The Summer NYC Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center in Manhattan
I look forward to attending the NYC Fancy Food Show every June and this year did not disappoint me. It still is not as large as it was pre-COVID in 2019 when it took up every inch of the Javits Center, but the show was just as large as last year with many new innovative products to see and sample and a much larger series of foreign pavilions. Many countries brought over excellent products that were beautifully packaged and tasted wonderful.
My first part of the visit to the show, I visited the foreign pavilions to see the new developments from aboard. Some of the most interesting products I saw came from France, Italy, Ecuador, Egypt, and South Korea. They had the nicest array of appetizers, drinks and snacks that I think are going to be very popular in the United States.
The South Korean Pavilion had many wonderful food items this year that I feel will be very successful in the American market. The packaging was creative and the flavors of these food items will appeal to everyone.
The first item was Granarolo Cheese Crisps by Mimi Foods
Granarolo Cheese Crisps imported by Mimi Foods
https://www.granarolo.com/product/cheese-snack
These crisp little cheese crackers have some of the most intense flavors. The cheese is baked right into them, and you can taste the sharpness of the cheese and the savory flavors. These little treats stand on their own and make a great snack on their own or with a glass of wine.
The Honey Butter Corn Chips were the most innovative snack food at the show. These honey flavored snacks were crisp and buttery. I had never tasted some so unique and delicious. The were the best flavor in the collection of snacks.
Another food item that impressed me the most was the ice cream bars from Melona. These were the best frozen treats at the show, and I was surprised to find out that they were only available in the Asian supermarkets like Hmart. The flavors are infused with fresh fruit puree and in a three-day period especially the last day of the show when I ate five different flavors can attest that each one has its own unique taste to it.
The original Honey Dew melon is delicious and refreshing, the mango has a rich and sharp flavor of the fruit, and the strawberry had the consistency of chunk of fresh fruit inside. I managed to eat every one of the flavors available (it did hit me later on though eating all those bars) but each one of the flavors in the product line stands on its own and these should be available in all supermarkets as I know this dessert will be popular with everyone.
The vendor made each flavor available to all show goers.
Melona Ice Creams and Desserts
https://www.melonaicecream.com/
Melona Ice Cream
The Melona Ice Cream bars from South Korea were just amazing!
The mango flavors were so intense and sweet this popular flavor will be one of their best in the future.
The Egyptian Pavilion:
Another vendor that I thought was excellent was Kamara Baked Goods in the Egyptian Pavilion. The ‘Hostess’ of Egypt, Kamara Baked Goods has their own take on the snack food industry with cakes, cookies and biscuits that just a bit sweeter than their American counterparts. The selection is a combination of Hostess and Keebler items with similar packaging but a more complex flavor. I can see their products being very popular in the United States.
Karma Baked Goods from the Happy Sweet Food Industries
http://happysweet.co/Cake.html
The CEO of the Happy Sweet Food Industries happened to be at the show and could not have been more generous with me taking samples on the last day of the show. I was able to try all of these products plus a few more at the show that I did not have the packaging for, and I have to say that I was really impressed with the flavor and quality of each of the products.
Karma Baked Goods samples that I tried.
The two I really enjoyed the most was the Chocolate Biscuit filled with marshmallow and topped with more Chocolate and the Strawberry Doughnut which had a nice sweetness due to the thick layer of strawberry frosting one top it.
My favorite snacks from Karama Baked Goods the Taw Taw Strawberry Doughnuts and Chocolate Marshmallow Cookie. They had such nice flavors, and I can see American children loving these.
From the French Pavilion, there were a few food vendors that were standouts:
The French every year at the show showcase some of the best quality products of any country represented at the show. With the products that may not stand up to other countries, they always have the lock on packaging. The French understand that the quality of the product is not just in the ingredients and in the flavor of it but how it is presented. Every product that was in their pavilion looked like a gift that you could immediately give someone. Coming back recently from Paris, I can tell there is a pride in everything that they produce.
Chateau Fougères
Chateau Fougères is no exception. These delightful cheese puffs and their mini breads were the talk of everyone who tried them that afternoon. The vendor seemed to take pride in that we were fighting to get a sample of these warm little cheese puffs. The flavor of the cheese was sharp, and savory and these small treats are perfect as an appetizer or an accompaniment to a salad or with drinks. The small bread puffs were the perfect side to salads or to a small plate of pasta. I thought in the American market these would be perfect in a breadbasket at brunch.
