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The Winter Fancy Food Show held in San Francisco Jan. 15-17 broke records. Attendance was the highest ever in the show’s 37-year history, and the sold-out exhibit space was the largest to date in San Francisco.

The three-day event at Moscone Center is the largest marketplace devoted exclusively to specialty foods and beverages on the West Coast. It is owned and operated by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT).

According to preliminary figures, more than 18,000 buyers attended the show. This year’s attendees reflected a new mix of decision makers from the top names in retail and foodservice including more buyers from supermarkets, mass merchants and natural and organic retailers. Buyers represented industry mainstays like Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s, Central Market and A Southern Season and new participants including Sodexo Senior Living, Wynn Las Vegas and The California Parks Co.

The show covered 206,000 square feet of exhibit space, up from 196,000 square feet in 2011. To accommodate demand from exhibitors, NASFT added additional space that allowed 60 more specialty food makers to present their products alongside a popular exhibit of 30 emerging food entrepreneurs called New Brands on the Shelf. In all, the exhibit halls were filled with some 80,000 specialty products from 1,300 food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs representing more than 35 countries and regions.

“The numbers are strong, and so is the spirit of innovation and creativity that are the foundations of the specialty food industry,” says NASFT president Ann Daw. “Our industry is showing renewed vigor.”

The show reflected a hunger for learning about the business of specialty food. Participation in the show’s 20+ educational seminars was up more than 10 percent. The NASFT’s signature “Start-Up” series for industry newcomers sold out, as did tasting sessions for cheese and olive oil led by experts. Also, the NASFT facilitated 1,400 face-to-face meetings between buyers and manufacturers the day before the show in a customized match-making program a la speed dating, up 7 percent from last year.