The 64th annual Summer Fancy Food Show, one of the largest shows for specialty food in North America and put together by the Specialty Food Association (SFA), is taking place at the Jacob Javits Center in New York. Having started Saturday, June 30th and continuing until Monday, July 2, the popular show features exhibitors from 54 countries, including the United States and has 2,600 and more companies exhibiting over 200,000 specialty foods.
Among the top highlights of the show is the sofi Award for Product of the Year, which the SFA has presented since 1972 and celebrates culinary excellence and creativity. This 2018 sofi award winner was Bitter Housewife Cardamom Bitters from Improper Goods, LLC.
“We are honored that our Bitter Housewife Cardamom Bitters have won not only a coveted gold sofi Award, but also Product of the Year,” said Dylan Myers, vice president of operations, Improper Goods. “Improper Goods is all about making cocktails fun and approachable. Each of our flavors is made with real ingredients to make cocktails taste better. We’re excited to continue our journey leveraging this incredible recognition.”
According to the SFA, the Bitter Housewife Cardamom Bitters are savory bitters that lead a duplicitous life adding depth to sweeter drinks based on apple, pear, or orange, but also blending right in with the smoky characteristics of an anejo tequila or scotch.
Summer Fancy Food Show Product of the Year Winner
“For 46 years, we’ve presented sofi Awards to the best of the best in the specialty food industry,” said Phil Kafarakis, president of the SFA. “Our Product of the Year winner comes from an amazing field of competitive products in 39 categories. It’s exciting to recognize Improper Goods and have the Bitter Housewife Cardamom Bitters named 2018 Product of the Year. They truly embody the passion and innovation that our industry stands for and we predict great things ahead for them.”
Other highlights from the show include the incubator village, education sessions, Hall of Fame & Lifetime Achievement awards ceremony, Front Burner: food service pitch competition and donations to the City Harvest charity.
“Specialty food industry sales hit $140.3 billion in 2017 and growth of specialty foods is far outpacing the overall food industry,” said Kafarakis. “We’re seeing new innovations launch every day and enormous interest from every channel – online to brick-and-mortar retail to foodservice. Our members and affiliated businesses are passionate about what they do and are driving trends across categories. SFA champions the industry and our Fancy Food Shows are designed to bring everyone together to network, learn, and conduct critical business.”