Chocolat des Francais was another vendor who used their unique packaging as an attention grabber at the show. Their packaging for their delicious candy bars and chocolates are done by artists who have their eye on the regional markets they are being sold in.
Chocolat des Francais
https://www.lechocolatdesfrancais.fr/fr/
I thought these New York City themed bars were really clever. This is something I would have seen at Bloomingdale’s in the 1980’s in their gourmet department. These really stood out for their creative packaging and a great way to sell the candy in store across New York City. I especially liked the Statue of Liberty themed bar.
The Ecuador Pavilion:
Plantain Republic
Tucked downstairs in the Ecuador Pavilion was Plantain Republic, a vendor of unique snacks made from plantains. Of their snack products, their fried Toastones were the best. These thick crunchy snacks really stood out for their saltiness and flavor of the crisps. These thick cut snacks had a great snap with every bite.
As I walked through the aisles of the rest of the show after exploring the country pavilions, I came across so many wonderful products made right in our country that the list was too long to mention. Many you can see in previous blogs on the foods show but there were quite a few standouts this year that may not have won all the awards but won me over big. I had to go back a couple of times to make sure I was right (they did not have to twist my arm with samples). So many of them were happy to see me a second time and told me more about their products and their companies.
The Appetizers:
One of my favorite vendors at the show and who was very popular with many of the visitors those three days was Wei Chuan Foods. This family run company out of California had the most delicious chicken dumplings, roast pork buns and spring rolls. Samples here never lasted long and even one of the salespeople complained that people were eating the displays.
Their dumplings were full of flavor and well spiced and tasted really good with the soy sauce dipping sauce. Everything tasted homemade.
Wei Chuan Foods was one of the most popular booths at the NYC Fancy Food Show with this family run business of delicious Chinese appetizers and starters.
https://www.weichuanusa.com/en/pages/about-us/
Their Pork Buns and Chicken Dumplings were wonderful and cooked up so nicely. These samples never lasted too long. The Pork Buns were filled with a sweet roast pork and tasted like they had just been made at the show.
Wei Chuan Foods
Wei Chuan Foods
Their food selection was so popular that people were eating the displays.
Another Chinese food vendor that was very popular with the visitors to the show was Dumpling Daughter. The owner’s mother was out welcoming all of us to try these delicious dumplings and I have to say she had no problem getting a crowd. The pork and chive dumplings were excellent. I loved their stuffed mascot as well. That would be a nice side business to sell their plush dumpling.
Dumpling Daughters
Another type of dumpling that was popular at the show was Roza’s Dumplings and Pierogies. These stuffed delights were cooked in butter and had a nice chewy consistency.
Roza’s Dumplings were another huge hit at the show
https://www.instacart.com/products/27277583-roza-s-chicken-dumplings-28-oz
I only got to try the Chicken Dumplings, but I thought they were well spiced and cooked up nicely. I can see these being served with sour cream and apple sauce.
Another vendor that had long lines for sampling was a local New Jersey food merchant who created these amazing potato appetizers. I was able to grab a half of one of the Stuft Fundu’s but from the taste and consistency there are excellent.
Rosti Stuff Spuds
These small snacks had the consistency of a potato croquette and the I was able to sample the cheese filled spuds and they cooked up very nicely and were well spiced. I could never get back to the table again as they were always busy, but the product was delicious.
There were many pizza products from cheese to sauce and all sorts of frozen entrees to choose from at the show. There was one that really stood out and I swear it was like eating a fresh pizza. Pinsa Love Pizza was a crackly, crisp pizza with a flavorful sauce that baked up beautifully.
The sauce was well spiced and tasted of fresh tomatoes and olive oil and topped with a gooey cheese. Again another vendor that had a very busy table. When the representative from the company told me this was a frozen premade pizza, I was surprised with its consistency and taste. It tasted like a fresh pie.
Pinsa Love Pizza
You would never know that this was a frozen premade pizza.
Popcorn:
I have seen many popcorn vendors at the show but two really stood out at this show. Fisher’s Popcorn I had tried in the past in their store in Rehoboth Beach, DE on the boardwalk. Their Carmel and Cheese popcorn is sweet and savory with a sharp cheese flavor with their cheese popcorn.
