The 5 Biggest Food Trends From the Winter Specialty Food Association Show

What's new in the food world? There's no better place to find out what we'll all be seeing on store shelves and eating soon than the Specialty Food Association’s newly rebranded winter trade show, the Winter FancyFaire, which just took place in San Diego. The show is designed to help industry insiders discover what’s up and coming. This year, the SFA also collaborated with the Good Food Foundation, expanding the range of products on display. Over 12,000 industry professionals turned out to discover the best and tastiest “fancy food” at more than 1,000 booths. What is fancy food? The categories at the show include snacks, cheese, oils, condiments, crackers, and frozen and prepared foods.

TikTok, globalization, the boom in GLP-1 medication, and even the prevailing national mood of consumers all influence food trends. Here are five things we couldn’t help noticing that are on the rise.

Texture

Texture is on-trend. Is chewy the new crunchy? Actually, both crunchy and chewy are happening at the same time. On the chewy side, attendees were loving all-natural Swedish candy from Sockerbit and a wide array of mochi products, including Mochi Love's Créme Clouds, and mochi pancake and waffle mixes. 

Crunchy still reigns supreme, though, with often wild new products that incorporate other trends as well, such as global flavors or sustainability. Some notable examples of more innovative crunchy snacks include the bake-at-home crackers from Top Seedz and the seed-and-cassava crackers from Cult Crackers. The brand new Paro Lentil Crisps come in tantalizing flavors like jalapeño mint, a riff on a traditional Indian snack. Makers are experimenting with new flavors and styles of chips. Tantos is a line of chips from chef Joe Sasto. They're made from pasta and flavored with cacio e pepe and marinara. Xaca Cantina offers mole-flavored tortilla chips, Sunday Snacks makes Tzatziki Hummus Chips, and South Shore offers chips from ancient grains in flavors like mango queso and agave cocoa bbq. Another on-trend item was Kawaiine's Salad Bites, crunchy snacks made using upcycled fruits and vegetables. 

Surprising Citrus

Citrus is sharper, bitter, or floral. It’s not your granny’s orange marmalade. It’s showing up in flavored nut butters such as Big Spoon Roasters Lemon Cookie, made with a combination of cashew and coconut butter. Citrus also appears in Runamok's Blueberry + Lemon Infused Maple Syrup, Makrut Lime Olive Oil from Gold Ridge Organic Farms, Passion Orange Guava caramels from Le Bon Garcon, and Lemon Sage Cheese from Heber Valley Artisan Cheese.

One of the top citrus flavors is yuzu, and it's found in traditional Japanese noodle soups, jams, and candied rind, as well as in innovative offerings like Amazing Yuzu Lemon Cheesecake Ice Cream and TCHO's Lemon Twist Chocolate Bar with sea salt, olive oil, and lemon filling. Also on the sweeter side, The Fine Cheese Company is rolling out Fresh Ricotta and Lemon Mousse Biscuits. Award finalists included Umikah Lime Yuzu Curd and Absinthe Orange Deliciousness from RedCamper, which takes marmalade to a whole new level.

Next Generation Global

We’ve all grown accustomed to frozen pizza, Indian simmer sauces, and packages of instant ramen. But now we’re seeing even more adventuresome and intriguing global dishes. Some are fusion-style, like Beef Shawarma Pizza from GourMe, while others feel more like restaurant dishes, such as Mediterranean-Style Branzino and Miso-Glazed Sablefish from Diana’s Seafood. There are vegan options too; we were intrigued by the Roasted Beet and Walnut Veggie Tikka Patties from Hey Hunger. On the sweet side, there were a lot of churros, including churro bites and stuffed frozen churros from San Diablo, and Madres Churros' vegan and gluten-free poi churros from Hawaii. More savory options include Bettr Bowl Beef Birria Breakfast Bowl, which has 28 grams of protein, and Black Bean Butter Masala from the award-winning Brooklyn Delhi. Salmon Stackers from Honey Smoked Fish Co. come with lemon chive spread and rice crackers. Other fun mashups? Mimi Cheng’s Dumplings filled with Chicken Parm and a pizza-filled eggroll.

Protein, Protein, Protein

High-protein foods are gaining popularity once again, this time driven by GLP-1, health trends, and weight-management needs. You can get your protein in new, unexpected ways, including in snacks like Bunky Protein Popcorn in Sriracha Lime, which gets protein from whey powder, and in Yax Chaya Tortilla chips, packed with a green from the Yucatan with twice the protein of kale. Their chips show off several trends at once. Not only are they high in protein and deliver a satisfying crunch, but their flavors, including their Yucatecan-inspired sour orange-habanero-sea salt, represent the next generation of global flavors. On the sweet side, Rivo ice cream comes with a whopping 30 grams of protein. Aimed at kids, PowKakes buttermilk pancake and waffle mix has 18 grams of protein per serving. Products traditionally high in protein, such as cheese or cheese snacks, are touting it on their labels, now more than ever. 

Carrots 

Carrot salad went viral on TikTok, and now carrots are showing up in more places than ever. Greens and Gossip Original Carrot Salad, made from a traditional family recipe, is one example. Oko Foods Carrot-Turmeric Blend is a versatile, rich, spreadable dip. Carrot, Sweet Potato, and Turmeric Soup from I Eat My Greens is a comforting classic. Other products are raising the profile of the once lowly carrot, like Japanese-style Carrot Umami Dressing from Kuze Fuku & Sons, and Foster’s Pickled Carrot Sticks. The most innovative may be YummySips carrot shakes, made with carrots, coconut milk or dairy milk, and cane sugar.