2024 Summer Fancy Food Show Recap

The 68th Summer Fancy Food Show was held June 23-25, 2024, in New York City, showcasing the latest and best in specialty foods and beverages. The event attracted thousands of industry professionals from across the globe, including makers, buyers, brokers, distributors, and more. The show offered opportunities for product discovery, networking, and business growth. It was a trade-only event, not open to the general public.

This show marked Paramount Global’s second time exhibiting at Summer Fancy Foods, you can read about our first time exhibiting here. We also exhibit at the Winter Fancy Food Show, which takes place annually in January in Las Vegas. We had a great time showcasing our products at Winter Fancy Foods earlier this year.

It was great to network and meet with so many attendees at this year’s show. We had a lot of great conversations about everything from upcoming sustainability laws to the latest packaging innovations to learning about common pain points when it comes to specialty food packaging. We left the show feeling renewed and ready to tackle these hot topics.

Last year, we had a great time at the show, but this year we have a new 3PL warehouse in New Jersey, so we’re excited to improve our service on the East Coast!

The Specialty Food Association (SFA) is a not-for-profit, membership-based trade association that was founded in 1952. Currently, the SFA represents over 3,000 businesses in the industry. Paramount Global has been a proud member since June 2022, aligning with a diverse network of food artisans, purveyors, importers, entrepreneurs, distributors, and retailers.

Diversity & Inclusion

The show continues to expand on its commitment to diversity and inclusion. The Diversity Pavilion made a comeback for the 2024 Summer Fancy Food Show, highlighting a dynamic selection of companies owned and operated by entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups. In this dedicated space, exhibitors shared their unique stories and established direct connections with buyers seeking to diversify their products and supplier networks.

Sustainability

The Summer Fancy Food Show continues to promote sustainability through several conservation measures to reduce environmental impact. These measures include the use of a mobile app to reduce printed materials, recycling badges and stock, reducing lighting during setup and after the event, conserving heating and cooling during move-in and move-out, limiting escalator use to Show days, and providing water coolers to encourage the use of reusable water bottles. Additionally, energy-efficient HVAC units with HEPA filtration systems are used and carpets for booths are made from recycled materials. Pipes and drapes are also multiple-use and recycled, while modern rental building structures are 100% recyclable. All single-use rigid graphics are printed on high-quality recyclable substrates, and engaging local union labor reduces carbon footprint. Energy-efficient electronic equipment is also used whenever available.

To enhance waste diversion, six specific sort streams are separately collected, including cardboard, mixed recycling, paper and publications, construction and demolition debris, food waste, and trash. During move-in and move-out periods and event days, waste receptacles are tailored to the needs of exhibitors, offering large dumpsters for sorting recyclables from landfill. On the Show Floor, mixed recycling and landfill receptacles are present, along with food composting and grease bins in clean-up stations.

The Fancy Food Show has also run an Exhibitor Food Donation program since 1992, which delivers roughly 300,000 pounds of food annually to those in need. In New York, they collaborate with City Harvest, which rescues more than 30 million pounds of extra food each year. Apart from food, they also donate non-food items like furniture, household products, and construction materials to local non-profit organizations in the New York area in partnership with Freeman and the Javits Care Program.

History

The Summer Fancy Food Show, now in its 68th year, has been a significant event in the food industry since the post-war 1950s. It has evolved alongside food culture and enthusiasts in the U.S., with thousands of food producers and tens of thousands of attendees participating annually. The show’s origins can be traced back to Americans returning from World War II with a taste for European flavors and products. Initially focused on “fancy” foods like imported Champagne and caviar, the show has expanded to include a wide variety of products that reflect consumer preferences and behaviors. Today, it is one of the industry’s tentpole events, bringing together producers, buyers, brokers, and others to celebrate flavor, innovation, and community.

Complete Packaging & Supply Chain Solutions

At Paramount Global, we take pride in delivering high-quality packaging and supply chain solutions for the specialty food industry and beyond. With warehouses across the US and the UK, we’re ready to be a packaging and supply chain solution partner. If you’re looking to elevate your packaging game, contact us today to discover how we can be a partner to you.

Missed the show? Don’t worry! Check out our booth display and a quick recap of the event in this video: https://youtu.be/28gDZv5hYlw.