Speciality Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food at the Javitiz Center in NYC of June 2022 was nothing short of spectacular. The show itself was epic with two floors of exhibitors. One floor entirely international food focused, another floor more America and start up focused. A whole section highlighting sofi Award winners, pitch slams, and not to mention that City Harvest NYC picked up hundred of donated pounds of food post-show. Incredible.
Highlighting my top favorite companies and products in the categories of:
Brunch Products
NY Local Businesses
Women-Owned Businesses
Brunch Brands & Products:
Happy Grub:
The first ever instant pancake mix to come in a fun squeezable bottle. Flavors include: Buttermilk, Banana, Apple Cinnamon, Whole Wheat. Woman-owned company, Founded by Ashley Davies.
What I loved most about this booth was they had a pancake artist and were able to recreate our Women Who Brunch logo from their pancake mixes… plus the facts that the pancakes were actually delicious. Really enjoyed the buttermilk flavor and great idea for families and cooking with kiddos.
RISE Brewing Co.
RISE Brewing Co. makes all organic nitro cold brew coffee, lattes, tea, cold brew, and oat milk. At the show they showcased their cold brew coffee nitro shots (available in 2023), and full lineup of oat milk canned cold brews. Personal favorite was the London Fog Canned Tea.
Tillen Farms by Stonewall Kitchen
Bloody Mary Medley & Condiment Collection:
When building your next Bloody Mary, switch out your standard swizzle sticks in favor of these pickled veggies from Tillen Farms. Their Bloody Mary Medley & Condiment Collection includes tangy carrot sticks, petite cornichons, garlicky asparagus and spicy dilly beans all pair perfectly with this savory cocktail for edible garnishes that put celery stalks to shame.
Not to mention they have a Bloody Mary tea towel as a perfect edition to your kitchen or as a gift.
Stonewall Kitchen also has a great lineup of brunch flavor jams like bellini and mimosa as well as pancake mixes.
Runamok
Runamok is a family-owned, Vermont based company that started with a foundation of premium, organic maple syrup and has expanded to an array of maple and honey-based products.
Highlighting some of their new (and personal favorite) products: Sparkle Syrups, Maple Ginger Mule Cocktail Syrup, and Florida Orange Bloom Honey
Honestly what is brunch without great maple syrup?
Butternut Mountain Farm:
Local farmers have been selling their maple syrup to the Marvin family of Butternut Mountain Farm for forty years. Based in Morrisville, Vermont, Butternot Mountain Farm is one of the largest maple processors and distributors in the United States.
New products: Squeeze Bottle Maple Syrups and Maple Sugar
New York Brands:
Sfoglini
About the makers: Sfoglini was founded in Brooklyn in 2012. Since its founding, Sfoglini has been operated by Steve Gonzalez and Scott Ketchum: a chef and a creative director, respectively, each with a serious passion for pasta.
In 2018, Gonzalez and Ketchum sailed Sfoglini operations up the river to Coxsackie, New York, a Hudson Valley town of just over 8,000 people, where 100% of Sfoglini pasta is now dreamt up, made, and boxed.
Newest and most popular type of pasta is the Cascatelli pasta by Sporkful.
From the mind of James Beard Award winner Dan Pashman, creator and host of The Sporkful food podcast, comes CASCATELLI (Italian for “waterfalls”). Three years in the making, this brand new shape was created in collaboration with the artisans at Sfoglini. Cascatelli is designed to maximize the three qualities by which Dan believes all pasta shapes should be judged:
• Sauceability: How readily sauce adheres to the shape
• Forkability: How easy it is to get the shape on your fork and keep it there
• Toothsinkability: How satisfying it is to sink your teeth into it
I tried a sample of the Cascatelli pasta with Carbone sauce and it was truly toothsinkable!
The Matzo Project:
Artisanal matzo company founded in Brooklyn NY, The Matzo Project introduces carefully made, artfully packaged, legitimately scrumptious matzo.
A great story of Summer Camp friends Ashley Albert and Kevin Rodriguez setting out to bake a new take on the culturally beloved, but traditionally flavorless box of matzo.
I’m officially here to say Ashley and Kevin were the nicest people to talk to and not to mention the cinnamon sugar matzo chips are my new favorite.
Quality ingredients, along with plenty of creativity, love and passion, remain at the heart of these amazing chocolate cups. Based in Brooklyn, NY, Jessie roasts fresh Virginia peanuts in-house, transform them into creamy peanut butter, add Belgian chocolate and voilá, we’ve created the perfectly nutty, two-bite treat just for you!
I absolutely loved how smooth the almond butter cup I tried was, and so rich and decadent.
Little Red Kitchen Bakeshop:
The Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop was created by Susan Palmer in 2014, a native New Yorker who always had a passion for baking. Since she was a small child, you could find her side by side with her mom in the kitchen baking cookies.
Susan has even won Brooklyn Cookie Takedown in 2011 and 2012. With cookie pies, gift boxes, DIY Cookie kits, and cookie of the month club; there’s plenty of delicious options to choose from for any cookie lover. Now I’m hungry.
Woman-Owned Companies
Sunday Night Foods:
From growing up on an Iowa farm to spending decades in corporate America, Eileen Gannon has always had a passion for baking, winning over 600 culinary awards. Now, she’s putting all her best-kept secrets into Sunday Night to share her delectable sauces and recipes.
Using a classic French technique, we make each small batch with legendary Guittard chocolate and cocoa, cane sugar, fresh cream and butter, pure Nielsen-Massey vanilla and sea salt to create chocolate euphoria.
Sunday Night also works with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and donates 1% of sales to NAMI.
Heat up a spoonful for 10 seconds in the microwave, put on ice cream or cookies and you will NOT be disappointed my friends.
Ossa Spices:
A story of Lisa Carson and Connie Wang, two co-workers-turned-friends-turned-co-founders who were so obsessed with the idea of getting just enough that they designed a spice pod and set up a factory.
In the same way a pinch of spice can transform a meal, their hope is that tiny portions can help transform the food industry.
Very interesting info from their website: (which by the way, is such a creative site. I love the visuals and copy on it. Bravo to good creative marketing!)
Occo spice pods are made from aluminum, the most recycled and most recyclable material on the planet.
Gound spices actually lose flavor within 3-6 months. Oxygen, light, heat, and humidity (common occurrences in a kitchen) cause the essential oils in spice to oxidize and decay. Without these aptly-named oils, spices lose their color, aroma, and flavor.
Occo spices are portioned into half-teaspoon pods and sealed for airtight freshness using a modified atmosphere packaging technique.
My favorite part of the booth was that you could customize a packet of spice pods. Loved this display and concept!
Rule Breaker:
Deliciously soft-baked vegan brownies and blondies. First ingredient? Chickpeas! Deliciously soft-baked, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, non-GMO, and allergen-free! Allergy Friendly Snacking. Woman-owned by Nancy Kalish!
Overall, I could have easily spent the full three days at the show talking to and checking out many other great exhibitors. I spent one day on mostly one floor alone! Next year if you’re in town, I highly suggest you check it out, especially if you’re a foodie like me.
Best of all, check out my epic snack and sample haul below... I don’t mess around.
