Panel Names Top 5 Specialty Food Trends From Winter Fancy Food Show

An expert panel of trendspotters who combed the exhibit halls at the 2016 Winter Fancy Food Show, which is owned and produced by the Specialty Food Association, have named the top five food trends for 2016.

With enough chocolate, cheese and olive oil to fill four football fields, the show is the largest marketplace devoted exclusively to specialty food on the West Coast. Snacks made with crickets, grass-fed everything, and protein where you least expect it, are among the top food trends, according to the experts. 

Here are the panel's Top 5 Trends for 2016: 

Southeast (Asia) meets West: Examples of the trend include Little Red Dot Kitchen's Bak Kwa meat snacks, Saffron Road's Tandoori Seasoned Chicken Nuggets, Wei Kitchen's Shallot Oil and Hey Boo's Thai Iced Tea Coconut Caramels. 

Grazing on Grass: Examples of the trend include Organic Valley's Vanilla Grassmilk Yogurt, The New Primal's Grass-fed Beef Jerky, Dahlicious, Inc.'s Organic Cucumber Mint Lemon Lassi with grass-fed milk and Steve's Ice Cream, made with grass-fed milk.

Pushing Protein: Examples of the trend include Bitty Foods's Chiridos, snacks with cricket flour; Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods's Cinnamon Hemp Heart Bites; Explore Cuisine's  Organic Edamame Spaghetti; and Chicago Bar Company's Chocolate Sea Salt RXBAR. 

By the Cup: Examples of the trend include Ricebliss' Acai & Chia Brown Rice Snack, Dr. McDougall's Right Foods' Sweet Potato Kale Quinoa Salad, Purely Elizabeth's Cranberry Pecan Ancient Grain Granola Plus Puffs and LonoLife's Chicken Bone Broth in Recyclable K-Cup.

Purple Reign: Examples of the trend include Back to the Roots Organic Stoneground Purple Corn Flakes, Love Beets Smoky BBQ Shredded Beets, Lotus Foods Purple Potato and Brown Rice Ramen, and The Republic of Tea's Sonoma Cabernet Iced Tea.

The trendspotters include individuals who follow and write about food trends for leading media outlets and consulting firms. The Specialty Food Association trendspotters are Emma Christensen, editor, The Kitchn; Sarah  Fritsche, staff writer, San Francisco Chronicle; Christine Gallary, food and cooking Editor, The Kitchn; Kara Nielsen, culinary director, Sterling-Rice Group; Denise Purcell, editor, Specialty Food Media; Nancy Hopkins, senior deputy editor, Food & Entertainment, Better Homes & Gardens; Ashley Koff, RD, editorial director, The Ashley Koff Approved (AKA) List; Amy Sherman, freelance food writer; and Jerry James Stone, cookbook author.