A Look Into the Food Future at Fancy Food
Our Barilla Brand Ambassadors recently gathered in NYC to take in the Fancy Food Show, a showcase of new products aimed at the retail space. Though not made exclusively for foodservice kitchens, the products and brands featured at Fancy Food are indicative of the flavors, trends and foods that consumers will be seeing at retailers in the next 3-5 years. Guided by our friends at Flavor & the Menu Magazine, here are three trend takeaways we spotted on the show floor that had our creative gears turning with pasta menu ideas:
Textural toppers
Textural elements have been on a surge of late, adding interest to plates in almost every foodservice segment. Chilli Crab flavored seaweed snacks caught our eye as a flavorful, crunchy element that would be dynamite on a pasta dish. Similarly, a jalapeño chili crisp was delicious, and it was easy to imagine it taking a spicy pasta dish up a notch.
Non-traditional pestos
We’re no strangers to the pesto category, and it was interesting to see nut- and allergen-free pestos in flavors like cilantro-jalapeno alongside sun-dried tomato and traditional basil. Another brand featured pesto made from perilla leaves, a concept with roots in Korean cuisine.
Caviars
We’ve talked about the hi-lo trend in a previous issue — where luxury ingredients are paired with casual, everyday foods like pasta. Caviars are a symbol of luxury and a little bit adds a ton of value to almost any plate. Domestic caviars have been improving in quality and variety, and the group was intrigued by a new entrant, a plant-based fish egg alternative made from seaweed.