The Knowles family talk up their Chico Rice at the Fancy Food Show
Jan 22, 2024
LAS VEGAS, NV – The 48th Winter Fancy Food Show opened here this weekend and runs through Wednesday with more than 1,200 food companies vying for the attention of retail and foodservice buyers, trendspotters, the media, and others.
While cheese and meat seem to dominate in terms of show floor space, rice can be found in just about every aisle. However, the vast majority is imported. With many exhibitors representing companies from China and India, and with Japan as the official partner country of the show, it comes as no surprise.
But U.S.-grown rice is here, often as an ingredient, but sometimes taking center stage. Two first time exhibitors were flying the U.S, grown flag proudly.
Chico Rice has a stunning booth that uses their colorful, crisp product graphics to draw in visitors and serve them samples of their brown and haiga-mai style blonde rice. Then farmers Tom, Sara, and Carter Knowles go to work talking about their family farm, artisanal milling, and commitment to sustainability.
“We’re having a great show experience – lots of interest – and we’re always happy to tell the story of California rice,” said Tom.
A few aisles away was the Cajun Two Step family. And while the stars of their booth were the seasoning mixes (with less sodium than most on the market) and Chef Stalekracker (Justin Chiasson) with his more than 10 million TikTok followers, the gumbo and rice, and jambalaya and rice entrée kits exclusively use Louisiana rice.
A highlight of both the summer and winter shows is the educational programming that features top buyers and trendwatchers sharing insights. Also not to be missed are presentations on the extensive consumer research conducted by the Specialty Food Association (SFA) and other partners.
Among key takeaways in the newest report: 2023 marked the year Millennials and Gen Z surpassed Gen X and Baby Boomers in specialty food and drink purchases – and with a good portion of Gen Z under 18 and therefore not included in many studies, their share of the market will only grow.
Also worth noting beans, grains, and rice remained a top 10 category for in-store purchases, with 37 percent of shoppers in 2023 reporting buying in the category, up from 36 percent in 2022 and 32 percent in 2020. (The specialty food leader here is chocolate with 48 percent of shoppers reporting buying the product and a few more lying about it.)
SFA researchers also dug into economics and found that while rising food costs have impacted some specialty segments – most notably sweets/desserts and salty snacks with 36 and 31 percent of consumers respectively reporting buying items less frequently, 50 percent of consumers reported making no change in their pantry staples purchasing, including rice. Only 17 percent said they purchase in the category less frequently – the lowest of all studied segments.