Despite its name, The Specialty Food Association’s Winter Fancy Food Show returned to the Las Vegas Convention Center with plenty of new product innovations in the beverage set, including novel formats in the bubble tea space, updating positioning for kombucha brands and growing prominence for outer space aesthetics.
Clocking in at over 1,100 booths and approximately 13,000 registered attendees, the show saw a rise of new ingredient trends and emerging brands, particularly in the non-alcoholic beverage space.
Non-Alc Dominates the Show Floor
Innovations within the emerging non-alcoholic beverage set were prominent across the show floor this year, with multiple companies unveiling moves into the category and smaller brands making their Winter Fancy Food Show debut.
Hibisbloom, which produces a portfolio of African Hibiscus Flower-based beverages, recently moved into the mocktail space after switching manufacturers. Currently available in two flavors – White Hibiscus Citrus Peach and Hibiscus Passion Fruit Mango – the line is slated to expand with limited-edition drops, with founder and owner Affouet Price teasing a seasonal “Love Potion” set to drop in February.
Aside from new flavor innovations, Hibisbloom has relaunched its website and will launch its products on Amazon in February as part of the Amazon Black Business Accelerator Program in conjunction with Black History Month.
Newton-based sparkling water maker Spindrift also made its first foray into the mocktail set with the launch of its Nojito. The brand was inspired to create the new product while experimenting with the addition of mint, an ingredient that is also featured in its new Mint Green Tea variety.
Elsewhere, existing non-alc brands announced new additions to their portfolios. Women-owned, Wyoming-based brand Mixoloshe expanded its cocktail alternative line with three new RTD products: Orange Old Fashioned, Blueberry G&T and Cosmic Bitter Spritz. Operating under the tagline, “You deserve an alcoholiday,” founder and owner Kristina Roth said the products were designed to appeal to the sober curious all year round, beyond Dry January. The new offerings are now available online for $29.99 per 12-pack of 12 oz. cans.
Additionally, South African non-alcoholic spirits and aperitifs brand Abstinence splashed into the U.S. with its six-SKU lineup. The line, which is available to consumers nationwide through the brand’s website, includes Cape Citrus, Cape Floral and Cape Spice spirits, Blood Orange and Lemon Aperitifs and an Epilogue X product. Founded in 2020, the brand has expanded into 13 international markets, which also includes the UK and Australia.
Boba Pops Up in New Flavors and Formats
Though replicating the experience of fresh boba, also known as bubble tea, in a CPG product has proven to be a challenging feat, some brand’s exhibiting at this year’s show believe they have successfully cracked the code.
DoaHer, which launched its canned Boba Oat Milk Tea in 10.5 oz. cans at the Summer Fancy Food Show 2022, unveiled the newest addition to its line of dairy-based canned boba, Crème Brûlée. Marketed as a “liquid dessert,” the boba pearls made from konjac, a natural fiber, which provides a different texture than traditional tapioca pearls. The new offering will soon be available through the brand’s website.
Meanwhile, California-based bagless tea brand Tea Drops showcased its Bubble Tea Kits. Available in three flavors – Thai, Chai Spice and Matcha – the kits are made in collaboration with Copper Cow, incorporating the brand’s sweetened condensed milk. Currently available online for $18.50, the kits will soon roll out to Target stores nationwide.
Functional Beverages Switch Up Positioning, Move Beyond Kombucha
Marin County, California-based brand Marin Kombucha took to the show floor to highlight its eight-SKU line of refrigerated kombucha products. According to newly-appointed CEO Mike Stern, the brand has seen recent success in the foodservice channel, positioning the drinks as alcohol alternatives. In fact, the brand has been picked up by multiple beer and wine distributors and made available on-tap at several foodservice outlets.
Marin Kombucha, whose products are also available direct-to-consumer through its website, is also hoping to expand into natural retailers in the near future.
Elsewhere, Canadian kombucha brand Gutsy unveiled its new line extension, Adapt2. The sparkling probiotic beverage was crafted to appeal to a broader demographic than the brand’s kombucha products, as co-founder Pierrich Picard noted the fermented beverage can often be polarizing. Available in two flavors at launch – Orange & Turmeric and Passion Fruit & Hibiscus – the probiotic drink features three adaptogenic plants: ashwagandha, holy basil and maca. A new Mango flavor, which made its debut at the show, will soon be available online for nationwide shipping across Canada.
Cosmic Themes Have Capture Food and Beverage
Oregon-based nut butter, seed, dried berry and trail mix company Wilderness Poets has extended into the beverage category with the launch of a new space-themed brand, dubbed SPIN. After learning some customers were attempting to make nut milk with its nut butters, the company began working on a ready-made product and landed on nut milk concentrates, which were revealed for the first time at the show. Packed in 8 oz. squeeze pouches for retail, the product comes in four almond milk varieties – Original, Unsweetened, Chocolate and Vanilla – as well as in Macadamia Milk and Cashew Milk & Cream. Each pouch makes up to the equivalent of three, 32 oz. cartons of nut milk by simple blending or mixing with water.
SPIN is also targeting foodservice where it sells large formats of the concentrate. According to Wilderness Poets co-founder John Bannerman, the product can be used to make anything from smoothies to plant-based sauces and baked goods. The team also exhibited its new miso-based nutritional yeast “nooch” product, branded under its parent company.
Lafayette, Indiana-based family roastery Copper Moon Coffee currently markets a line of space-themed coffee products including Artemis 1 Reserve, Bean Me Up, Stargazer and Dark Sky roasts following a rebrand in 2020. Most recently, the brand expanded its foodservice presence through a partnership with Purdue University’s Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories, a propulsion testing facility that has received grant funding from NASA.
Tastelli Launches South Korean-inspired Konjac Jelly Drink
Drinkable konjac jelly brand Tastelli showcased its squeeze pouches in four flavors – Mango Pineapple, Peach, Green Apple Grape and Double Berry – while emphasizing the product’s low calories, flavor-forward attributes. Konjac, a regenerative root vegetable native to Asia, is used in a range of products from food and beverages to personal care.
According to Tastelli’s co-founders, one of whom is from South Korea, the product is a popular snack in the country. In January 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added konjac to the soluble dietary fibers list for food and beverage and the brand’s co-founders claim the ingredient has steadily gained traction in the United States ever since. Tastelli products also contain added collagen, vitamins A, C, and E as well as erythritol.
The brand currently sells through its direct-to-consumer website and on Amazon and is looking to expand into retail.