Fancy Foods Show: Why Brands Should Exhibit

Finding ways to market an up and coming food brand to new customers is one of the biggest challenges that entrepreneurs in the food and beverage industry face. Despite the huge amount of revenue that floods into the food industry (everyone does have to eat, after all), the industry is highly competitive. In fact, one recent study found how 10 multi-billion dollar food corporations control vast amounts of the overall food and beverage industry. 

Fortunately, consumer trends are showing a movement away from the support of large corporate brands and the industrialization of the food industry. Today more than ever, consumers are willing to spend the extra dollar to purchase healthier, more localized food and beverage products. The U.S. organic market grew 6.3 percent to $52.5 billion with organic fruits and vegetables making up more than one-third of all organic food sales in 2018. Similarly, a USDA study found that the local food movement is also on the rise, as “7.8 percent of U.S. farms were marketing foods locally, defined as conducting either direct-to-consumer (DTC) or intermediated sales of food for human consumption.”

As people search for alternative suppliers of healthy, diverse, localized food options, the market for the growth of Keto, Paleo, and Grain-Free brands is prime to explode. One of the best ways to find new retail and wholesale outlets for your food brand´s products is through attending a tradeshow. In just a couple of weeks’ time, one of the West Coast´s largest specialty foods tradeshow is set to begin. The 45^th annual Winter Fancy Foods Show will take place from January 19^th to the 21^st at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. Below, we offer a complete review of this leading tradeshow in the industry, explain why you should consider attending, and offer essential information on signing up to participate as a vendor.

What is the Fancy Foods Show?

The Fancy Food Shows (both the winter and summer editions) is one of the largest food shows in the country. While this tradeshow is not open to the general public, it brings together over 80,000 specialty food and beverage brands. During each edition of this tradeshow, thousands of new products are launched as over 1,400 exhibitors from around the globe bring their innovative products and approaches that are collectively changing the direction of the food industry.

The Winter Fancy Food Show is considered a trade-only event, meaning that brands who present will not have to deal with entertaining thousands of people who make up the general public. Rather, the show is only open to qualified buyers and other leading industry professionals searching for partnerships with new food brands. While other tradeshows specialize in introducing food brands to the public, the Fancy Foods Show is specifically geared towards promoting business growth.

Besides the over 1,400 exhibitors, the winter edition of the Fancy Foods Show also brings together thousands of food brokers, retailers, distributors, and other qualified buyers that work with everyone from large retailers to independent, boutique food businesses. By registering to exhibit at the upcoming Fancy Food Show, Keto, Paleo, and other low carb food brands can discover the most cost-effective strategy for connecting with buyers from virtually every buying channel for the food and beverage industry, both in the United States and abroad.

Benefits of Exhibiting at a Food Show

The main benefit of exhibiting at the winter edition of the upcoming Fancy Foods Show is that your low carb food brand will be able to directly interact with thousands of industry professionals and buyers who are actively looking for innovative food brands with whom to do business. Attendees of this leading tradeshow have to provide credentials proving that they currently work in the specialty food industry. Once accepted, attendees are also given a badge to identify their role in the industry. With these policies in place, small food brands will easily be able to identify retailer buyers, distributors, exporters and importers, manufacturers, brokers and everyone in between. This ease of identification will allow entrepreneurs to optimize their time making important connections that will help their brands achieve their business goals.

Another major benefit of exhibiting at the Fancy Foods Show is that you will be able to participate in several educational events that relate to the future of the food industry. For example, the first day will feature a panel titled “Start Right, Grow Strong: Nine Critical Steps,” aimed at helping startup food brands develop a sound business strategy for sustained growth. You can find a complete schedule of events at the winter edition of the Fancy Foods Show here.

How to Apply to Exhibit at the Upcoming (or other) Fancy Foods Show

Firstly, in order to exhibit at a Specialty Food Association Fancy Food Show, you must be an Association Member. Becoming a member of the Specialty Food Association will allow your food brand to become part of a community of food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs that was established over 60 years ago. The over 3,500 members are extremely valuable resources in helping food brands develop connections in an always-evolving marketplace. You can begin the application process here, or through sending an email to admissions@specialtyfood.com. Alternatively, you can call the Association at this number: (646) 878-0303.

If you aren´t already an association member, you most likely will not be able to gain the required membership for the upcoming Winter Fancy Foods Show. You could, however, have your membership in place before the 2020 summer edition of the Fancy Foods Show.

For those brands who are already members of the Specialty Food Association, pricing for an exhibit at the Winter Fancy Foods Show is extremely reasonable. Booth pricing begins at $34 per square foot for Specialty Food Association members, which amounts to $400 for a 10×10 corner booth. The exhibit schedule at the Moscone Center in San Francisco will go as follows:

Sunday, January 19: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Monday, January 20: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, January 21: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

You can find information on booking your exhibit here.

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