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Several changes awaited buyers attending the 2004 Spring Fancy Food Show in Chicago's McCormick Place. In addition to the NASFT's co-location with the annual trade exhibit for the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the U.S. Food Export Showcase, for the first time, the event included All Things Organic and the United Produce Expo. According to the NASFT, registration was up this year with an estimated 9,800 members of the trade planning to attend, and by any visual estimate, at least that many people were there, in addition to the overall estimate for attendance hovering somewhere around 30,000 trade professionals. The Fancy Food side of this event included about 350 companies exhibiting in approximately 56,000 square feet, so there was plenty of new products to report on from the Windy City. By all accounts, trade was as brisk inside the halls as the unseasonable weather was outside on the streets. From baby pineapples and personal-sized watermelons in the Produce Expo to innovative new storage and display systems at FMI, this was an all-encompassing show indeed. In case neither you nor your personnel could make it, following is a look at some of the new products you would have seen this year.

Coffee, Tea, and Beverages
GlobeTrends debuted a new line of black teas imported from England's Harrisons & Crosfield Ltd. Currently available in Earl Grey and English Breakfast, the company plans to expand the line's offerings soon. The teas are decaffeinated using the natural CO2 process, yet still maintain their robust flavor. Also available in iced tea form in six flavors.
Magnum Coffee Roastery has introduced a new line they call Island Trader Coffee Company, an international selection of fine estate-grown coffees roasted to maximize their inherent flavor. The coffees have borrowed the award-winning graphics from their Magnum Exotics line that feature a variety of exotic animals colorfully arrayed. The line includes traditional choices -- Breakfast Blend, French Roast, Kona Blend, and Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend, as well as flavored coffees like Double Chocolate, Cinnamon Hazelnut, French Vanilla, and Bavarian Chocolate. The line also includes several decaffeinated coffees and attractive and useful shipper display units.
Crimson Cup, a coffee roaster serving the independent coffeehouses and retailers, displayed their book Seven Steps to Success: A Common-Sense Guide to Succeed in Specialty Coffee written by owner Greg Ubert. The smart little book sums up the company's philosophy that weaves into a whole program for both grocers and coffeehouses. Their attractive packaging, expertly roasted coffee, and tailored-for-the-independent merchandising program is sure to benefit many specialty coffee merchants.
Ahmad Tea had a new line of Limited Edition teas that feature very exclusive high-quality blends in foil-wrapped tea bags. The line includes Darjeeling, Yunnan, Silver Needle, Assam, Oolong, Royal Dragon Pearl (a Jasmine tea), Ceylon, and Royal English Afternoon.
Boston Tea Company has introduced a White Tea line often referred to as the "Champagne of Teas." Quite rare, they are normally very expensive. Boston Tea has tried to mainstream these wonderful teas and has managed to get the price down to a more reasonable level. The line grown mostly in Sri Lanka includes Jasmine, Mango, Raspberry, Orange, Oriental Treasures (plain), Ginger Peach, and Mint.
Within the vast of array of products and companies in the European Imports Ltd. booth, we tasted an exceptional all-natural line of sodas from Riggs & Forsythe put up in attractively simple bottles. The line includes Aronia Cassis, Bitter Lemon, Dry Cola, and Ginger Ale.
The Blueberry Store from Grand Junction, Mich., has added some delicious new blueberry-based juice drinks called Blue Nectar. The line includes Blueberry Lemonade, Cranberry Blueberry, Cherry Blueberry, and Apple Blueberry.
Downstairs at the All Things Organic venue, R.W. Knudsen premiered three new bottled juices -- Blueberry Nectar, Orange Carrot, and Mango Nectar, all organic and 100-percent juice. Their sister company, Santa Cruz Organic, also had new products, the first organic spritzers, which are refreshing alternatives to sodas. The line includes Organic Cherry Spritzer and Organic Grape Spritzer.
To complement all of the new healthy drinks available, the Organic Spirits Company showed three new organic spirits, gin, vodka, and a Paraguyan rum that is finished in the U.K.

