Bites & Sips: Inspiration From the Winter FancyFaire

Winter FancyFaire, the newly rebranded food-and-beverage extravaganza from the Specialty Food Association was held last month in San Diego. It attracted more than a thousand exhibitors from 30 countries and, together with its East Coast counterpart, the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City, it is an excellent indicator of trends-in-the-making. On the surface, the programming may appear specific to the CPG space, but the show offers a wealth of inspiration and applications to chefs and menu developers.

There’s a New Sauce in Town

In fact, there are quite a few. While plenty of familiar favorites from the Mediterranean and Latin American kitchens were on view, lesser-known sauces and condiments from other parts of the globe were also ripe for discovery by operators looking to give their menus a flavor shot in the arm.

As Indian cuisine finally appears poised to impact mainstream menus, obvious points of entry include condiments like sweet-and-spicy lonsa, which combines tomatoes, garlic, curry leaves, jaggery (unrefined sugar) and chiles. Approachable and versatile, it’s an unexpected twist on ubiquitous red sauces.

Numerous chutneys were on display, too, with ingredients like green chile, tomato and apple in a range of heat levels. It’s worth noting that spicy mango chutney has appeared on the menu at Saucy by KFC, the brand’s bid to lure Gen Z diners seeking newer, brighter tastes; and it tops Velvet Taco’s Fried Paneer Cheese Taco, where it’s made with tomatoes and is accompanied by tikka sauce and raita cream.

The Hawaiian Pavilion reflected the growing popularity of island items on the mainland menus and showcased an extraordinary range of products. Aloha Shoyu, for example, sampled appealing sauces like Kalbi, Poke, Yuzulicious Ponzu and Da Yaki, which is a bolder, thicker alternative to conventional teriyaki.

Boba Is Bursting Out All Over

Credit: Possmei | Purple Drop | Bossen

Playful packaging and good-for-you ingredients stood out in the ready-to-drink beverage category—a trend reflected in foodservice operations, too.

Literally. The popular tapioca pearls that have transformed tea menus and segued to toppings for ice cream and pastries have evolved, and next-gen boba, which was prominently on view in multiple iterations, raises the texture ante by giving beverages a distinctive pop and a surprising mouthfeel. Possmei’s Popping Boba canned tea-based drinks and Sippöp’s sparkling drinks with mini bursting boba promise fizzy flavor bombs.

Sippöp, which made its industry debut at the Winter FancyFaire, offers a liquid two-fer and reflects another major theme: These beverages are also functional, boasting amino acids that promote relaxation and hyaluronic acid that gives skin a warm glow. The distinctive mouthfeel of these drinks together with myriad popping candies also on display calls to mind molecular gastronomy, the Spanish culinary innovation that teased taste buds with texture a couple of decades ago and may be ready for its close-up on mainstream menus.

Vegetables are the new fruits in better-for-you beverages, like YummySips, a tasty, ready-to-drink shake in which carrots are a main ingredient. The attractive pale-orange drink is available in both dairy and dairy-free versions. By way of color contrast, Purple Drop is a canned, craft-brewed “super drink” made from Peruvian purple corn; this modern version of traditional chicha morada promises “ancient fuel for modern hustle.” Other functional beverage purveyors boasted their use of beets, celery, cactus and dandelion leaves as key ingredients.

Then there was water, water everywhere. Showgoers could float away on waters that were tart, extra sparkling, volcanic and artesian, molecularly restructured, nutrient enhanced and fermented. The latter included water kefir, a live-culture product that’s trending on social media, which dispenses with dairy as it amps up the probiotics.

Crunch Is Going Cosmic

Credit: Beest Snacks | Tantos

On the savory snack side, crunchy treats, from beef jerky to pasta chips, offered a new spin on a familiar texture.

While textural enhancement is a looming mega-trend, American consumers are most receptive to things that go crunch. Technomic research indicates that nearly two-thirds of menus use the term “crispy” and almost one-quarter say “crunch” or “crunchy.” Both were available in abundance on the show floor in some unexpected guises, like Beest Snacks’ Crunchy Beef or Pork Jerky Chips. Other munchables included beef brisket potato chips, matzo chips, sea veggie crisps, octopus-flavored chips, chaya tortilla chips made with the spinach-like green from the Yucatan and kimchi crisps made from Napa cabbage.

Things were popping and puffing, too, like popped water lily seeds, several protein-enhanced popcorns and Kraft Mac & Cheese Popcorn in a bright-blue package that mimics the familiar supermarket staple. Tantos Puffed Pasta Chips are fun bites that come straight off the Italian menu in flavors like marinara, pesto and cacio e pepe.

Not all textural enhancements were as noisy. Ooey-gooey Cheesy Ramen played to turn-away crowds. A combination of instant noodles buried under a cheddar-and-mascarpone blend, the extravagantly cheesy dish from Otoki was a clear winner.

Outlook and Opportunity

Based on the innovative, global and entrepreneurial nature of so many exhibitors at the Faire, restaurant menus and specialty-food trends have much in common.

Mash-ups on view really pushed the global envelope, like Otoki’s Cheesy Ramen, Madres’ Poi Churros made with taro, and GourMe’s Beef Shawarma Pizza. But there was also ample evidence that existing trends like the pickle craze haven’t played out: There were outside-the-box products like Joon Dill Pickle Pistachios and Pork King Good Dill Pickle Chicharrones and inside-the-carton items like Ilmi Food’s K-Crispy Pickles, single-serve fresh pickles in a nifty on-the-go cup.

The show offered clear proof that texture is the new flavor, with boba acting as the gateway to broader experimentation on the part of restaurateurs. And while the Beverage and Hawaiian Pavilions brought current trends to life, pavilions from Eastern Mediterranean countries like Turkey and Jordan provided a taste of things to come.