This June, the Specialty Food Association (SFA) Summer Fancy Food Show returns in person to New York City for the first time since 2019. While it is more limited in its scope, energy and total attendees than mega-shows like Natural Products Expo West, This event represents an important exhibition for CPG brands looking to grow in the specialty food market, which is expected to rise to $185 million by 2022, according to the SFA State of the Industry report. .
Overall, there were many new food and beverage brands introducing packaging updates, bringing a variety of international flavors to the US market and reaffirming the momentum of the alt-cocktail movement.
For Joe Tea, flexibility in times of crisis has allowed the brand to lower prices and expand the business. Moving its flagship iced tea line to 18 oz. plastic bottles from 20 oz. The glass fell out of demand during last year’s supply chain disruptions but benefited from business growth.
“It was that or nothing,” co-founder and president Steven Prato gushed. “Our customers love it more than anything.”
Since the transition, the New Jersey-based brand has grown from “one and a half” manufacturing facilities to five manufacturing locations in the United States and Canada, including Houston, Texas opened last year. Plastic also allowed Joe Tea to sell at a lower price, around $2 per bottle compared to $3 a bottle. The company can also fit up to 1,000 more cases per truck thanks to the lighter packaging, Prato said.
Also on the floor, several beverage companies launched new brands with the aim of building momentum and reviving retail after two difficult years.
Vermont-based Shrubbly has unveiled a new look for its cans ahead of a West Coast expansion at Erewhon stores. Shrubbly is a natural “Bubbly Superdrink” made with herbs, apple cider vinegar and sparkling water and is available in Lemon + Ginger + Aronia Berry and Pomegranate + Aronia Berry flavors. Each 12 oz. retails for $2.99 and the brand plans to launch two more flavors this year. Shrubbly founder Matt Sayre said the rebranding will help establish Shrubbly as “the defining brand of the sparkling shrub segment” by touting its ingredients and healthy benefits.
Massachusetts-based Waku Tea also introduced new brands and a revamped product line. Now in the position as a prebiotic herbal tea, co-founder and CEO Juan Giraldo said that the brand has removed sugar from cooking and moved to stevia natural sweetener and cheap fruit. The company also added 6 grams of prebiotic fiber to make Waku a functional health product.
In terms of food, one of the most prominent changes in consumer behavior after the pandemic has been the transition to making food convenient, without sacrificing unique and interesting flavors. That change was evident on the show floor with all the arrows pointing to the rise of Asian-inspired flavors, primarily in the form of chili packages, sauces and meal kits.
Convenient manufacturing processes offer consumers a low-risk, easy-to-use mealtime solution and, in some cases, even multiple uses, as is the goal of Indian packaging brand SugarRoti. According to founder Bina Motiram, the kits can be used to easily experiment with unfamiliar herbs and spices mixed with dinner, mixed with drinks, such as Nu Spice Golden Milk.
products, or add well-baked to a depth of flavor.
But occasions of use are not the primary purpose behind the brand. Motiram founded the company on sustainable practices, explaining that she was frustrated by the ineffectiveness of dried chili peppers that often went bad before use during the best fresh season. Motiram saw an ideal opportunity, a pre-arranged form; SugarRoti candies are available in fifteen different “Nu Spice” flavors in fully refillable packs.
Homiah Foods, a brand that positions itself as a Southeast Asian grocer, also sells flavor packs – available in Singaporean Laksa, Indonesian Rendang and Malaysian Red Curry varieties – but with a broader regional focus. Launched in late 2021, the company is undergoing massive growth, according to founder and CEO Michelle Tew.
Tew looked to solve the same pain points as SugarRoti, but noted that many of the spices she wanted to add to her bag of sauces weren’t even available in the United States. , which then took a few more months to be made regionally, due to international shipping constraints.
Also on the floor, the pace behind the comedy was especially quick. With alcohol substitution on the rise, canned mocktail makers are focusing on increasing distribution and introducing new options to consumers looking for non-alcoholic solutions.
Laura Taylor, CEO of Mingle Mocktails, said the company is preparing to enter two major retailers – one wine chain and one grocery chain – and expand its footprint to 5,000 stores nationwide. including Whole Foods and Wegmans. Taylor said she expects to also grow food service and hospitality accounts over the next two years as more bars and restaurants expand their non-alcoholic beverage menu.
At retail, Mingle’s single-serve cans outsold its bulk bottles, she said, and the company expanded.
sales, marketing, supply chain and operations teams to support its growth. Taylor also advocated for retailers to create sets to support the category and drive growth, and worked with buyers such as Town & Country Dwight Richmond creation of wine racks.
“Something we’ll work on when dealing with retailers and buyers and distributors is ‘What does the data say?'” Taylor said. “Dwight proved that when you create something that’s not all people will buy more because they know where to find it and see what’s available. Where the retail stores put non-alc beer in one place and non-alc cocktail. and in the mix, they won’t enjoy turning because people don’t know where to find it.”
