Fancy Food: Premium Pantry Staples; Awareness for A2

As we review our notes from the final Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas earlier this week, the presence of premium pantry staples, new positions for konjac jelly brands and a rising tide around the use of A2 dairy caught our attention. Here’s all of the notes from our reporter’s notebooks, which also includes a new spin on frozen fruit and love for lentils across new formats.

Pantry Staples Go Premium

Brown butter sticks, wine-infused salts and other elevated pantry staples were on display, catering to home cooks seeking to level up mealtime. New York-based restaurant brands Grimaldi’s and Carmine’s each debuted premium jarred sauces inspired by the signature Italian dishes on their menus.

Portland, Ore.-based brand Spritz King presented its culinary basting spray in Original and Chipotle flavors, combining apple cider vinegar, tamari, garlic red peppers, tomato and spices. The products were designed to maximize moisture retention and boost flavors in smokers and air fryers, according to founder Toby Forsberg.

Canadian startup Truffles and Circumstance showcased its line of hot sauces, olive oils and ranch dressing infused with black truffles, plus exotic spices. Influential foodie Molly Baz’s Ayoh brand of mayonnaise debuted, packaged in squeeze bottles and featuring such flavors as Dill Pickle Mayo, Hot Giardinayo, Tangy Dijonayo and Original Mayo.

Legacy truffle company Sabatino is going all in on innovation this year, said SVP of Marketing Pauline Charles. The company showed off two infused olive oil sprays in Black Truffle and White Truffle varieties in addition to a handful of new condiment products such as Truffle Crunch Hot (similar to chili crisp), Truffle Mayo, Truffle Ranch, Truffle Aioli and Truffle Hot Sauce.

Lazy Food, backed by a former pasta manufacturer that saw whitespace for simple ingredient easy meals, made its Fancy Food debut this year. The shelf-stable collection of pasta dishes can be prepared by adding water and stirring in a saucepan and come together as a complete meal with protein and vegetable inclusions in the water-activated sauce. Each SKUs is made with gluten-free, chickpea and yellow pea-based pasta. The products are priced at under $10 per meal and sold at Whole Foods stores across the Midwest.

Tastelli’s New Kid Position

Tastelli has moved from the adult grab-and-go set, to the kid aisle, iterated and then gone back again, according to the brand’s cofounders. In June, the company made its first line extension with a pouched kids product in Apple and Mango flavors that rolled out to Walmart stores.

Notably, the products do not include any konjac – the hero ingredient of its original product – and the packages are now in the process of being refreshed through a co-branding partnership with Hasbro-owned Peppa Pig. The cofounders said Hasbro has been extremely supportive of them as an early-stage brand and are now working to grow the line more broadly in retail via partnerships with Costco, among others.

Now sold in about 1,600 stores, the cofounders said that originally retailers saw the konjac pouches and wanted them positioned for kids; those conversations have now swung back with retailers, just two years later, now seeing the appeal for adults as they look to stock them in grab-and-go sets.

In addition to Tastelli, at least two other brands – Everydaze and Pac Pac Snacks – featured konjac jelly, which is a popular, low-calorie snack in Korea and Japan.

A2 Aims for Awareness:

RTD latte maker Laurel’s made its trade show debut after hitting the market with a Classic Latte, Dirty Chai Latte and Matcha Latte in August. The Los Angeles-based company, which sources its dairy from California dairy Alexandre Family Farm, said it was one of the final supply contracts the dairy would sign due to growing demand around A2 milk.

Laurel’s is not the “first-ever” A2 coffee company, but founder Isabel Washington believes that increased consumer awareness of A2 dairy post-COVID has helped her brand succeed where others have been less fortunate.

Naera Snacks is also looking to embrace the growing awareness around A2 and add a callout to their gentle-dried Skyr bite snack packaging after learning the product, made from Iceland-sourced dairy, primarily contains A2 dairy. Founder Holly Kristinsson said she noticed a difference herself in how the dairy impacted her digestion in comparison to regular dairy in the U.S. and asked that the farmers test their cows. The results came back with milk that is 80% A2 proteins versus conventional which is about half-and-half A2/A1 protein.

The brand also introduced its new puffed fish bites, made from Salmon or Haddock, at the show. The high protein and omega 3-rich snacks are made from fresh caught fish, chopped into bite sizes and dried using its gentle dry technology. Kristinsson sees the line as a compliment to growing interest around tinned fish and fish jerky, but believes the snackable, crunchy texture will appeal most to consumers. The brand is working to position the new innovation toward outdoor-oriented consumers like hikers, backpackers and fishermen.

Elsewhere on the floor, Bellwether Farms exhibited its line of A2/A2 whole milk yogurts in Strawberry, Blackberry and Vanilla flavors. The Sonoma-based dairy makes two types of A2 yogurts, one with dairy sourced from grass fed cows, and another that uses sheep milk.

Berries, But Better

A sustainable farm in Oregon presented a new spin on frozen fruit at Winter Fancy Food. Farmer Bob’s line of Beyond Berries blends red raspberries, black raspberries or blueberries with dates and currants to provide a pucker-free eating experience. According to founder and third-generation farmer Bob Underwood, conventional frozen fruit isn’t always sweet, so he aimed to create a more consistent taste.

Additionally, the combination of berries, dates and currants contains high levels of antioxidants including flavanoids, carotenoids and phenolic acid, according to the company. The brand uses imperfect fruit to reduce waste and pasteurizes the produce to destroy pathogens. The blend of fruit is frozen in berry-shaped molds and can be used in smoothies, yogurt, beverages and more.

Love 4 Lentils

Lentils are cropping up in more applications, spanning soups, snacks and more. Montana startup 41 Grains introduced a crunchy lentil-based snack designed to make the nutritious legume more convenient and approachable. Lentil Crunchers are available in Dill Pickle, Signature Salty, Sauced Apple and Sweet Hickory flavors and may be eaten directly out of the bag or used as a topping for soups, salads or yogurt.

Chutney maker Maazah highlighted its new line of lentil dips in four flavors, including Lemon Tahini, Roasted Red Pepper, Basil Jalapeno and Turmeric Ginger. According to the founders, the dips are similar to hummus but higher in protein and are slated to hit shelves at a local Minneapolis retailer.

Lentiful showcased new compostable packaging for its line of instant lentil meals at the Fancy Food Show. Founder and CEO Ben Bacon said the brand is gearing up for expanded distribution in the coming months.