Day 1 of the NYC Fancy Foods Show went perfectly. The wife and I headed down there about 10:30ish and were quite surprised at the volume of people already there. The Javitz Center is a huge convention center on the west side of Manhattan and the show took up every inch of it. There are 3 levels to the show and on day 1 we barely covered one floor.
We started out on the main level and pretty much ran up and down the aisles for the first hour or so. Finally found Blair (http://www.extremefood.com) and rapped with him for a bit. Beyond hot sauces, Blair also makes a very mean potato chip and we picked up some samples of his newest chips – review will follow soon.
Other notable personalities we ran into today: Chef Paul Prudhomme and Joe Perry. Chef Paul was cooking up some chicken using his famous seasoning blend. Joe Perry was interviewing with a TV show when we first arrived at the booth and you should have seen the group of people that swarmed the area. We hung out there for a bit before moving on. It’s a shame that no pictures can be taken at the show, could have snagged a few more photos of Joe & the hot sauces (Boneyard Brew and Mango Tango). (Photos of Joe @ NYC Hard Rock Here.)
In no particular order, here’s a list and brief review of the folks we ran into today:
Condimental.com
Crazy for condiments and specialty foods
As a retailer, I’m not sure if I would have the use for this company that a manufacturer would. I would recommend any start up sauce maker that is looking for other distribution avenues check these guys out. Might work well for you.
Website: http://www.condimental.com
Chuao Chocolatier
The True Taste of Chocolate
Makers of fine chocolates, most notably a Spicy Maya Bar and Spicy Maya Hot Chocolate. Both Spicy Maya products were excellent and these guys provide hot chocolate warmers/dispensers (for sampling) to retail locations.
Website: http://www.chuaochocolatier.com
Texas Tamale Company
Tall Tastes of Texas!
These guys also run the Brazos Legends brands (Bull Snort Hot Sauces). Very tasty salsas. Wife said the Brazos Legends Wild Peach Salsa was quite tasty, not too hot.
Website:http://www.texastamale.com
Vita Specialty Foods
Distributors of the Scorned Woman line of products, as well as Jim Beam, Oak Hill Farms and Virginia Brand (honey products)
Website: http://www.vitaspecialtyfoods.com
Char Crust
Seasoning for all Seasons
I’d seen the ads in food magazines but had never had the chance to try it out until today. Both the wife and I were impressed with the flavor varieties. Nice packaging and price point would make this product line a good addition to any specialty foods store.
Website: http://www.charcrust.com
Xcell International Corp.
Don’t let the name scare you, these guys are the folks behind the Dean Jacobs line of seasonings and spices. Leslie filled us in on the new products and other items they carried. Fine selection of seasonings and rubs.
Website:http://www.xcellint.com
Wing Time Inc
We already carry the Wing Time brand of wing sauces, but we couldn’t resist stopping by the booth and sampling the Wing Time BBQ Sauce. The Ultimate Wing Sauce Collection will make an excellent 4th quarter sales item.
Website: http://www.wingtime.com
Dave’s Gourmet
Met Dave and Aline was kind enough to walk us through their new products and other brands. New Adjustable heat hot sauce will be out in September.
Website: http://www.davesgourmet.com
Texas Elk Company
Dr. Pepper Beef Jerky? Yep, that’s right and it’s pretty damn tasty.
Website: http://www.texaselkcompany.com
Whittington’s Jerky & General Store
Fresh jerky from the heat of Texas. Shelf life of 8 months. They carry beef and turkey, both Original and Hot.
Website: http://www.whittingtonsjerky.com
Nantucket Off-Shore Spice Rubs
Salt & Sugar free herb and spice rubs. Great labels and packaging. The Bayou rub works wonders for shrimp.
Website: http://www.nantucketoffshore.com
Ribber City Sauce Company
Made in Island Heights, NJ these BBQ Sauces contain no fillers, no artificial ingredients and no preservatives. Excellent Sweet Heat Chipotle Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce coming out soon.
Website: http://www.ribbercity.com
Original Juan
Makers of the Pain is Good Brand, Cafe Tequila Sauces, Da’ Bomb & The Source – Since we already carry all the hot sauces, I was happy to see tastings of their other product lines available. The cheesecake in a jar is wonderful!
Website: http://www.originaljuan.com
Seasoned Pioneers
A UK based company that deals with a large variety of dry spices, rubs and more. Wide selection.
Website: http://www.seasonedpioneers.co.uk
Seattle Kitchen
Since dry rubs and spices are where we are looking to expand right now, we happy to run into these guys. Made by Tom Douglas who also writes cookbooks and runs 3 prosperous restaurants in Seattle. Their beer based BBQ sauces are of particular interest, made with Redhook ales.
Website: http://www.tomdouglas.com
So that’s just a small sampling of the folks we talked to today. The show is the mother of all food shows, so if you’re a specialty foods retailer of any sort I can definitely recommend this show to you. Plus you can come to NYC and enjoy the foods of the city as well. Not to mention all of the educational classes and programming that’s available. If you’re a manufacturer, I would also recommend that you join this show. The show is open to the public, but 60% of all the people that attend are buyers, either retail or wholesale. So you could take your small side business and get it on the shelves of major stores such as Wholefoods, Safeway, Walmart or Trader Joes. Plus you can enter the NASFT Product Awards competition.