Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS MARCH 2015 www.gourmetnews.com WFF WRAP-UP 1 6 A panel of food trend experts have nibbled their way through the largest Winter Fancy Food Show in its 40-year history to identify the top five trends bound for store shelves in the coming year. The West Coast's largest trade show devoted exclusively to specialty food featured several exhibit halls brim- ming with over 80,000 examples of the lat- est chocolate, cheese, olive oil, granolas, salsas, charcuterie and more from across the United States and 30 countries. In all, the exhibit space occupied by companies at this year's WFF Show was enough to fill four football fields. The first expert-identified trend at this year's show was the increasing diversity among represented cheese products. A number of companies brought to the show floor their unique twists to cheese, including Yancey's Fancy, maker of Grilled Bacon Cheeseburger Artisan Cheese; Sonoma Creamery, maker of Mr. Cheese O's; Silva Regal Spanish Food, maker of Manchego-Style Cheese Fla- vored Olive Oil; and Angie's Boomchick- apop, maker of Caramel & Cheddar Mix. Breakfast is no longer being relegated to the morning hours, with a number of ex- hibitors showing that breakfast foods are now popular all day long. Chuao Choco- latier's Strawberry Waffle Wild Milk Choco- late, Uncle Andy's Jerky's Bandito Loco Spicy Coffee Beef Jerky, The Republic of Tea's Cinnamon Toast HiCaf Tea and Dang Foods' Savory Bacon Coconut Chips all ex- emplify this growing trend. It's "time for turmeric," proclaimed trendspotters after leaving the show floor this year. Companies incorporating turmeric into their product line include Rishi Tea, maker of Turmeric Ginger Tea; HealthVerve, maker of Turmeric Rice; Bruce Cost Ginger Ale, maker of Passion Fruit Ginger Ale with Turmeric; and Navi- tas Naturals, maker of Turmeric Tamari Al- monds. Cruciferous vegetables are also appar- ently on point in 2015, and specialty food companies are no longer stopping at kale. Creative Snacks' Broccoli Chips, Alive & Radiant's Arugula Cabbage Veggie Krunch, Wonderfully Raw Gourmet's Tamarind Al- mond Crunch Brussel Bytes and Genuine Grub's Spicy Pickled Cabbage typify this growing trend. Finally, experts pointed to vanilla as an important trending flavor at this year's show. Companies are incorporating vanilla into their product lines in inter- esting ways, including Heber Valley Ar- tisan Cheese, which uses the flavor in its Vanilla Bean Cheddar Cheese; and Drink Daily Greens, which makes Enlighten Hemp Milk with Blue-Green Algae and Vanilla. "Consumers are craving food with taste appeal, a sense of adven- ture, and a decided healthy glow. These new products at the show play right into that appetite," said panelist Denise Purcell, Editor of Specialty Food Media. In addition to these five new trends, experts also observed that the trends of 2014 are still going strong. The show had plenty of gluten-free foods, ancient grains, coconut, sriracha and kale. In addition to Purcell, Specialty Food Association trendspotters in- cluded Emma Christensen, Recipe Editor for The Kitchn; Sarah Fritsche, Staff Writer at the San Francisco Chronicle; Christine Gallary, Food and Cooking Editor for The Kitchn; Kara Nielsen, Culinary Director of the Sterling-Rice Group; David Sax, free- lance food journalist/author; Nancy Hop- kins, Senior Deputy Editor of Food & Entertainment for Better Homes & Gar- dens; and Ashley Koff, Editorial Director for The Ashley Koff Approved List. GN Expert Spotters Identify Top Five Food Trends Seen at 2015 WFFS Chuao Chocolatier's Strawberry Waffle Wild Milk Chocolate was cited as an example from the show of the growing trend toward breakfast foods being served all day.

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