The best things we tried at FancyFaire.
We sampled literally hundreds of food + bev products. These were our faves.
Reporting live from sunny San Diego, where I (Jenna) have refused to leave despite FancyFaire (a Specialty Food Association trade show) having ended 3 days ago. 🤠
As you will see below, Nate and I had an amazing time at the show, sampling the latest and greatest in food + beverage and catching up with some of our favorite people in the industry.
THANK YOU x1000 to the many people who came up to us and shared that you read the newsletter, listen to the pod, or follow us on social! We are so, so grateful for your support, and we’re still pinching ourselves that people take time to read our words/listen to our yaps.
Now without further ado, let’s get into our fave finds from the show. →
Jenna’s Show Faves:
There’s something so special and intimate about Specialty Food Association’s shows. Sure, there are still a few larger brands present with a random paid ambassador shilling out their samples on sore feet. But for the most part, SFA shows make me feel like a proud mother attending my kid’s art show or science fair—founders standing proudly behind their creations, beaming hopefully as they await feedback from non-expert “judges.”
FancyFaire introduced me to passionate food and beverage creators, not just brand creators—and trust me, you can feel (and taste) the difference. A few of my favorite bites:
Brooklyn Delhi - Tomato Achaar
It is criminal that I hadn’t tried Brooklyn Delhi products prior to this show. I’m a loud lover of Indian food and flavors, and Brooklyn Delhi is known for its premium Indian condiments and shelf-stable meals.
Despite this being a relatively larger brand with significant national distribution, founder Chitra was still at the booth, demoing and sharing her gorgeous culinary creations. While I loved everything she gave me, the Tomato Achaar was a standout. This Indian tomato-chili sauce is made with tomatoes, tamarind, a mix of Indian spices, red chili powder, unrefined cane sugar, and sesame oil—a powerful sweet-savory-tangy-umami bomb that would liven up even the blandest of meals. I cannot wait to purchase this and turn it into a pantry staple.
Big Spoon Roasters - Lum Lum Thai Curry Peanut & Cashew Butter
This created a entirely new use cases for nut butter. It’s a savory peanut and cashew butter, handmade with two different kinds of peanuts, cashews, coconut nectar, hand-milled Thai Red Curry spice blend, and Jacobsen sea salt. Packed with robust flavor, a smidge of heat, and a craveable salty-sweetness, this nut butter would make for a delicious ready-made dipping sauce (for crudité or summer rolls) or would liven up any noodle dish instantly. I’m obsessed.
Freekeh Harvest - Protein Pita Chips
I am ALL for underrepresented ancient grains. There are so many ancient grains we’re sleeping on as a society—buckwheat, teff, sorghum, and amaranth, to name a few—and yet quinoa always gets the spotlight? What’s that all about?
So you can imagine how excited I was when I saw Freekeh Harvest’s booth at FancyFaire, demoing a high-protein pita chip made with the ancient Mediterranean supergrain freekeh. Freekeh Harvest’s pita chips offer 6g protein and 3g of fiber per serving, but that isn’t even what sold me—the taste did. These are perfectly crunchy pita chips that taste homemade—not weirdly oil-slicked like Stacy’s or cardboardy/dry, but something right in between. I love the nutty, almost toasty flavor that the freekeh adds.
Pre-Launch Brands:
Get ready for Greek yogurt’s even thicker cousin. I tried Etelka on my last day, and they kindly stocked me up with three cups to take home—I’ve had it every day for breakfast since. This smooth, utterly creamy, probiotic-rich yogurt-adjacent dairy product was made using a traditional Hungarian recipe and technique. It offers a natural 19g of protein, tons of probiotics, and it’s somehow low-fat despite tasting like the full-cream stuff. The founder was eager to show me that it “passes the Blizzard test”—AKA it’s so thick, it can be turned completely upside down and isn’t going anywhere.
Though I’ve been enjoying it as yogurt, this stuff is thick enough to be used as a delicious dip, or even a healthier cream replacement in a dessert recipe. I’m so excited for Etelka’s NY launch later this year!
I am so HERE for freeze-dried meals! As Nate mentioned, The Cumin Club stole my heart as the first truly elevated freeze-dried, “just add water” meal brand I’d ever tried. But Nomie has quickly followed suit, this time in the Kids Meal category.
Nomie’s 100% organic, shelf-stable meals contain one full serving of veggies and can be eaten straight from the pouch. They’re packed with nutrients that were preserved in the freeze-dying process, and rehydrate perfectly—the texture and flavor both hit notes of freshly-made. Roopa, the incredible founder, witnessed me quite literally gasping after every bite, exceedingly blown away as I worked through all three SKUs: Butternut Mac & Cheese, Black Bean & Veggie Rice Bowl, and Zucchini Pesto Orzo.
Nomie will be launching in April, so look out! While this is technically a brand for kids, a certain childless 27-year-old may put them out of stock…
Nate’s Show Faves:
I love going to trade shows, especially one in San Diego. If anyone from the Specialty Food Association is reading this—please have more of the show outside again next year! It was so nice trying all these fun snacks while basking in the sun. Anyway, here are some of my favorite bites and sips from Winter Fancy Food 2026!
You know what I didn’t know, that India is the world’s seventh-largest coffee producer and fifth-largest exporter! Isn’t that crazy? We always hear about coffee from Columbia or Ethiopia but I for one haven’t heard of Indian coffee. And I have no idea what took me so long, this stuff is delicious! Especially their coffee shandy, that was tasty.
Our friend Jenna here raved about them the other week, and I fucking get it. This is so so so good!! Just like with frozen meals, I’m wildly impressed with what they’ve done with freeze-dried food! Almost more impressed 👀. The flavors pack a mean punch, they don’t get watery when rehydrated, and they’re so freaking convenient—they take up no space and they’re light.
Do you like cheese? Good you should, but also you’ll love these. They’re crunchy and just the perfect amount of cheesy-ness. Plus if you don’t like cheese (Weirdo) they have so many flavors!
When I stopped by the booth they asked if I wanted to try, I said I don’t eat pork, but then he’s like oh it’s Wagyu. COUNT ME IN BABY!! That wagyu bacon changed something in me.
I’ve had Jennie’s before—specifically the mix—but I hadn’t yet tried their frozen focaccia. And damn, that was fluffy, tasty goodness in a box if I’ve ever seen it. The everything and the cinnamon sugar were to die for! It’s yet another example of the amazing explosion of incredible frozen foods in the CPG world.
In this week’s episode of The Curious Consumer, we chat about the half-billion-dollar cottage cheese company, the latest protein launches (geared towards women), and share more of the trends we saw at the FancyFaire show!
Thanks for reading! Anything you think we should try for an upcoming edition of Express Checkout? Email us at hello@expresscheckout.co
Effies really, really gets it. And co-sign on Cumin Club's ambition and general presentation of regional Indian flavors. Freeze-dried is so interesting. Thanks for the recap and smart approach to everything.
What an incredible roundup! Like how you highlighted both innovative flavors and the founders behind them!