2023 Summer Fancy Food Show showcases trendy specialty items
NEW YORK -- The annual Summer Fancy Food Show was in town this week.
It's put on by the Specialty Food Association, which says specialty foods are a $194 billion industry.
CBS New York's Lisa Rozner checked out the latest trends coming to store shelves.
It's a taste of the future -- from food incubators in Oregon to businesses that "upcycle," turning food waste into something edible, like mushroom and veggie chips.
"We upcycle our food waste from different farms ... across the United States. We dry them and bake them into scrumptious snacks before we infuse them with different flavors," said Betty Lu, with Confetti Snacks.
From across the globe, the Specialty Food Association says more than 180,000 specialty foods were showcased at the 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center.
"There is a shift in demand that is happening and that is towards organic and vegan," said Chandra Pandey, with Jayshri Food Products. "This is the first time we are bringing organic paneer."
Stefano Scarso, with Rovagnati, says the company has a new kind of salami produced with a special technology.
"It allows us again to remove nitrates completely by guaranteeing the same safety and preservation levels," he said.
There was carbon-neutral cheddar cheese made in England with biogas generated from farm and dairy waste, and salt extracted from South Africa.
"In a very remote, pristine area of the Kalahari Desert, they discovered an underground salt lake of 55 million tons," said Samantha Skyring, with Oryx Desert Salt. "Our packaging is also environmentally responsible because we have a refill, not landfill, grinder."
The Specialty Food Association says cheese, meat and chips were among the top retail sellers in 2022. Energy and sports drinks are the fastest growing category.
"We started in CBD in 2019," said Robert Haynes, CEO and founder of Drink Yoro. "From there, we listened to our customers, as well as our buyers, and understood their needs."
In partnership with City Harvest, more than 10,000 pounds of food were donated to New Yorkers in need.