Fishers Popcorn
My favorite flavor at the food show was the Caramel with Old Bay Seasoning. The spices really bring out the taste of the caramel and this unusual combination works beautifully. Their bagged popcorns taste just like it had been made at the store.
Another wonderful popcorn vendor was Garrett Popcorn out of Chicago. I really loved their Garrett Mix, which was their version of Caramel and Cheddar Cheese popcorn which was popular at the show. Their version of their sweet and savory flavor combination was excellent as well. What I like about their popcorn was there was none of those annoying kernels at the bottom of the bag.
Garret Popcorn
Their standard Butter Popcorn and their Caramel and Cheese popcorn were extremely popular at the show.
Candies:
I had sampled so many chocolates, caramels and jellies at the show that they began to blend into one another. I am not partial to dark chocolate which I find bitter and the candies that had no sugar gave some of the candies no flavor whatsoever.
One candy that really stood out for its taste and uniqueness was the Bonbo Marshmallow Fluff covered candies. These bonbons were melted in your mouth good. They were not the standard marshmallow smores like candies but when you bit into them, it was a marshmallow spread was on top of a cookie and then covered in chocolate. When I sampled them, the guy serving them said to me that I would not taste anything like this at the show. He was right.
Bonbo Dream Puff by Leonessa imported by Galil Brands
These large bonbons ooze open when you bite into these candies, and you can taste the sweet marshmallow fluff with the tasty milk chocolate. You need to two hands to eat them. One for the candy and one for the napkin you will need to hold when eating them.
Cookies
Whoa Dough
The one standout for being a very different type of cookies is Whoa Dough’s Chocolate Chip cookies. They use a combination of Gluten Free Oat Flour, Chickpea Flour and Tapioca Flour that gives it its chewiness. Using cane and brown sugar gives the cookies their sweetness that high fructose corn syrup never could. When I tried these cookies, you would swear that they are regular chocolate chip cookies. These gluten, nut, soy, dairy, and egg free vegan cookies will be very popular with people that have allergies who still like to indulge in sweets.
RoRo’s Baking Company
https://rorosbakingcompany.com/
RoRo’s Bakery, a small family company specializes in just a few types of baked goods but what they do is delicious. Their buttery and chewy dinner rolls are delicious and just need a little honey to make them a nice dinner companion.
What really stood out was their Cinnamon Rolls with their light icing and their sweet combination of butter and cinnamon. I had to try a few of them to get the full delight of their flavor and the ladies who ran the company seemed happy that I came back a few times with a smile on my face. They are a wonderful freshly baked product that are perfect for breakfast and brunch.
Ice Cream and novelties:
Cookie Wild
I was cornered by the vendor representative from Cookie Wild Ice Cream sandwiches to try their product when I was walking down the aisle and I am glad that he did. The Cookie Wild Ice Cream sandwich is a different take on the traditional ice cream sandwich.
This crisp chocolate wafer cookie was topped with a creamy vanilla ice cream with caramel and dipped in a chocolate coating. When you bite into it, it has a crisp chewy consistency with a caramel filling that oozes out with each bite. Crunchy and sweet, it a complex dessert with every bite. it is like an ice cream sundae in a sandwich form.
Another delicious dessert with New Jersey roots is the Mochi from Mochidoki. These sweet little delights have a favorful ice cream wrapped in a sweet rice coating.
Mochidoki Mochi Ice Creams
These little bites come in various flavors but the standouts here were the Vanilla Bean and the Passion Fruit (as seen above) which have a nice sweetness to them. Mochi makes such a nice dessert after a spicy Asian meal or just for a snack anytime.
There were many, many different wonderful vendors at the show but these vendors really impressed me with their uniqueness, flavors and tastes. They stood out for just being different from the other versions from the same categories.
This is when we start to see innovation mixed with quality when shopping for groceries for our families.
Other Tripsto the NYC Fancy Food Show:
The NYC Fancy Food Show 2022:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/24346
The NYC Fancy Food Show 2019:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/9543
The NYC Fancy Food Show 2015:
mywalkinmanhattan 
There are many different and unique food items coming to a grocery shelf near you.
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Reblogged this on Add this to your Grocery List! and commented:
There are many different American made brands that were featured at the show. There are many unique products coming to a grocery shelf near you!
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