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Celebrity Chef Giada De Laurentiis to Give Keynote Address at 67th Summer Fancy Food Show

NEW YORK, NY (May 15, 2023) The Specialty Food Association is thrilled to announce that Giada De Laurentiis—Chef, Emmy Award-winning television personality, restaurateur and entrepreneur, and founder of lifestyle platform Giadzy.com—will give the keynote address at the 67th Summer Fancy Food Show. 

The Summer Fancy Food Show is the largest B2B specialty food industry event in North America, featuring products from more than 1,800 domestic and global specialty food and beverage makers and manufacturers. In addition to sampling the newest and best artisan products, attendees also have access to a variety of networking and educational events throughout all three days of the Show.

Giada De Laurentiis will present the keynote address—The Four Trends in Food that Matter Now—on Monday, June 26 at 9:15 a.m. on the Main Stage. During the address,  Ms. De Laurentiis will discuss the emerging food trends that are propelling her businesses, including restaurants, catering, and direct-to-consumer Italian food and lifestyle platform Giadzy. She will cover the rising demand for at-home culinary experiences, product sourcing strategy, and the public perception of clean ingredients and minimal processing as a function of authenticity, among other topics.

Ms. De Laurentiis is a television personality, an NBC Today Show contributor, and a successful restaurateur with restaurants GIADA and Pronto by Giada in Las Vegas. She is the author of 10 New York Times bestselling cookbooks, including her most recent, Eat Better, Feel Better. She recently launched her catering company, Giada Catering, and is the founder of the lifestyle and e-commerce platform, Giadzy.com, which features Italian lifestyle content spanning recipes, travel, entertaining and Italian Pantry products. 

Connect, Network and Learn at the Summer Fancy Food Show

In addition to the keynote address, Summer Fancy Food Show attendees can take part in a variety of other special events and Show features designed to help specialty food and beverage industry professionals connect with each other, gain knowledge to expand their business, and have fun.

New Pavillion Pop Ups 

SFA is introducing Pavilion Pop Ups at the 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show. Pavilion Pop Ups are fun, interactive locales within select product pavilions where attendees can sample products, learn about trends and fresh ideas, and network with peers. Attendees can visit Sips Bay in the Beverage Pavilion, Lower Cheese Side in the Deli Pavilion and The Plant-Packing District in the Plant-Based Pavilion for quick, can’t-miss sessions like “The Next Generation of Drinking: No-Alcohol Alcohol” and “Cross-Merchandising Chocolate in the Deli Aisle” throughout the Show day.

NEW NOW NEXT

NEW NOW NEXT is where attendees can discover products from the newest specialty food companies.

The New Now Next Pitch Stage is an open-mic–style area where emerging brands will pitch their products live on the Show floor. This is an opportunity to discover the newest products from startup companies and incubators—some not yet on the market.

Specialty Food Retailer Tour: A Taste of NYC Innovation

Gain behind-the-scenes insights into innovations in food retail with the Specialty Food Retailer Tour provided by Retail Store Tours. The Flatiron District walking tour will showcase a wide variety of food vendors and new approaches to retailing. Benefits of the tour include gaining insider perspectives from subject-matter experts, staying up to date with industry trends and technology, and networking with peers. The tour is offered on Saturday, June 24 at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. Cost is $90. Register here now!

sofi™ Products of the Year Judging

The sofi Awards for Product of the Year and New Product of the Year will be unveiled on Tuesday, June 27 at 10:30 a.m. on the Big Idea Stage. This year, buyers will select the winning products based on blind tastings during the first two days of the Show.

About the Specialty Food Association 

The not-for-profit Specialty Food Association (SFA) is the leading membership trade association and source of information about the $175 billion specialty food industry. Founded in 1952 in New York City, the SFA prides itself on being an organization by the members and for the members, representing thousands of specialty food makers and manufacturers, importers, retailers, buyers, distributors, brokers, and others in the trade. The SFA owns and operates the Fancy Food Shows—which are the largest specialty food industry events in North America—as well as the sofi™ Awards—which have honored excellence in specialty food and beverage annually since 1972. The SFA produces the Trendspotter Panel annual predictions, the State of the Specialty Food Industry Report, Today's Specialty Food Consumer research, the Spill & Dish podcast, year-round educational programming for professionals at every stage in their business journey, and SFA Feed, the industry's go-to daily source for news, trends and new product information. Find out more online and connect with SFA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Press Contact: [email protected]

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