Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1194330
SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM Find out more at specialtyfood.com/ benefits Join the SFA! Membership is a good fit for your business and it's super easy to apply. SFA members come from across the industry— producers, buyers, and distributors. Startups welcome! Find great business connections at our events and education opportunities that deliver: the Fancy Food Show, Biz Builders networking program, Export programs, and more Discover the latest in specialty food through SFA's online Product Marketplace, Trendspotter reports, Professional Food Buyer Certification through eCornell, Incubator Village, and What's New, What's Hot! All member company employees benefit from member discounts, including passes to the Fancy Food Shows and other SFA events, as well as discounts on critical research and other services CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT "It's an exploration of flavors—a very complex sauce that is spicy, herby, bitter, and pungent," Chaimberg adds. Other destinations influencing the category: the Caribbean, Africa, Brazil, Nepal, and Italy. At Woodstock Farmers' Market in Vermont, grocery team leader Amelia Rappaport says Caribbean- inspired hot sauce favorites like Half Moon Bay Bee Sting Pineapple Guava pepper sauce, Angry Goat Purple Hippo hot sauce with prickly pear, Levinsky's Pineapple Chili Punch hot sauce, and Half Moon Bay's Iguana en Fuego, made with pineapple, papaya, and passion fruit, are top sellers. "These sauces are as much about flavor as they are heat," she notes. Kala's Kuisine, a company that combines traditional Nepalese flavors with ingredients from around the world, is piquing interest at specialty store Tears of Joy in Austin, notes owner Brian Rush, who says Kala's Hotvocado is a good seller. Owner and founder Kala Uprety, a Nepalese native, uses ingredients like coconut milk, dates, turmeric, and apricot in her sauces to round out the heat. Peter Mantis, creator of a Portuguese-style piri-piri sauce, is happy to see African- and Brazilian-style hot sauces that offer distinct flavor nuances starting to show up in the category. "I'm also excited to see heat from the Italian Calabrian chili," he notes. Flavor Funk While extreme heat might be waning, new flavors from some global inspirations are rounding out hot sauces' profile. They complement varying degrees of heat and give consumers what they are seeking—a taste of something new like fermented flavors that impart umami and sweet fruits and avocados that mellow out the heat. "Customers are looking for some different types of flavors to complement or even offset the heat," says Nick Barnard, manager of Chilly Chiles, a hot sauce specialty store in Ontario, Canada. "And," he adds, "some globally inspired sauces definitely offer that option." Among sauce companies that are exciting customers, Barnard cites Clark + Hopkins, which Global Ingredient List • Ajwain • Avocado • Beer • Berbere • Black Cardamom • Calabrian Peppers • Citrus • Coconut Milk • Coriander • Curry • Dates • Dried Shrimp • Garlic, toasted • Ginger • Mushrooms • Sichuan Peppercorns • South American Rocoto Peppers