Specialized foods

It is expected that for the next edition of the Winter Fancy Food Fair in 2018, Peruvian companies will be involved in the production of specialized foodstuffs to increase the exportable supply to the United States, says the Commercial Office of Peru (Ocex) in Los Angeles in Following article.

According to statements by the Specialty Food Association, "the American consumer is now more informed about the food industry and makes food decisions based on the nutritional information of the packaging in each product.

Specialized foods are no longer a niche market or a fashion in the United States, today there is an industry with a high demand and a wide range of products. "

The tendency to look for healthier foods has been increasing in the west coast of the United States, being the state of California that greater variety of healthy offer has.

The first chain of organic food stores, Trader Joe's, opened its first store in the city of Pasadena and Whole Foods Maket has 56 (19%) stores in California from a total of 299 stores distributed around the world.

In the recent edition of The Winter Fancy Food Show 2017, the most important gourmet food fair on the West Coast of the United States, held in San Francisco, California from January 22 to 24, The latest trends in the specialty food sector.

Organizers of the event stated that consumer behavior has changed. At present, the consumer is looking for high quality ingredients that have undergone the least change during the production process and which contain an exquisite flavor.

Latest news
Among the latest gourmet food presented at the fair was a keen interest in healthy drinks for various purposes: for the detoxification of the body, for greater physical performance.

One element found in several of the beverages and other innovative products was turmeric or stick. Turmeric has healing properties that benefit the human body, including: they help the liver function better and have anti-inflammatory properties.

One drink that attracted the attention of the participating public was an organic drink with apple cider vinegar and African honey, orange juice, lemons, onions, horseradish, ginger, garlic, habanro and turmeric.

In addition to preserving itself for good weather, the packaging was very striking and indicated the uses and benefits of the product and stressed the importance of consuming organic beverages.

Among other cases of innovation, there was that of a California chocolate company, which presented its dark chocolate bar "Mango Totally Tangy" made with sweet mango, sea salt and a pinch of chili.

Organic sauces made with products such as mango hummus with tomatillos, or quinoa with pesto and mango almond milk yogurts were other attractions hailed by the participants.

Peruvian Pavilion
Inside the Peruvian pavilion were presented, with great success, gourmet chocolate bars with different mixtures of ethnic ingredients from Peru such as the salt of Maras, aguaymantos, sacha inchi, among others.

The chocolate bars were presented with their own brand and in very attractive ecological packaging with colors and drawings typical of Peru, which generated the attention of many importers.

Cases such as these show that international companies are beginning to look at the gourmet markets, which were little more than niches, as an alternative to their products.

Today, Strabucks offers, in the specialty foods sector, stimulating and organic beverages as alternatives to its flag products to capture part of the gourmet food market.

Trends define the near future and on this occasion, healthy and specialized products with brand authenticity and packaging innovation are the ones that are generating significant demand in the North American market.

Challenge to innovate
In the specialty food sector, the Peruvian producer faces the challenge of innovating either through new combinations of ingredients or more functional packaging to add greater value to its final product.

The wealth of natural resources and the unique product offerings that exist in Peru give Peruvian producers an unrivaled advantage in creating innovative products through new mixtures and combinations of ingredients.

Possible areas of opportunity are fruit jellies endemic to the Amazon, precooked Andean grains, gourmet sauces, fruit snacks, energizing organic drinks, superfoods, unique varieties of canned peppers, among others.

It is expected that for the next edition of the Winter Fancy Food Fair in 2018, Peruvian companies will be involved in the production of this type of products to increase the variety of the Peruvian exportable offer during this important event on the west coast of the United States.