Summer 2025 Fancy food reflections
It’s not about having the thing that everyone always wants. It's about having the best and what you do with it!
I just got back from an incredible Fancy Food show supporting the two amazing brands I am so lucky to work with - Cacao Hunters and Burlap & Barrel Spices. While we were busy all show at the Cacao Hunters booth, I was also able to float around and meet with familiar faces in the spice world. I love getting to straddle and work in both markets, because there is so much alignment in what we are doing and at the core it comes down to traceability, quality, flavor, and impact.
With a shared mission on quality, we are always advocating for our farmer partners and pushing the boundaries on people’s flavor expectations when they get to taste an artisan version of an ingredient that is normally treated like a commodity! We are challenging and building new roads and paths for a better food system. The continuous “a-hah!” moments of delight on people’s faces when they tasted both the single origin spices, blends, and sugars, and the incredible chocolate from Colombia, often seals the deal or at least puts the sales conversation at a running start. There was a natural synergy as people walked the show and I would bring both companies together in conversation. Buyers keyed in on ethical sourcing already had an eye and appreciation for both brands in mind.
In the bulk spice world, collaborations are key! It was amazing to see so many brands spear-heading new products and flavor tests through collaborative products. We were low-key in the middle of a collab launch for the Cardamom nut butter with @BigSpoonRoasters! At Burlap & Barrel, we are onboarding new partners for industrial ingredients and working together to shape the direction of our sourcing and flavors to come, while looking for the right partners who can champion and share our stories about our hero ingredients like Royal Cinnamon, Silk Chili, and Cloudforest Cardamom to a wider audience. Our launches into honey and sugar, Mexican chilis, and pursuing more custom blends looks to be the right fit and direction for growth with other food brands who share our focus on sustainability, quality, and impact!
Launching Cacao Hunters directly to US buyers at the Fancy Food show was an experience I will always cherish. It’s no secret that I love Colombian cacao! At almost every chance I get, I will share Sierra Nevada or Tumaco dark chocolate with just about anyone, so being able to flip the script and represent Cacao Hunters with their award-winning chocolate directly is incredible.
I was humbled to have the endless meetings and tastings at the show mirror these feelings of awe and amazement back to me as people tasted through our single origin dark chocolates. We were excited to show and taste new snacks and products like 100% cacao enrobed panela sugar. And you’ll never guess what the show favorite was - it was our 100% Colombian blend! What a great surprise to see more people falling passionately in love with dark chocolate, and the darker the better. Good thing we have access to great cacao through the amazing work Cacao Hunters does directly with producers around Colombia to support the incredible flavors in the chocolate end result.
We have been working hard for the last 5 months on developing new flavor and SKU ideas to fit the US market, working on new product sales strategies and pricing, meanwhile I work to understand more about selling a CPG brand to retailers! That’s been a whole new world for me, but with the quality and marketing experts on the team, we were set up for success to test the market, connect, grow and learn! Getting a brief tour of Colombia through our dark chocolates was like bringing a wine conversation to dark chocolate, and people were ready and excited to connect about that.
We are so close to launching our direct-to-consumer website for US customers soon which will bring some of the beloved Colombian flavors (Uchuvas - chocolate covered goldenberries) and new bar flavors (Tropical Passion Fruit and Mocha) to the market. In the meantime, if you’d like to connect about foodservice or bulk chocolate and private label needs please reach out.
In wrapping up the show, I think I learned not to underestimate US chocolate consumers. Dark chocolate is selling fast and people are increasingly savvy about what they like and what they are looking for! The milk, dark milk, and flavor bars all still serve a purpose in getting more chocolate out there that is undeniably irresistible, but next we won’t place all our bets on the dark milk chocolate and leave some more for the dark chocolate lovers to enjoy! Happy to always chat more.