Popcorn, Truffles & Boba Tea: Indulging in Fancy Food Trends (2024)

Long a snacking favorite, popcorn is now showing up in such novel forms as cakes from Popilicious Popcorn, which recently exhibited products at the Summer Fancy Food Show.

COLUMN: AHEAD OF WHAT'S NEXT

At this year’s iteration of the Specialty Food Association’s (SFA) Summer Fancy Food Show, which took place this past June 23-25, I was interested in learning from market researcher David Lockwood, founder of Lockwood Consulting and author of the “State of the Specialty Food Industry Report 2024-5,” that among the most popular trends in specialty food were snacking and indulgence. That’s not really a surprise, of course, but it was fun to see how those trends played out on the show floor at New York’s vast Javits Center.

What’s Popping?

Take, for example, popcorn, a longtime popular snack elevated through unexpected flavorings — Sea Salted Brulée, Birthday Cake, Spicy Taco, French Toast, Nori Crunch and Pineapple Galore, just to name a few spotted at the show — novel applications such as pops and even cakes from Popilicious Popcorn; and textual innovations like CrackCorn Puffy Pop, which features no kernels or hulls for a smooth, puff-like eating experience. “People are looking for healthier snacks,” asserted Maria Bailey, founder of Pompano Beach, Fla.-based Popilicious, when asked about the item’s enduring status as a favorite nosh, adding that it’s gluten-free as well.

Truffle Butter from Popzup is capitalizing on the indulgence trend happening in specialty food.

Truffle Indulgence

Among the upscale popcorn toppings being sampled was Truffle Butter from Popzup, riding not only the general indulgence wave noted by Lockwood, but also adding one of the specific “premium finishes” to restaurant dishes noted by Nancy Kruse, president of The Kruse Co., during her “State of the Plate 2024” presentation at the show. Beyond popcorn, the earthy taste of truffles showed up in a variety of products, including cheese, sauces, oils, honey, butter, ice cream, and pasta — including a breaded truffle mac & cheese ball appetizer.

[RELATED: Murray’s Cheese Wins 7 Awards at American Cheese Society Competition]

Bubbling Up

Now, to wash down all of those treats, I could have turned to any number of beverages exhibited at the show, but I opted for boba — or bubble — tea, whose time as an easily available grab-and-go product in the United States, rather than as an occasional restaurant or café offering, seems to have finally arrived. There were numerous examples of this at the show, including New York-based Bubluv, billed as “the first low-sugar, low-calorie, ready-to-drink boba tea,” in Black Milk Tea and Matcha Soy Latte varieties. One way that the brand keeps calories and carbs low is by making its pearls froma blend of tapioca starch and konjac, according to founder and CEO Diana Ark Chen.

Bubluv bills itself as “the first low-sugar, low-calorie, ready-to-drink boba tea."

This shift into the mainstream was observed by Kruse during her presentation, when she cited Starbucks’ recent “texture innovation” of Summer-Berry Refreshers — essentially, the ubiquitous chain’s take on bubble tea. One can definitely see the indulgence angle here and, although it’s a beverage, the penchant for snacking, if one counts chewing the pearls. Further, the drink’s popularity in the West illustrates the rising consumer interest in global flavors also discussed by Kruse.

Other items of interest noted at the show were Afar Savory Protein Bars, Arctic Farms Freeze-Dried Ice Cream and Candy, Diggables Buckwheat Puffs, G Hughes Sugar Free Pulled Pork and Chicken, Honey B sparkling honey drink, José Andres Foods Tortilla de Patatas, Lotte Snow Ice Coffee Shake (great on a hot day), Nata Pura Portuguese tarts (decisively billed as “not a donut”), Nutty Novelties Habanero Honey Peanut Butter, Royo low-carb and -calorie bread, and Zany Bites artisan rice baked snacks.