More than 30,000 specialty food and beverage industry professionals attended in the Specialty Food Association’s (SFA) sold-out 67th Summer Fancy Food Show, June 25-27 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Registration was up 20% over 2022, and the Show achieved year-over-year increases in all key qualified buyer categories attending the Show, including a 21% increase in retailers; a 20% increase in food service, and a 12% increase in distributors.
The Fancy Food Shows are the largest specialty food industry events in North America for product discovery, trendspotting, and networking. Exhibit space sold out in mid-May, and more than 2,200 domestic and international companies across 40+ specialty food and beverage categories exhibited at the Show. In addition to makers and buyers, the show attracted industry affiliates, press, influencers, investors, and trendspotters.
“As a not-for-profit membership trade association, the Specialty Food Association operates the Fancy Food Shows as a service to our more than 3,000 member companies,” said SFA President Bill Lynch. “The Fancy Food Shows were created to help facilitate the growth of the specialty food industry, and they are the premiere destination for those who want to see, taste, and experience the incredible breadth of specialty products available today. Specialty food and beverage makers are innovators and trendsetters, and that was on full display during this year’s Summer Fancy Food Show.”
The next Fancy Food Shows are the 2024 Winter Fancy Food Show, January 21-23 in Las Vegas and the 2024 Summer Fancy Food Show, June 23-25 in New York City.
Exhibitors Love the Summer Fancy Food Show
“Attending the Fancy Food Show as a diverse founder with (included), a collective for BIPOC cpg founders, gave us such a memorable spot in the key attendees’ minds. It was so refreshing to see attendees loving our products for the clean label ingredients and our focus on uplifting the goodness of actual fruits and veggies rather than imitating meat or dairy. As a first generation immigrant, the SFA’s support for diverse founders like me has provided us with opportunities to bring the best of our cultures to grocery carts in America.”
— Aman Blana, Founder, Growee Foods
“By the SFA vetting a range of buyers across a wide array of channels, the Fancy Food Shows never feel like a circus. Beyond the impact of the all-important sales and publicity for our small business, the connections and selfless exchange of strategies, referrals and insights also makes a difference to our bottom line. I will be exhibiting again.” — Julie Busha, Founder, Slawsa
“The Summer Fancy Food Show was terrific. I found it to be the best one in a long time. The Show was extremely organized and we received a lot of business.”
— Zachary Farber, Director of Consumer Packaged Goods, Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque
“There was an amazing current of energy and excitement in the room this year. Everyone seemed poised to make a deal, to do business, or just to learn and try something new. We’ve put a lot of work into developing our brand, so it was awesome to get almost unanimous thumbs up from those who visited our booth. The three days flew by, and we made great connections. We are excited to see if we can now convert these opportunities into real growth for our business.” — Karl Franz Williams, Founder, Uncle Waithley’s
“The 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show felt extremely energized and focused on growth, innovation, and connection. Few industry opportunities present themselves to us that allow us to share our story, products, mission, and values with such a large percentage of the specialty food trade (on both the retail and manufacturing side). The event continues to be a cornerstone of our trade and corporate marketing plan, and we look forward to 2024!”
— Brandon Gross, VP Marketing, FOODMatch & Divina
“We’ve been blown away with our success at the Summer Fancy Food Show. We could have gone home the first day with everything we needed. It’s been a great experience and we definitely will be back.”
— Gary Mac Herring, Jr., Founder and CEO of Mary Mack’s
“The Summer Fancy Food Show surpassed all expectations, delivering unprecedented success. In the 10+ years that we have exhibited, never have we witnessed such a remarkable influx of qualified leads. While our trend-setting premium products have garnered attention, credit also must be given to the diligent efforts of the SFA in attracting the right buyers to this remarkable event!”
— Adam Kobren, President of BobbySue’s Nuts
