8 NEXT food trends from Summer Fancy Food 2014
![8 NEXT food trends from Summer Fancy Food 2014 8 NEXT food trends from 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)
Beetnik Organic Peruvian Seasoned Chicken Stew Hard-core followers of the caveman lifestyle may balk at the idea of a frozen meal, but for most paleo eaters, Beetnik’s prepared meals are a godsend. Four paleo and gluten-free certified dishes nod to international cuisines (Peru, Italy, Morocco, Brazil), and are made with simple ingredients you can pronounce (read: no preservatives or weird chemicals). Even if you don’t follow a paleo diet, how cool is it that those with dairy or grain allergies can have a clean, quick main, too?
Cloister Honey Ghost Pepper Cloister wasn’t the only company at Summer Fancy Food that incorporated ghost peppers, said to be the world’s hottest chili by the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records, but it may have been one of the tastiest. Though the title of “Hottest Chili” now belongs to Smokin Ed's 'Carolina Reaper’ pepper, ghost peppers were cropping up in products ranging from honey to preserves. When I asked manufacturers why they chose to include ghost peppers in their products as opposed to other chilis, many spoke of the fiery fruit’s unique way of simmering the heat up to a boil, and then slowly dissipating. I think ghost peppers also appeal to consumers because they hold a certain allure—you have to have grit to eat ghost peppers, even if they're enrobed in locally produced whipped honey.
Pop Art Gourmet Popcorn Nori Sesame When Annie Chun’s Seaweed Snacks launched a few years ago, many in the natural industry rejoiced. “How perfect! We can eat seaweed like a chip!” I never bought it, though. No matter how many spices or herbs were added to these roasted seaweed chips, I always felt like I was eating something that had been inside a fish's mouth. That’s why I’m enamored with Pop Art’s new Nori Sesame Popcorn. By using seaweed as a light-handed flavor enhancer, you have a delightful brininess without the off-putting fishiness. Ocean’s Halo, with their wave-shaped seaweed chips (especially the Korean BBQ) achieves a similar effect by placing seaweed high on the ingredient list, but flavoring with toothsome ingredients like tamari, onion, garlic, vinegar, and sesame. The takeaway: We want to eat seaweed, but only if it's disguised.
Bandar Foods Masala Spiced Tomato Ketchup Symptomatic of an ethnically diverse and wanderlust Millennial demographic, the founders of Bandar Foods hope to fuse Indian flavors (cumin, ginger, chili, mint and more) with American tastes. As their website states, “Let’s take these awesome flavors and make them accessible for all Americans … [they] deserve a place on the shelf next to mayonnaise and mustard.” The next sriracha, anyone?
Bee Raw 100% Hand-Crafted Single Origin Tea & Single-Varietal Honey Though Bee Raw has been packaging single-varietal honey (meaning bees obtained nectar from one type of plant) in beautiful glass jars since 2005, the company recently launched a line of raw, loose-leaf teas to be paired with each sweetener. For example, Bee Raw’s Mt. Olympus Herbal Tea is specifically created to be sweetened with Bee Raw’s California Wild Black Sage Honey, a slightly peppery, golden honey from Dos Palos, California.
Cucina & Amore Quinoa Meal Mango & Jalapeño What an interesting product! This is a fully cooked quinoa-sauce combo packaged in one grab ‘n go container. You don’t even need to heat the meal up, as the quinoa is already fully cooked and comes with a spoon. But get this: thanks to packing the grains in nitrogen (which prevents oxidation), the product is shelf stable for one year! And the founders are working to create new packaging that can extend the life to 1.5 years. Cooked quinoa. One year. No refrigeration. Apart from the healthy convenience aspect of this product, imagine the possibilities for camping, gas stations, blighted third world countries… the list goes on.
Vosges Super Dark Reishi Mushroom & Walnut This revolutionary chocolate company capitalized on the bacon trend with piggy flavors ranging from Milk Chocolate Bacon to Cinnamon & Sugar Bacon Bar. Vosges even sells a hollow, bacon-filled chocolate hog (side note: is that cannibalism?). But with their new Super Dark collection, Vosges is pushing flavor art to the extreme. Behold chocolate bars with names like Coconut Ash & Banana, Acai & Golden Berry, Guajillo & Chipotle Chili, Matcha Green Tea & Spirulina and most interesting, Reishi Mushroom & Walnut. It’s notable that Vosges highlights the medicinal qualities of these ingredients—though they taste wonderful, they’re not just about flavor. On their website, we're told that reishi is “thought to help the body resist and adapt to a variety of stressors,” and that walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids. Perhaps flavor attracts us, but the purported health benefits justify our indulgence, and keep us coming back for more.
SuperEats Kale + Chia Chip I wouldn’t normally include a product that contains both kale and chia in a gallery highlighting what’s next (they're what's now!). But as with many natural ingredient trends, the first iterations usually appeal only to die-hard healthy enthusiasts. It’s interesting that SuperEats chose to exhibit at the Fancy Food show, because it has all the hallmarks of a strictly natural product: The first ingredient is kale, followed by beans, corn masa, safflower oil, chia and sea salt; the entire line is Non-GMO Project Verified and Certified Gluten Free. But what makes SuperEats innovative is that the products are tortilla chip shaped—not kale shaped. And when you dust them with cheese powder or ranch spices, despite their green color they could have real appeal to the conventional chip-faced set that would never buy the delicious but odd-shaped Brad’s Raw. If we can get over the bright green color, it's superfoods for the masses.
SuperEats Kale + Chia Chip I wouldn’t normally include a product that contains both kale and chia in a gallery highlighting what’s next (they're what's now!). But as with many natural ingredient trends, the first iterations usually appeal only to die-hard healthy enthusiasts. It’s interesting that SuperEats chose to exhibit at the Fancy Food show, because it has all the hallmarks of a strictly natural product: The first ingredient is kale, followed by beans, corn masa, safflower oil, chia and sea salt; the entire line is Non-GMO Project Verified and Certified Gluten Free. But what makes SuperEats innovative is that the products are tortilla chip shaped—not kale shaped. And when you dust them with cheese powder or ranch spices, despite their green color they could have real appeal to the conventional chip-faced set that would never buy the delicious but odd-shaped Brad’s Raw. If we can get over the bright green color, it's superfoods for the masses.
From exotic flavors to ridiculously long shelf life, these top picks from the 2014 Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City hint at future trends to come. Here, convenience, health and gourmet intersect: Who says we can’t we dredge our French fries in curried ketchup? Or microwave a paleo meal at a moment’s notice?
These products represent what's hot now, and also what we’ll covet in weeks, months and years. In short, they’re harbingers of future trends.
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like