This year marks the 68th Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. With origins in post-war 1950s America, the Show has grown and evolved for decades alongside food culture and enthusiasts across the U.S. Today, the Specialty Food Association proudly welcomes thousands of food producers and tens of thousands of attendees to the Summer Fancy Food Show every year.
In the years following World War II, Americans who had served abroad returned home with a taste for European flavors and products, like Dutch preserves or British biscuits. When some of these 1950's "foodies" started import businesses, and then banded those businesses together, the idea for the SFA and the Fancy Food Shows was born.
The early Fancy Food Shows focused on stereotypically "fancy" foods, like imported Champagne and caviar. But over the years, as the specialty food industry influenced U.S. culture (and vice-versa), the variety of products showcased at each Fancy Food Show expanded dramatically, alway tracking with trends in consumer preferences and behaviors.
Today, the Summer Fancy Food Show is one of the industry's tentpole events, a vibrant annual gathering of specialty food producers, buyers, brokers, and more to celebrate flavor, innovation, and community.