Soups, Sauces, and Condiments
Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blends introduced a new Rotisserie Seasoning Program for rotisserie chicken, turkey, Cornish hens, or pork. Seventeen different unique seasonings comprise the new program and all can also be used in liquid marinades.
From the famous Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, N.Y., comes a new line of exquisite organic vegetarian soups in 18-ounce containers. The line of soups, which are all heat and serve, include Creamy Broccoli & Cheese, Mediterranean Tomato & Rice, Creamy Potato & Corn, Hearty Mushroom Barley, Tuscan White Bean & Vegetable, and Texas Two Bean Chili.
Lollipop Tree showcased a number of new items, including a beautiful gift pack called Pepper Jelly Trio. Pepper Jelly, Roasted Garlic Black Olive Pepper Jelly, and Vidalia Onion Cranberry Pepper Jelly are packaged in an attractive gift box with a handcrafted wooden spreader and tied together with a grosgrain ribbon.
San-J has launched two new instant soups drawn from traditional Japanese cuisine, White Miso with tofu and scallions and Wakame with shitake mushrooms. Both come in handy envelopes to which one simply adds eight ounces of hot water, making them perfect for the office or dorm room. They have also added two new tamari-based grilling sauces, Sweet & Hot Chili and Cracked Pepper.
Rao's Specialty Foods launched several new products this spring, including as part of their Rao's Homemade line Southern Italian Pepper & Mushroom Sauce; Sausage, Peppers & Onion Sauce; Caesar Salad Dressing; and Italian Herb Dressing. They have also begun offering Rao's Imported Italian Peeled Tomatoes.
Robert Rothschild introduced a host of new items, including a Jalapeño Pepper Dip that combines the flavors of jalapeño peppers, garlic, and onion to create a creamy dip for fresh vegetables or tortilla chips. Also new was a Peach Rhubarb Grapefruit Jam, a Pumpkin Curd, and a Vodka Pasta Sauce.
Grapevine Trading Company showed off two clever new products that generated a lot of booth traffic. The first is the Spice Travel Kit that includes 15 different herbs and spices in a great convenient take-it-with-you pocket-sized box. The second, Rosemary Skewers, is perfect for anyone who loves to grill in style. Simply soak the skewers briefly in water to inhibit flames and then pierce chunks of poultry, meat, seafood, or vegetables and thread them onto the skewer.
In the organic section, we found a small company from Maine, Fitch Farm and Gardens, that makes organic preserves, oils, and vinegars. They were introducing their newest creation, Organic Raspberries Amaretto, a sumptuous topping for cakes and ice cream.
Another new-to-us company in the organic show was High Desert Foods from Durango, Colo., who had a wonderful line of conserves made from the fruit of their own orchards. One of the newest, Rhubarb Rose Conserve, was outstanding as were several others, including Spiced Peach, Sour Cherry, and Apricot Amaretto conserves. The company purposely uses the term 'conserves' because they have a very high fruit-to-sugar ration.
Mrs. Renfro's displayed a great new shipper/display unit that is great for cross-merchandising. They also sampled out their new Raspberry Chipotle Salsa.
Los Chileros have three new sauce mixes, Green Chile, Red Chile, and Mole Mix, as well as a new Bloody Mary Mix.

Grains & Baked Goods
Salem Baking Company introduced new mini biscuits called Cocktail Companions in four flavors, Parmesan Roasted Vegetable, Black Pepper Fennel, Sun-dried Tomato Pistachio, and Fig and Balsamic Vinegar. Available in two sizes of packaging with see-through windows, the biscuits are all natural, have no trans fats, and are perfect as a wine accompaniment.
Exotic rice purveyors Lotus Foods out of Richmond, Calif., showed off their luscious new packaging for their unique line of Jasmine, Carnaroli, Forbidden, and Kalijira rices. The new packages feature lovely photographs of the various rice-growing regions, evoking a sense of place and connection to the rices' origins.
Metzger Specialty Brands introduced the first new Tillen Farms product in five years. The Tillen Farms Crispy Dilly Beans are a milder version of the company's Hot 'N Spicy Beans that are fat free, cholesterol free, and low in calories, and have only three grams carb/serving.
Just Off Melrose has a new 12-Grain JUST Crouton Topped with Parmesan that is simply scrumptious, a nice addition to their other finely seasoned croutons.
Big Train presented a new collection of low-carb mixes, including Chocolate Chip Brownie, Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle, Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Peanut Butter Cookie mixes.
Color-a-Cookie had the perfect solution for youngsters of any age with their Tic Tac Dough Cookie Game in which the winner gets to eat the cookies. Pack includes flavored food coloring markers, along with four sandwich crème cookies that are embossed with the Tic Tac Dough outline.
Alvarado St. Bakery has added Essential Flax Seed Bread to their line of delicious whole-grain breads made from organic grains. The breads are made with sprouted wheat berries instead of flour and without the use of any trans fats.
Venus Wafers has a handy new shipper/display unit for their CaPeachios Gourmet Cracker Selection that holds up to 287 units of assorted crackers. They have also reformulated their Tea Biscuits to be better than ever.

