I spent a day walking the floor of the Fancy Food Show in New York, a three-day marathon of taste testing where thousands of brands try to sneak their way into your grocery cart. It’s the backdoor entrance for big retailers like Whole Foods and Walmart to find the next big thing.
By the time my feet hurt, I had eaten my way through hundreds of samples. Cheesy ramen. Ice cream that looked like fried chicken. It’s a lot.
But amidst the sugar and noise, eight products stood out. They didn’t just taste good. They tasted new.
These are the winners. The things I can’t stop thinking about.
Зміст
Tamarind Heads’ Medium Barbecue Sauce
Tamarind comes in a pod. It tastes sweet and sour. Usually, you’ll find it in stews, curries, or stir-fries across the globe.
But now? It’s in barbecue sauce.
Sashi Kumar and Brittney Lim founded Tamarind Heads to make sauces that celebrate global flavors. Their medium barbecue sauce is what happens when tomato-based BBQ gets a personality transplant.
It’s punchier. Sweeter. Tangier.
I tried it and realized it adds layers of fruity, earthy notes with a hint of smoke. Honestly? It might be the best barbecue sauce I’ve ever had. Stop eating standard sauce. This is the one you need.
Red Fox Spines Shelf-Stable Ethiopian Food
Ethiopian food is my go-to takeout. So, finding shelf-stable injera and shiro wat felt like cheating.
Injera is a sour, fermented flatbread. You expect it to be dry when you buy it. Red Fox Spices changed the game.
Their version is soft. Tangy. It tastes like it was just made that morning. For anyone who loves Ethiopian food but lives where you can’t find good ingredients, this is a game-changer.
Mom’s Spicy Smoked Arrabbiata Sauce
I usually buy safe. Simple Italian flavors. Traditional pasta sauce.
Then Mom revamped their recipes.
The Texas-based brand switched to higher-quality ingredients. They drew inspiration from their roots. The packaging got an upgrade too. But the food is what matters.
I tried three flavors at the show: Southwest Nopales Marinara and Hill Country Peach Pomodoro alongside the star, Spicy Smoked Arrabbiata.
The arrabbiata uses chipotle for smoke and jalapeño for heat. The tomato consistency is crushed, not smooth. It feels real.
I see myself using it for dishes beyond spaghetti. It’s distinct. It’s spicy. It works.
“The arrabbiata sauce… is so different from every other pasta sauce i have tried before.”
Mercado Famous Cured Meats
Salami can be boring. Predictable.
Mercado Famous fixes that. Their salchichón (Spanish dry sausage) is different because of the pigs. These animals eat acorns.
You can taste it. The meat has a nuttiness and depth you don’t get from corn-fed swine.
I also went back for their spicy chorizo and chorizo serrano. They’re rich. Special.
Serve these on a charcuterie board and your guests won’t just want a snack. They’ll want the whole board before dinner starts.
Freeze-Dried Dates
They crunch when you bite them. Actually, they make an audible snap.
These aren’t just dried dates. They are freeze-dried. The first and only of their kind on the market.
They keep that classic caramel sweetness but add a texture you never expected from a date. I’m talking Wile E. Coyote level excitement.
If you crave dried fruit but hate the chewiness, this is your fix. They launch soon. Get ready.
Painterland Sisters Wilder Yogurt
The Painterland Sisters made waves earlier this year. This new flavor lives up to the hype.
It’s called “Wilder,” named for Stephanie’s son.
The taste is shockingly close to summer raspberries you’d grab from a farmers market basket. The yogurt itself is creamy, lightly tangy. There are actual raspberries sprinkled on top.
It’s currently sold exclusively in Sprouts Farmers Markets. But if you’re in New York or can get to Sprouts, this is your new morning staple. It’s sweet-tart. It’s real.
Merkato by Marcus Simmer Sauces
Marcus Samuelsson is a celebrity chef. He spoke at the show. But he also launched a line of simmer sauces the day before I walked the floor.
Merkato by Marcus. Named after the open-air market in his hometown, Addis Ababa. The flavors blend his Swedish and Ethiopian heritage.
There are three options: Island Vibes, Mediterranean Bounty, Curry Delish.
I went with the Island Vibes. It’s creamy. Slightly sweet. It uses garam masala, berbere, coconut milk, and maple syrup.
It tastes like it has been stewing on the stove for eight hours.
I’d heat some up with tofu or chickpeas. Spoon it over rice. Done. Dinner is handled. It hits the stores this fall. Watch for it.
McConnell’s Summer Corn & Blackberries Ice Cream
McConnell’s has been making ice cream in Santa Barbara since 1949. They know what they are doing.
They did collabs with See’s Candies before. I liked those. But the new Summer Corn & Blackberries?
That’s a 14 out of 10.
The ice cream is smooth. Creamy. Perfectly sweet. But the corn? The corn is the star.
It tastes exactly like fresh corn on the cob. Not artificial corn flavor. Actual corn.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The rest of the show faded away. I just wanted another bite of that sweet, creamy corn.
The specialty food industry moves fast. Trends shift. New brands pop up and vanish overnight.
But a few things stick.
Maybe it’s the acorn-fed pork. Maybe it’s the freeze-dried crunch. Maybe it’s the taste of summer corn in the dead of winter.
These eight products did something simple. They tasted like something you hadn’t tasted before.
And now, they are sitting in your mind, waiting for you to find them in a store. Good luck finding all of them. Some are exclusive. Some are launching soon.
Start with the tamarind sauce. You’ll thank me later.
