfect opportunity to meet with our customers face-to-face and discuss new products and ideas to mutually grow everyone's business," he said. "This show has also been great for us in meeting new retailers." Blackberry Patch will be showcasing its sofi-nominated Three Ingre- dient Blackberry Syrup at the show. Like Jones, Canada also looks for- ward each year to the Summer Fancy Food Show as an important event that connects him with others in the specialty food industry. "I love the turnout at the show," he said. "People come from all over the world to educate and connect." This year's Summer Fancy Food Show will feature 24,000 ex- hibitors from 80 countries and re- gions, making it the East Coast's largest specialty food and beverage event. The 2014 sofi Award winners will be an- nounced at a red carpet ceremony at the show on June 30. To stay updated on in- formation about the 2014 Summer Fancy Food Show, and to follow the judging process for the 2014 sofi Awards, visit www.specialtyfood.com. GN sionals, including specialty food retailers, supermarket buyers, natural food mer- chants, mass marketers, chefs, caterers, journalists and culinary educators. This year, 2,025 products were submitted for judging. After five days of judging, based on taste, quality, innovation, ingredient profile and marketability, 109 companies were chosen as finalists. Honored in the Outstanding Diet or Lifestyle Product category, Sencha Naturals was pleas- antly surprised when its Green Tea + C Citrus Ginger was selected. Adela Hasas, Head of Ed- ucational Enlight- enment at Sencha Naturals said, "I was with David, owner of Sencha Naturals, and I could tell he was just as surprised as I was. We consider ourselves primarily a wellness product so it was a great honor to be noticed by the Specialty Food Industry." Philadelphia-based Jin + Ja was among the finalists selected in the Outstanding Cold Beverage category. A former sofi Award winner in 2013 for its original Jin + Ja drink, this year, Jin + Ja's Dragon Fruit drink was selected as a nominee. Like the original, Dragon Fruit Jin + Ja combines the simple ingredients of ginger, cayenne pepper, green tea, mint and lemon in carefully calcu- lated doses. However, the addition of passion fruit distinguishes this drink from its predecessor. "I wanted to stay away from the middle ground, because I didn't want to end up with a bland prod- uct," said Reuben Canada, the President and CEO of Jin + Ja. "When you accept the possibility that not everyone will like your product, you are able to stand out." Jin + Ja will be debuting its Dragon Fruit Jin + Ja at this year's Summer Fancy Food Show. A sofi Award nominee in the Outstand- ing Dessert or Dessert Topping category, Harry Jones, co-owner of Blackberry Patch, looks forward to this year's Summer Fancy Nominees for 2014 sofi Awards Look Forward to Summer Fancy Food Show

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