Sweets
Quality Candy Buddy Squirrel introduced Peanut Butter Blankets in their Bulk Confections line. This peanut butter-over-caramel treat is decadent. Also new were Peanut Butter Barges in both dark and milk chocolate that are composed of graham crackers with a peanut butter layer in between. Sugar-free versions are also available.
Cape Cod Provisions introduced Harvest Sweets Fruit Truffles in vibrant packaging. Ganache centers of pureed fruit, fresh cream, and cocoa butter are surrounded in milk or dark chocolate. The truffles are available in three varieties: Raspberry in a dark chocolate shell, and strawberry and peach in a milk chocolate shell.
Schokinag Chocolate North America added three new items to their popular European Drinking Chocolate line, including White Chocolate made with tiny bits of real white chocolate and natural vanilla, Dulce de Leche made with real bits of Schokinag white chocolate and natural caramel, and Chocolate Mocha that combines milk chocolate, white chocolate, and coffee.
Maury's, a line of all-natural, gourmet cookie dough that arose from New York's fabulous City Bakery, has added an organic Double Chocolate Fudge cookie that has an incredible fudgy taste. They are increasingly adding organic ingredients that are up to their standards of quality and flavor to their line of cookie dough as they find them.
Julie's Organic Ice Cream, showing in the All Things Organic venue, is a rich, creamy ice cream that so far has been in standard pint containers only in Caramel, Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Mint Fudge, Blackberry, and Mocha Java. They are now coming out with both ice cream bars and sandwiches. The bars will be available in both vanilla and chocolate dipped in a rich dark chocolate coating.
Natural Choice was another line of organic ice cream (a welcome trend) in a variety of flavors. They were sampling their new Organic Raspberry Sorbet to go along with their other flavors -- Strawberry, Blueberry, Banana, Lemon, Mango, and Strawberry-Kiwi.
At the European Imports booth, Chocolat Weiss, a French chocolate maker since 1882 who up until now has only offered their chocolate for baking and foodservice, is going to introduce their retail chocolate bars, Napolitan, and Bon Bons, probably by showtime at the Summer Fancy Food Show.

Housewares and Equipment
Picnic at Ascot debuted a very handsome and sophisticated Mini Travel Bar for 2. The zippered case features an elegant metal flask, a corkscrew, ice tongs, a cocktail spoon, a jigger, and two collapsible drinking cups. No well-dressed traveler should be without one. The have also added two distinctive barbecue sets, the Executive Gourmet Tool Set featuring four BBQ tools plus eight stainless steel corn cob holders all in a convenient foldup carrying case, and the Essential BBQ Tools, a smaller version with tongs, a spatula, and a fork, also in a foldup carrying case.
Willow Group had some charming enameled steel pails with handles that came in a soft yellow they call wheat and a green they call sage. The same idea was presented in an oblong container in the same colors, perfect for display or for gift baskets. This was all in addition to their array of quality baskets, most of which are very inexpensive, making them ideal for gift baskets.
In the FMI exhibition hall were some very innovative store fixtures on display, such as the handsome systems from Southern Store Fixtures. These beautifully designed wrap-around cases can accommodate different finishes on the front below the glass, such as tile, stainless steel, and so on, providing an opportunity for just about any store aesthetic.
For displaying and selling your bulk foods, New Zealand company Durapod Systems had an ingenious and versatile new structure of self-serve units with self-closing lids, better access for filling and cleaning, wider signage space, lighting, and even adjustable feet. The very handsome units could well be the bulk storage unit of the future.