Established in 1972, the sofi Awards are among the most prestigious honors in the specialty food industry. Winners are selected through a rigorous blind tasting process by a panel of top industry buyers, with evaluations based on taste, ingredient quality, and innovation.
Submissions for the 2026 sofi Awards(Opens in a new window) open on June 16, 2025, and close on August 25, 2025. SFA membership is required to submit a product for judging; interested brands are encouraged to apply for membership today(Opens in a new window)!
Program Changes for 2026
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Gold Award categories have been scaled down to 25, enhancing the level of competition in each category.
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75 Gold and 3 Outstanding Packaging Finalists will be announced in the fall of 2025, ahead of Winter FancyFaire*.
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The sofi Awards ceremony will be held at Winter FancyFaire* in San Diego, January 11–13, 2026. Winners of the 25 Gold Awards and 5 Grand Honors Awards will be announced live during the ceremony.
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Feedback (including scores and judge comments) will be provided to each product entry.
"I am incredibly excited about the update we are bringing to the sofi awards this year! The sofi Awards have always been about recognizing excellence, and this year we're taking it a step further," said Mary Beth Vultee, SFA Senior Vice President of Membership. "By refining our categories and launching the Timeless Taste Grand Honor, we're not just celebrating the best products of today—we're honoring those makers who consistently deliver exceptional quality, craftsmanship, and innovation year after year.”
The sofi Awards are judged at the (Opens in a new window)Food Innovation Center at Rutgers University(Opens in a new window) (FIC) by both FIC experts and specialty food buyers, who serve as the final judges. To learn more, explore the 25 product categories for 2026, and meet the esteemed panel of buyers who will be judging submissions, please visit https://www.specialtyfood.com/sofi(Opens in a new window).
Want to be the first to experience the new sofi Awards and taste the winning products? Join us at Winter FancyFaire* 2026(Opens in a new window).
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About the Specialty Food Association
The Specialty Food Association (SFA), founded in 1952, is the not-for-profit trade association of the $207-billion specialty food industry. Representing more than 4,000 businesses worldwide, SFA champions industry participation and success for a diverse community of makers, buyers, importers, distributors, and service providers by producing events, programs, and year-round resources and education(Opens in a new window). SFA owns and operates the Summer Fancy Food Show(Opens in a new window), (Opens in a new window)Winter FancyFaire*(Opens in a new window), and the sofi™ Awards(Opens in a new window), which have honored excellence in specialty food and beverage annually since 1972. SFA also produces the e-newsletter Specialty Food SmartBrief,(Opens in a new window) the Trendspotter Panel(Opens in a new window) annual predictions, and Show reports. Find out more at Specialtyfood.com(Opens in a new window), and connect with SFA on LinkedIn(Opens in a new window), Instagram(Opens in a new window), TikTok(Opens in a new window), Facebook(Opens in a new window), and X(Opens in a new window).