John Roberts may be the most important person in the specialty food industry in the past 50 years. As the leader of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (now Specialty Food Association) from 1989 to 2006, John grew the Association and the Fancy Food Shows from an elite group of importers into an inclusive organization that now has 4,000-plus members representing the entire specialty food industry.
Along the way, he nurtured a generation of leaders running domestic specialty food companies, international agencies, and within the Association itself. He also greatly expanded the international impact of the Association, welcoming countries ranging from Italy to South Korea to South Africa.
Born in New York City in 1941, a son of immigrants from County Mayo and County Galloway, Ireland, John was an entrepreneur from the age of 5. According to his son Richard Roberts, John was wheeling and dealing with street vendors at the age of 5. His mother would give him a dime and tell him to come back with four oranges and at least four cents. He would negotiate hard so he could put a penny or two in his pocket and still bring back the oranges and four cents. And he has been hustling ever since.
John began his food career at an A&P store in Summit, N.J., at the age of 16. Following graduation from Seton Hall University in 1962, he joined General Foods—which offered more money, a company car, paid tuition and the opportunity to wear a suit. (It was also the most respected CPG company to join at that time.) He later worked at Hunt-Wesson and Buitoni. His first venture into specialty foods was at Romanoff Caviar.
One of John’s favorite stories (there were many) was from his time as president of Romanoff. A woman called complaining that she had opened a tin of caviar which was off-tasting. Asked how long she had it, she said “15 years”, saving it for a special occasion. John’s response, “Something good must have happened in your life to celebrate over those 15 years.”
John became executive director/general manager of NASFT in 1989, leading a staff of five full-timers (including me) and three 70-year-old part-timers. John had a profound respect for what had been created by the founders of the Association and the Show. Mario Foah, NASFT founder and long-time Association leader, says, “John always got straight to the point and had the best interest of the Association in mind. He was an intelligent, cultured individual and a talented businessman.”
Although the Fancy Food Show was bustling and dynamic, it was run by Reed Exhibition Companies, which was motivated by making money rather than growing business for Association members. The agreement that had been negotiated had each side controlling 50%. As John often said, “Reed owned the Show but we owned the members/exhibitors.”
John brought ownership and management of the Fancy Food Shows under the Association’s direct control in 1997, allowing the organization to better serve members. He added education programs and built attendance by inviting chefs, gift-shop owners and, most importantly, supermarket buyers to attend. He also put the “show” into the Show, bringing culinary celebrities like Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, Wolfgang Puck, Jacques Pepin, and Alice Waters to the Fancy Food Shows.
He also nurtured members. Dennis Deschaine, former owner of Al Dente Pasta with his wife Monique, recalls, “I can’t help but think of the current impact of Artificial Intelligence. In the “John Roberts” Days, there was another AI—Association Intelligence. The NASFT and its members truly benefited from John’s “intelligence”, insight and experience. He would say, ‘the most important role of the association is to help members sell more product.’
John brought internal talent into the Association. Chris Nemchek joined in 1996 and Bill Lynch followed in 1999. Vice President Nemchek says, “John was more than an icon in the specialty food industry—he was my longtime boss, mentor and friend. He shaped my career and my life. John led with integrity, kindness and quiet strength, and he showed all of us what true leadership looks like.”
SFA President Lynch says, “John was a true pioneer who helped shape the specialty food industry into what it is today, elevating it from a niche space into a vibrant and respected category. He had a unique ability to bring people together and create opportunities that fueled growth across the entire community. On a personal note, John took a chance on me early in my career and I’ve never forgotten that. He instilled in me the importance of serving our members above all else, and it’s an honor to carry that forward as part of his legacy.”
John led the Specialty Food Association for 17 years. The organization’s revenues climbed from $4 million to over $22 million under his tenure.
And as the Association grew, so did the industry. In the 1990s, supermarkets stocked very few specialty food products, often relegating them to a dusty corner. John made presentations at major chain headquarters and at the Food Marketing Institute show, explaining why specialty food was so important.
John authored a workbook, The Basics: The Business of Specialty Food, a guide for getting started in the industry. The corresponding education program ran for 20+ years with more than 8,000 attending.
Yet it is the personal side of John I will always remember. The offices at 120 Wall Street were six blocks from the World Trade Center. On September 11, about 20 of us were present when the Center collapsed. We all gathered in the Boardroom on the 27th floor; you could barely see out the windows due to the ash, debris and smoke. John said that we could do whatever we wanted but that he recommended we wait for the air to clear. We all waited.
There were other serious situations. One year, the water main leading to Javits broke, leaving 50,000 attendees and exhibitors with no working restrooms. John ordered the staff to “rent every Porta Potty in New York City and New Jersey.”
John championed small business. Working with the office of Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, he succeeded in getting Congress to grant specialty food producers an exemption from the FDA’s Nutrition Labeling and Education Act. An advocate of building an Association that represented the entire food industry, Roberts brought the National Food Distributors Association, the Kosher Food Distributors Association and the Specialty Food Brokers Association into the SFA. He also championed retailer involvement in SFA governance.
Roberts generated publicity for the Fancy Food Show by expanding the annual Product Awards competition (today known as the sofi Awards), leading to greater media coverage.
John was predeceased by Patricia Roberts, his wife of 64 years who passed in May 2025, and his son, Kenneth (2024). He is survived by his sons John and Richard, granddaughters Christiana, Sophia, and Isabella, grandson Jonathan and great grandson Liam, along with other relatives, industry colleagues and life-long friends. Memorial service are yet to be scheduled.
I wrote to John on St. Patrick’s Day, three days before his passing, asking if we had ever spent a night with me at the Blarney Stone in New York City. His answer, “I’ve been seen in many an Irish pub but my father warned me that Saint Patrick’s Day was amateur night.”
John was never an amateur.
A Tribute to John Roberts
