I had exactly three hours to make my way through both halls at Moscone ~ I missed a few key items for sure but I captured as many new items as I could in my precious mindspace.
A few tidbits:
On the gluten-free front:
Gluten-free has officially "crossed over" from Natural Products to Gourmet. There was a SECTION dedicated to vendors showcasing GF items. I am ever-hopeful that this means my "issue" has become mainstream and new GF foods will continue to excite enough buyers to generate mass appeal. One can hope...
AlterEco showcased Dark Chocolate Quinoa Midnight Crunch Bar. I believe AltiPlano Gold raised the bar on what can be done with quinoa (we were the first to add chocolate to quinoa and the first to make it a breakfast product), and, though APG is no more, I am proud to see other quinoa advocates carrying the good word about quinoa forward into the gourmet world from its huddle in Natural Foods. In a sustainable, fair trade fashion, to boot. G'danya mate!
Manicaretti was showcasing its GF (corn and rice) pasta offerings ~ what took you so long?
Mary's Gone Crackers, a GF cracker company, presented a brand extension of GF cookies. New branding: "traditional flavors, revolutionary ingredients." Cute.
Other random bits:
Bacon salt from J&D's. Why didn't I think of this first?
Tea has changed. A few years ago at NASFT we saw an explosion of Chai and other flavors along with a burst of differentiated packaging (domes, triangles, etc.).
Now, tea has transformed again into an ingredient and important botanical for partner products. At this year's show, I found tea in oil (Arette foods), chocolate and mints. Chocolate itself has become a tea flavor ~ witness Numi Tea Chocolate Puerh and David Rio Mint Chocolate Infusion.
Bo's Best Pancake and Waffle Mix ~ their PR Kit was too hard to get into; first a ribbon had to be cut, then the tightly sealed plastic had to be wrung off. I almost gave up ~ too much effort, folks.
Fennel pollen ~ God bless the people from Lemon Cove, CA who are yet again trying to make fennel pollen into a household product. I wish them every success.Labels: chocolate, gluten-free, NASFT, san francisco Fancy Food Show, tea