Fancy Food Show 2024 Ethnic Trends

(Roberta Deen with Gerry Furth-Sides) The Specialty Food Association’s 2024 Winter Fancy Food Show is famous for showcasing thousands of artisanal products from more than 1,200 domestic and global specialty food and beverage makers and manufacturers.  It is considered the show for predicting trends in the $194 billion specialty food industry.

For example, “Global flavors and upscaling the everyday while paying attention to sustainability and the environment is key to this year,” reports SFA President Bill Lynch. “The variety of options ranging from soup to cell-based meat and seafood to peach.” 

Eight trends the FFS Trendspotter Panel anticipates for 2024:

“Beverages are in the spotlight, booming with sophisticated, as natural as possible, single-serve, non-alcoholic fizzy and non-fizzy drinks. So are coffees, teas, and broths with functional ingredients for an additional boost of energy, clarity, focus, or calming effect,” adds Trendspotter Kanta Selke.

Cell-based meat and seafood continue to gain popularity due to their sustainable and ethical production methods, along with familiar taste experiences to consumers,” Trendspotter Patsy Ramirez-Arroyo notes. “We may see the world’s first cultured burger and a focus on seafood products.”  

 Peach as “a flavor of the year” is being reevaluated and reinvented in fancy classic and new variations that rival the chili peppers 2023 trend.   New interpretations include condiments and candies.

Calabrian chili peppers. “Chiles continue to trend, cresting most recently on Sriracha and Gochujang. New products include hot honey and cured meats” according to Trendspotter Stan Sagner.

“Tahini, the Middle Eastern specialty, is being paired or sometimes blended in mainstream foods and beverages, such as milk shakes and coffees,” reports Trendspotters Mikel Cirkus and Hanna Rogers.  Tahini (and the trending mushroom) stars In a brand new cutting-edge cookbook, THE POWER FIVE.

Soup. Soup recipes on TikTok are so popular the segment has been dubbed SoupTok, and continue to be a top seller, says Trendspotter Jenn de La Vega. 

Black Sesame, ube, and milk tea are following the path of now mainstream matcha in new and unexpected formats. Milk-tea–filled donut and bright purple ube hot chocolate from Bear Donut in the Penn District of NYC, are standout examples, as are salty and sweet snacks like Tochi’s Black Milk Tea Popcorn, which also contains the black sesame, “the one to watch.” 

Value and convenience are key as consumers watch their finances. “The emphasis is on more versatile uses and longer shelf life,” notes Trendspotter Melanie Bartelme. “Consumers are also looking for portable, healthy products.”

CONTINUING TRENDS: Global flavor exploration translates into new flavors and cultural dishes with more small producers around the world. “Add a continued increase heritage tradition food, and shared family recipes rich in flavors and stories,” Trendspotter V. Sheree Williams point out, “including more obscure regional ones.”  Watch for African flavors and ingredients. 

Upscaling the everyday with ingredients like high-end truffle salts, finishing oils, spice blends, and cultured butters elevate simple dinners at home to restaurant-style flavorful indulgences, notes Trendspotter Jonathan Deutsch. One example is charcuterie boards, adds Ramirez-Arroyo, pointing out its shared merits of community dining and originality.

Environmental and Sustainability impact. Environmental impact, sustainability, carbon footprint, and food waste concerns continue to be on the minds of a growing number of consumers. “Regenerative, upcycled, and sustainably packaged are not just buzzwords but keywords in consumers’ quests to eat well while doing good,” explains Deutsch. “Expect more focus on regenerative agriculture as those in food industries “focus on solutions to combat climate change,” adds Williams. 

Mushrooms are on the trending list for taste, mushrooms for texture, mushrooms for health benefits and in every food and beverage, especially really fancy ones like “Lion’s Mane” and the now more affordable portobello.

The not-for-profit Specialty Food Association (SFA) is the leading membership trade association and source of information about the $194 billion specialty food industry. Founded in 1952 in New York City, the SFA prides itself on being an organization by the members and for the members, representing thousands of specialty food makers and manufacturers, importers, retailers, buyers, distributors, brokers, plus more, in the trade. 

The SFA owns and operates the Fancy Food Shows—which are the largest specialty food industry events in North America—as well as the sofi™ Awards—which have honored excellence in specialty food and beverage annually since 1972. 

Professionals from diverse segments of the culinary world comprise the SFA’s Trendspotter Panel. Please see the website for details.