Finding Foods that Strike Your Fancy

Once you wade past the 101 incarnations of salsa and jam, the specialty foods segment is a fertile field for new product inspiration. While the numbers are likely to drift with the tides of economy (“2008 is a bit of a challenging year,” admits the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, NASFT), sales of specialty food products to 2007 from 2005 rose 19% vs. 5.4% for all foods across the board and account for 12.5% of all retail sales according to NASFT. The group’s Fancy Food Show—which unfortunately has taken a hiatus from the Chicago area—has also been one of my favorites for scoping out the trendy, upscale and sometimes bizarre products hitting the retail shelves. After all, with affordable luxuries like Mushroom Profiteroles, Good Wives, Inc., or Robert Lambert’s Dark Cherries Preserved in Merlot Syrup, how can you resist a little indulgence now and then?

A webcast last week, “Today's Specialty Food Consumer 2008,” presented by NASFT, Mintel, and the Food Institute, discussed the typical specialty foods consumer: The largest demographic being 18- to 34-year-olds, raised on these products, comprising an impressive 69% of specialty food consumers (who in turn account for 56% of all consumers), and who are most likely to buy cold beverages, hot tea and prepared meals. Those 65 years and over are least likely to purchase specialty foods, due to well-established food tastes and high likelihood of fixed incomes that make higher-priced specialty items a luxury.

As with the growing popularity of ethnic foods and beverages, the growth is fueled by a well-traveled, global savvy populace looking for something different. The marketplace responded by introducing 700 new beverages, 550 new sauces and seasonings and 525 new bakery products in 2007.

Whether niche or portal to the next biggest thing, these kinds of products make a delicious diversion.

   –Lynn A. Kuntz