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Top 5 Food Trends Spotted at Winter Fancy Food Show
Panel predicts what’s next in Specialty Food

NEW YORK (Jan. 19, 2016) – What’s next on store shelves? Snacks made with crickets, grass-fed everything, and protein where you least expect it, according to an expert panel of trendspotters who combed the exhibit halls at the 2016 Winter Fancy Food Show, owned and produced by the Specialty Food Association.

With enough chocolate, cheese and olive oil to fill four football fields, the show is the largest marketplace devoted exclusively to specialty food on the West Coast.  It ends today at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Check out a video of the panel’s top five trends and see the list: 

Southeast (Asia) meets West
Little Red Dot Kitchen - Bak Kwa meat snacks
Saffron Road - Tandoori Seasoned Chicken Nuggets
Wei Kitchen - Shallot Oil
Hey Boo – Thai Iced Tea Coconut Caramels

Grazing on Grass
Organic Valley – Vanilla Grassmilk Yogurt
The New Primal - Grass-fed Beef Jerky 
Dahlicious, Inc. – Organic Cucumber Mint Lemon Lassi with grass-fed milk
Steve’s Ice Cream - Made with grass-fed milk

Pushing Protein
Bitty Foods - Chiridos - snacks with cricket flour
Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods - Cinnamon Hemp Heart Bites
Explore Cuisine - Organic Edamame Spaghetti
Chicago Bar Company – Chocolate Sea Salt RXBAR

By the Cup
Ricebliss - Acai & Chia Brown Rice Snack
Dr. McDougall’s Right Foods - Sweet Potato Kale Quinoa Salad
Purely Elizabeth - Cranberry Pecan Ancient Grain Granola Plus Puffs
LonoLife Chicken Bone Broth in Recyclable K-Cup

Purple Reigns
Back to the Roots – Organic Stoneground Purple Corn Flakes
Love Beets - Smoky BBQ Shredded Beets
Lotus Foods – Purple Potato and Brown Rice Ramen
The Republic of Tea – Sonoma Cabernet Iced Tea

The trendspotters include individuals who follow and write about food trends for leading media outlets and consulting firms. The Specialty Food Association trendspotters are Emma Christensen, Editor, The Kitchn, Sarah  Fritsche, Staff Writer, San Francisco Chronicle; Christine Gallary, Food and Cooking Editor, The Kitchn; Kara Nielsen, Culinary Director, Sterling-Rice Group; Denise Purcell, Editor, Specialty Food Media; Nancy Hopkins, Senior Deputy Editor, Food & Entertainment, Better Homes & Gardens; Ashley Koff, RD, Editorial Director, The Ashley Koff Approved (AKA) List, Amy Sherman, freelance food writer and Jerry James Stone, cookbook author.

About Specialty Food Association
The Specialty Food Association is a thriving community of food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs.  Established in 1952 in New York, the not-for-profit trade association provides its 3,200 members in the U.S. and abroad the tools, knowledge and connections to champion and nurture their companies in an always-evolving marketplace. The Association (formerly the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc.) owns and produces the Winter and Summer Fancy Food Show, and presents the sofi Awards honoring excellence in specialty food. Learn more at specialtyfood.com.

Specialty Food Association Media Contact:
Louise Kramer, Public Relations Director, 646-878-0130, lkramer@specialtyfood.com

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