instore - February 2018 - 23

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The Winter Fancy Food Show, held Jan. 21-23 in San Francisco, drew more
than 25,000 attendees and 1,400 exhibitors.

exciting time to be working in the retail food industry. "For the first time
in a long time, working in food and grocery is cool," he said. "Innovation
in the industry is attracting the attention of people at Harvard and
Stanford. The level of excitement is unbridled. I've never seen it before."
The Winter 2018 version of Fancy Food showcased more new products than ever before, said Lempert, who has been a show regular for
decades. "When I started coming, there were a lot of cheeses, sauces
and snacks. Now, you see more stuff than you can imagine. It's not the
'fancy food show,' it's the 'exciting food show.'"

he food world has always been hyper-competitive, and it's
now in the midst of transformations that will create new stars
but also leave many industry stalwarts behind. Specialty
food purveyors that connect with consumers, tell compelling stories,
explore new flavors, pioneer convenient and healthy solutions and
provide a transparent link to the sources of their products should
thrive in this new world.
Those were among the many messages circulating at the Specialty
Food Association's annual Winter Fancy Food Show, held Jan. 21-23 in
San Francisco. The show drew more than 25,000 attendees and 1,400
exhibitors and also featured a full slate of educational programming -
20 hours overall, highlighted by three "super sessions."

The panel itself consisted of five industry veterans - Harley Butler of
Shipt, Jeremy Gosch of Hy-Vee, Lynn Hochberg of Wawa, Jacqueline
Ross of Ahold and Richard Tarlov of Canyon Market - and touched on
a variety of hot-button topics.
On the subject of grocery delivery and pickup in the era of Amazon/
Whole Foods, Walmart/Jet, etc., panel members discussed how the bar
of consumer expectations continues to be raised. Just a few years ago,
they said, consumers were excited when they got an Amazon delivery
in a week. Now, if it's not there in four hours, they're annoyed.
But Shipt's Butler said that retailers need to keep in mind that efficiency
is not the only goal of delivery/pickup. "If the high quality is not there,

Phil Kafarakis, the New York-based association's president, opened
one of the super sessions, a buyer panel dubbed "Selling Specialty," by
haling attendees as a "Food Innovation Nation." "People like you are
turning the food business upside down," he said. "You are pioneers of a
community that's taking the industry by storm."
The specialty food business, Kafarakis said, generates $138 billion in
annual sales and accounts for 15 to 16 percent of all grocery sales. At
this year's show, he said, attendees could explore "three football fields
of new stuff" to inspire them and help ensure that those numbers
continue to grow.
The buyer panel's moderator, consultant Phil Lempert, aka "The
Supermarket Guru," told attendees they couldn't ask for a more

New instore bakery goods from Delifrance were among the many
specialty items on display at the Winter Fancy Food Show.

instore * FEBRUARY 2018 * 23

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