The final Winter Fancy Food Show kicked off at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Sunday and while the show saw more food than beverage, a handful of exhibitors showed off new liquid innovations and brand extensions, while sharing insights on how to build awareness for emerging ingredients. Here’s our notes on how the beverage industry showed up at the specialty food show:
Tastelli’s New Kid Position
As the brand concept has evolved, Konjac jelly producer Tastelli has moved from the adult grab-and-go set to the kid aisle, then iterated and then shifted focus back again, according to the brand’s cofounders. In June, the company made its first line extension with a 3.53 oz. pouched kids line in Apple and Mango flavors that rolled out to Walmart stores.
Notably, the products do not include any konjac – the hero ingredient of its original product line – and are instead made from juice concentrates, cane sugar, gellan gum and locust bean gum.
The entire line is also undergoing a refresh via a co-branding partnership with Hasbro-owned Peppa Pig. The cofounders said Hasbro has been extremely supportive of them as an early-stage brand and are helping to grow the line more broadly in retail via partnerships with Costco, among others.
Tastelli products are sold in about 1,600 stores, the cofounders said; originally retailers saw the konjac pouches and wanted them positioned for kids, but two years later those conversations have now swung back, with buyers recognizing the appeal for adults as they look to stock them in grab-and-go sets.
Elsewhere on the floor, another konjac jelly producer, Everydaze, exhibited a new, patent-pending range of stick-pack kombucha products with flavors such as Pineapple Passionfruit, Peach, Green Grape and Kiwi. According to a spokesperson for the brand, the powdered product does effervesce slightly when mixed with water. The vegan mixes contain pre and probiotics, 21 calories per serving and no added sugar.
A2 Aims for Awareness:
RTD A2 dairy latte maker Laurel’s made its trade show debut after hitting the market with a Classic Latte, Dirty Chai Latte and Matcha Latte in August. The Los Angeles-based company, which sources its dairy from California dairy Alexandre Family Farm, said it was one of the final supply contracts the dairy would sign due to growing demand around A2 milk.
A2 dairy has been on the rise as the naturally produced, easy-to-digest version of cows milk grows awareness in the U.S., primarily through products made with the Alexandre’s dairy, the only commercial scale stateside supplier.
Founder Isabel Washington noted that Laurel’s is not the “first-ever” A2 coffee company, but said all others were small scale, local producers that have since discontinued products or seen their businesses fold. She said those items were launched pre-pandemic and believes the awareness around A2 dairy then did not have enough momentum to support their growth.
Other highlights include:
Hawaiian Vinegar and Spice Company sampled its lineup of upcycled shrubs with flavors ranging from Pineapple Mint and Basil Ginger to Star Fruit Lilikoi & Vanilla. The brand also produces vinegars made from a variety of native ingredients including Bananas and Cacao with its cofounder claiming he first created the products by accident in his home kitchen.
The company was part of a cohort of exhibitors from the University of Hawaii Leeward Community College’s ‘Āina to Mākeke program which were at the show demoing locally produced and heritage-inspired snacks and pantry staples. The program’s participants learn to scale kitchen recipes into market-ready commercial products through hands-on workshop sessions and access to the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center, a newly-opened 33,000 sq. ft. facility in Central O’ahu.
Asian inspired beverage brand Moshi is growing its lineup of sparkling waters, sampling a new Lychee Vanilla flavor at the show. Founder Alton But said the brand has been gaining traction after introducing the sparkling water line last year and will continue to experiment with duel-flavored formulations.
Hail M’s showed off its tea bag-style cocktail mixers in Drink Pink, Gin Delights, Mile High Moscow Mule, Purple Haze and Old Fashioned Citrus varieties, among others. The product can be used to infuse both cocktails and mocktails and are similar to emerging brand Sayso, which also sells a variety of tea bag-packaged, cocktail style infusions.
Dr. A’s Lo-Fi Kava debuted a range of sparkling kava-infused, non-alcoholic tonics in Ta haitian Citrus, Sweet Mandarin and Caribbean Haze flavors. The products are made with organic sugar cane and fruit extracts