Jan 27, 2009

Economic woes? Not in the world of fancy foodsBy L. Pierce CarsonNapaValleyRegister.com

Not deterred by the forecast of continued economic woes, more than 16,000 buyers jammed San Francisco’s Moscone Center last week to try new food products and investigate trends promoted by optimistic producers from three dozen nations around the world.

The three-day event attracted all segments of the specialty food trade, including neighborhood gourmet stores, natural and organic retailers, gift shops and major names in retailing like Whole Foods Markets, Williams-Sonoma, Amazon.com, Trader Joe’s, Target and Kroger. Buyers from these businesses scouted for the latest specialty items as well as ordered all manner of goods, ranging from chips to salsa, chocolate to ice cream, olive oil to salad dressing, cheese to pasta, plus sauces to seasonings.

“Despite near-historic economic challenges, our industry is showing resilience,” noted Ann Daw, president of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, the show’s owner. “Consumers are eating at home more, and they are purchasing specialty items to liven up their meals.”

Wandering through the giant underground hall that houses the Winter Fancy Food Show, these are some of the items that caught our eye:

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