Product Finder

Honoring the Best of the Best

Competition starts April 1

Key Contest Dates:

PART 1 ENTRY DEADLINE
April 8, 2010

Submissions Accepted: April 1–8

Judging: April 14 – 16

Finalists Announced:
Week of April 19

PART 2 ENTRY DEADLINE
May 28, 2010

Submissions Accepted:
May 24 – May 28

Judging: June 3 – 4

Finalists Announced:
Week of June 7

Gold Judging at the
Summer Fancy Food Show: June 28 – 29

Gold Winners Announced: June 28

The sofi Awards from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) are the highest honor in the specialty food industry. They recognize the outstanding foods and beverages of the year that demonstrate top quality, taste and overall appeal. “sofi” stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation. Read more about what winning a sofi can do for you.

Watch the video above and see what all the sofi excitement is about.

Heated Competition
The sofi contest last year had 1,997 entries across all 33 Awards categories from 650 specialty food companies. Entries for everything from Outstanding New Product to Outstanding Classic, reflected the breadth and diversity of the NASFT’s member companies.

Selecting Finalists
The finalists are named each spring by a nine-member
panel of specialty food experts, who narrow the field to about 120 outstanding products. The finalists are then judged by about 300 buyers at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City.

Red Carpet Ceremony
The sofi ceremony is a highlight of the Summer Fancy Food Show. Last year’s presenter was noted chef Ming Tsai.

Expert Judges
The judges for the sofi Awards are experts in the specialty food industry from across the U.S. who volunteer five full days to select silver finalists. Judges in the past two years included key buyers for Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, Pier 1 Imports, Meijer, The Pasta Shop, Tribeca Grill/Myriad Restaurant Group, Sickles Market and Williams-Sonoma. Other panelists included educators from the Culinary Institute of America and the French Culinary Institute, and joualists from Ebony and Parade magazines.

Great Press
sofi Gold Winners and Silver Finalists are darlings of the inteational media. Winners are covered by Good Moing America, The Today Show, the Early Show, and across print and digital media. sofi products also create great buzz in the blogosphere. In 2009 alone, the sofi Awards generated literally millions of media impressions. O, the Oprah Magazine, Martha Stewart Living and Town & Country are just some of the major magazines that featured sofi honorees in the past year.

Who is eligible to enter?
The sofi Awards are open to NASFT members in good standing only; 2010 dues must be paid or the entry will be disqualified. NASFT's Member Candidates are not eligible to participate. To lea about becoming an NASFT member, click here.

For a list of 2009 winners and full coverage of last year's event click here.
Click here for a visual tour of 2009 Finalists' products.