2013 Winter Fancy Food Show Briefing

I am excited to experience the unique tastes that specialty food suppliers have in store for us in 2013. If the recent sales results are any indication, we are experiencing solid growth in this industry, and an abun- dant supply of great products can be credited with this success. Last year, the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) reported that specialty food sales at retail in 2011 totaled $75.14 billion or about 13.7 percent of total food purchases. I hope we can earn a greater share of food-buying dollars in 2013, and it all starts here with the products on display at the NASFT’s Winter Fancy Food Show. I hope you find our special issue helpful in identifying some exciting new products to add to your current assortment.

I also noticed in the report released by the NASFT last year that the largest specialty food category in total sales at $3.44 billion was cheese (and cheese alternatives). For those of you who may be enticed by this fact to become more involved in the cheese business, you should take a moment to read our other title, Gourmet Business Fine Cheese & Charcuterie, written by our cheese expert James Mellgren. On page 7, you will see a video that we recently produced with James to give you a brief tour of the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco, where you will find some amazing specialty food retail establishments that may spark some new merchandising ideas for your own store.

Another product category of the specialty food trade that I believe deserves more attention is specialty beverages. The NASFT recently reported that shelf-stable functional beverages are the fastest-growing specialty food category, followed by kefir and yogurt. We certainly have seen the number of specialty beverage suppliers increase remarkably, and the number of products being introduced to market grow at a rapid pace, too. The category deserves comprehensive coverage, and we will answer the call with our new publication, to be intro- duced next month, Gourmet Business Quench. Our managing editor, Laura Everage, will be utilizing her ample experience in the beverage category to provide us with an education five times per year on the trends, products and crucial knowledge needed to be successful in the coffee, tea and specialty beverages categories.

We hope you follow along with us in 2013 as we bring you valuable infor- mation and knowledge relating to the many verticals that contribute products for the gourmet business.

Enjoy the show, everyone!

David Spencer

Publisher, Gourmet Business

President, HousewaresDirect, Inc.

dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com