By Rieva Lesonsky
Yes, we’ve covered the Fancy Food show before, but there’s always something new and exciting there. At this summer’s event over 180,000 products were on display. Obviously not all will be big hits, but here are some of the “hot” products or food trends to keep an eye on according to Advertising Age magazine.
Condiments continue to go artisanal, using super-spicy peppers and adding exotic ingredients to mayonnaise (black garlic), ketchup (black truffles) and mustard (garlic and oregano).
Apparently “getting pickled with hand-crafting and small batches” is a big trend. But we’re not just talking about traditional pickles. Popular veggies being pickled include asparagus, carrots, green beans and okra.
For reasons I’ll personally never understand, beets are hot. Ad Age says to look for beets in yogurt, marmalade, sauerkraut and beet-infused drinks.
Speaking of drinks (sort of), the flavor of beer is increasingly popular, but not necessarily in beverages. Jelly Belly is offering beer-flavored jelly beans and Vosges Haut-Chocolat has a smoke-and-stout chocolate caramel bar.
Korean flavors will be popping up in sauces, popcorn and chili paste.
Ad Age says “the reported health benefits of vinegar are spurring a trend of drinkable vinegars.” The magazine reports that some of the vinegars are bitter, while others add sugar to make them more palatable.
Here’s a trend I can get behind: Smoked foods like meat (barbecue) and cheese are already popular. But now food manufacturers are smoking sweet foods, such as chocolate chips, shortbread and even sugar.
Also (or still hot) are flavored waters (though new versions of coconut water are flourishing), gluten-free everything and gourmet jerky (including a beer-flavored version).
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. Email Rieva at rieva@smallbizdaily.com, follow her on Google+ and Twitter.com/Rieva and visit her website, SmallBizDaily.com, to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for Rieva’s free TrendCast reports.
