![12 breakthrough brands at Summer Fancy Food 2014 12 breakthrough brands at Summer Fancy Food 2014](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/bltafc06db067aebac6/64cbf83cdb0bcc7a8de33eaa/NewHopeNetwork_Horizontal_RGB.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Chocolate should be enjoyed in moderation, but BarkThins hopes to usher dessert into snack time. Made with Fair Trade cocoa, these slivers of chocolate are intended to be eaten like potato chips. So go ahead, get chip faced.
The folks behind Blue Hill's savory yogurts—which employ naturally sweet vegetables like beets, sweet potato and carrot to flavor the grass-fed milk—encourage customers to incorporate these one-of-a-kind products into sauces and condiments.
Old way to use gelato: Tasty summertime treat. New way to use gelato: Delicious protein delivery system. Stevia and agave-sweetened Forte offers 15 grams protein per serving, making it ideal for workout junkies and health nuts alike.
This silky-smooth condiment is yellow, but that's all Chili Butter has in common with it's dairy counterpart. Perfect for those with adventurous palates, slather this simmering puree onto everything … if you dare.
Death to sickly sweet nutrition bars! Inspired by Mediterranean flavors including black olives, sun dried tomatoes and sesame, Mediterra's savory bars contain pea protein, cashew butter, olive oil and chives. Finally, a mini-meal that doesn't taste like dessert.
What do you do when you want coffee but don't have the patience for a coffee pot? These thin take-anywhere packets remind us of Starbuck's nasty "Via" powder, until we realized that Brewsticks contain a liquid coffee concentrate that makes a bangin' hot or cold cuppa Joe.
We Americans love our breakfast cereal. But muesli? Isn't that the dry stuff your weird aunt with fifteen cats used to eat? The hip founders at Seven Sundays are bringing muesli into the mainstream by encouraging consumers to "soak" their muesli the traditional way: overnight so it's morning-meal ready.
Don't let the alien color fool you: You'll be slathering this 82 percent vegan avocado spread onto everything from sandwiches to chicken salads. Heck, do as Pulp Fiction's Vincent famously recounts and drown your French fries in this "mayo." How Belgian of you.
Calm down—Dave's Gourmet isn't asking you to spread raw cookie dough on everything. He is, however, encouraging you to infuse your morning toast and apple slices with a sinfully delectable dollop of this soft spread.
Crackers for dessert? It's pretty darn delicious! Like super-thin slices of biscotti, these aptly named Slims are individually packaged for after-dinner portion control.
What happened to the middle of these brownies, you ask? Seth Greenberg will tell you, "Who cares?" Brownie Crunches are for the chocolate lover who covets not the gooey, shapeless innards of the pan, but the crispy, crunchy edges. Plus, these chocolatey delights are spiked with spicy peppers.
Better Off Spread's The Ace of Spice is a sinus-clearing blend of black sesame seeds, organic Szechuan peppercorns and ground red chili peppers. Folks, this ain't your mama's peanut butter. Use to infuse exotic flavor into meats and stir fries.
Better Off Spread's The Ace of Spice is a sinus-clearing blend of black sesame seeds, organic Szechuan peppercorns and ground red chili peppers. Folks, this ain't your mama's peanut butter. Use to infuse exotic flavor into meats and stir fries.
In addition to the usual suspects of ho-hum potato chips and sea salted everything, while perusing the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City last week I noticed a peculiar trend among manufacturers hoping to rise above the noise.
Innovation, it seems, is not necessarily creating a new, never-before-seen product—it can also be fostering an alternative mindset.
For example, I saw mayonnaise fortified with avocado, chocolate shavings to eat like chips and heavily spiced peanut butter intended for adventurous cooks. The term “butter” was appropriated to a nondairy, smoking-hot chili pepper puree.
For sure, not all of these originalities will stick. In fact, some products were downright silly. But you’ve got to admire the manufacturers that not only envision a new paradigm of food usage, but that also have the chutzpah to convince consumers they should alter their carefully cultivated culinary routines.
The following breakthrough products exemplify a new way of thinking about, using and eating food. After all, who says that mayo can’t be green?
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