New York, New York - Summer Fancy Food

A guided store visit to Fairway Market kicked off the Fancy Food show programme early on a Saturday morning in downtown Manhatten.  A half day tour of some of New York’s leading speciality food retailers gave UK producers the chance to learn about distribution channels, likely investment costs to support their brands in market through in-store promotions and also check out the competition in their own product categories and research consumer trends in this huge and diverse export market. 

Hilltop Honey, Truffle Hunter, Churchills Confectionery, Cherry Tree Preserves and Henllan Bakery were just a few of the producers to visit Chelsea Market, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods as well as a long list of speciality food retailers throughout Manhatten and the wider suburbs of New York State.

The UK Pavilion at Fancy Food Show enjoyed a great location right at the front of the Javits Convention Center and business was brisk throughout the 3 day show.  Comprised of a mix of experienced exhibitors in the US market such as Willies Cacao, Birchall Tea and Sun Mark, it was pleasing to see so many first time exhibitors take their first steps into exporting to the US and North America – these included Keep Calm & Carry On Beverages, Choc+, Rococco Chocolates and Snack Factory.  Other first time exhibitors included Carrs Foods, showcasing their St Pierre Bakery lines, who viewed the Fancy Food show as a chance to ramp up their US exports and increase their consumer awareness. 

As always, dairy was a particularly strong category at the show with many of the UK’s most established brands in high demand – Wyke Farm, Godminster and Bradburys Cheese joined long-standing exhibitors such as The Fine Cheese Co, Somerdale International, Coombe Castle, Snowdonia Cheese and Abergavenny Fine Foods.

All the UK’s nations were represented at the show with exhibitors including Mezze Magic from Northern Ireland, Hopscotch Brands from Scotland and a Welsh Pavilion showing a diverse range of products including jams and preserves, cheese and dairy products, snack foods and speciality condiments such as Anglesey Sea Salt.

If you want to join the UK group at future shows, get in touch with Karen Beston to find out how you too can benefit from our support in this vast but hugely profitable market.

karenbeston@ps-8.com