Photo by Geoff Cardin
Sauer Frau squeezable sauerkraut (along with sister product Grouchy Gaucho squeezable guacamole), as featured at the 45th Winter Fancy Food Show earlier this week in San Francisco
The Fancy Food Show is everything that the name suggests: a compendium of all those gourmet items that we love to obsess over. In fact, the 45th Winter Fancy Food Show was a three-day smorgasbord of more than 80,000 specialty foods and beverages, all under one roof.
Makers of cheese, chocolate, jams, and so much more travel from around the world to put their goods on display in hopes of growing sales, forging partnerships or collaborations, and garnering exposure.
As we strolled the many (many) aisles of the Moscone Center in San Francisco, we saw the familiar faces of St. Louis food makers, sharing their products and gaining a lot of attention.
Photo by Geoff Cardin
Lisa Govro and Kunthearath Morrissey were there, pouring samples of Big Heart Tea. A large percentage of the Fancy Food Show attendees are buyers looking for products to stock on retail shelves, and Morrissey found conversations skewing heavily toward supply chain and sustainability.
"It used to be that retailers guided the customers' purchasing decisions," said Morrisey. "The last decade has seen a tremendous push from consumers to know the source of where their ingredients are coming from and how it all happens. Tea is a very small segment in the gourmet food industry; our customers appreciate knowing the steps we take to bring our tea to market."
Photo by Geoff Cardin
Anya Corson, owner of Anya’s Apothekere, sampled her fermented honey sauces to a wide-ranging audience.
“We’ve had a phenomenal response, from high-end specialty retailers all the way to small ecommerce sites,” she said. When she had a chance to step away from her booth, Corson noticed an increase this year in fermented, raw, and plant-based products, as well as those specifically targeting the keto diet.
We also found healthy lifestyle products to be on the rise. There was a notable uptick in plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, and low-sugar food items. Where you might have found a booth with ooey-gooey caramel clusters or multi-layered dessert bars, there are now individually packaged dates and raw bars—no sugar added and minimally processed. Nut milks abounded, and we especially enjoyed a hazelnut milk made with Oregon hazelnuts. Non-alcoholic beers and mocktails were stylishly branded and marketed to those prioritizing an active lifestyle. And, of course, there was cauliflower everything.
Photo by Geoff Cardin
Mark Sanfilippo, owner of Salume Beddu, also noted that there were fewer meat products being shown at the Fancy Food Show this year, yet he was happy with the response received by his handcrafted charcuterie, especially the nduja.
“In San Francisco, St. Louis is exotic,” he said. “We just keep prosthelytizing the high quality of midwestern pork, and people are paying attention.”
More St. Louis-based products repped at the Fancy Food Show included Maull’s barbecue sauces, 17th Street BBQ sauces, Sauer Frau squeezable sauerkraut, Grouchy Gaucho squeezable guacamole, Sweeter Cards candy bar greeting cards, and Avocado Tea Co.
Photo by Geoff Cardin
