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Winter Show Exhibitors Shake Up the Dressing Category

Specialty Food Association

Dressings with healthy profiles, plant-based ingredients, and the high-quality, local ingredients are poised to give attendees of the Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas from February 6 - 8, a new appreciation for the category. These three companies are readying to debut their new products at the Show. 

Queen of Hearts Superfoods will exhibit at the Fancy Food Show for the first time in Incubator Village, where this woman-owned company will sample its better-for-you line of dressings that are challenging traditional dressings and the agriculture on which they are typically dependent. Made with the nutritional seed products of industrial hemp grain—hemp hearts, hemp seed oil, and hemp protein—Queen of Hearts’ Superfood Dressings retain the nutritional integrity of the omega-rich oils of the hemp seed without any compromise in quality, according to the company.

“I developed the Superfood Dressing line to help address a health problem—that most  dressings are filled with sugar, trans-fat oils, petroleum-based vinegars, and other junk ingredients that cause inflammation and poor health outcomes,” said co-founder and CEO Tonia Farman, in a statement.

The hemp seed ingredients of the dressings also help improve the health of the food system agriculturally. Nutritional hemp makes up almost 30 percent of each flavor, playing a vital role in supporting the carbon-capture and soil-remediation efforts of the plant on which the hemp seed is grown. Industrial hemp grain plants also reduce water reliance and provide bees a vital source of food during the late, nectar-deprived summer months.

Also debuting plant-based dressings is Bold Palate Foods in booth #2134. Its line includes No Cows on this Ranch, a tangy take on classic Ranch dressing; The Beet Goes On, a sweet and smoky dressing and barbecue sauce with a beet base; Hint of Harissa, with zesty ginger and warm spices; and Apple Spice Vinaigrette, with sweet fruity flavor and a touch of garlic.

“The high fat and caloric content of oil, egg yolks, mayonnaise, and other ingredients found in so many dressing recipes can drag down the nutritional benefits of a salad,” said former TV reporter turned culinary blogger and Bold Palate’s Founder and CEO Kate Mann, in a statement. “We’ve created flavorful plant-based dressings that are packed with nutritious ingredients like pureed fruits and veggies, organic herbal teas, and apple cider vinegar.” Unlike many vegan condiments, Bold Palate’s products contain no added sugar or artificial sweeteners. New products in development include a vegan Caesar dressing.

To elevate made-from-scratch dressings, award-winning O Olive Oil, artisan oil and vinegar maker, will share its first batches of O Raspberry Champagne Vinegar and O Olio Nuovo Extra Virgin Olive Oil in booth #3209.

Now produced and traditionally aged out of O’s state-of-the-art vinegar plant in Sonoma County, California, the Champagne vinegar is matched with local ruby red raspberries. “We're delighted to have this flavorful and exciting vinegar join our growing family of oils and vinegars, all produced in California,” said Greg Hinson, president and founder of the company, in a statement. He said a splash of raspberry wakes up the flavors of nearly everything, from simple lettuce or fruit salads to sauces and marinades.

Its first batches of O Olio Nuovo Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is prized for its robust, fresh flavor, is a small-batch olive oil made from O’s family farms’ first harvest. A generations-old tradition, it’s available for only a few months each fall and will be available to taste at the company's booth. It’s the newest addition to O’s line of extra virgin olive oils.

“In Sonoma, we’re in the middle of the world’s most spectacular farm country with all of its rich land and wonderful microclimates,” he said. “We have access to the best ingredients and are fortunate to be able to partner with some of the world’s pioneering growers. We are inspired by the rich variety grown virtually in our own backyard."

Related: Plant-Based Sales Grow to $7 BillionCheeses From Around the World to Make Fancy Food Debut.