Continuing the Fancy Food Show blog mini-series, more observations I made at the show included marketing to food service, production products, as well as non-food/non-human food products.
Vendors at the show did not limit themselves to selling products for retail sales, rather many vendors were marketing products for food service. Don’s Salads (www.donssalads.com) produces salads, gourmet cream cheese spreads, soups, and desserts which are then sold to distributors for restaurant and institutional use. Another restaurant/institutional sales product seen at the show was Fatboy’s Outrageous Cookie Dough (www.outrageouscookiedough.com). Fatboy’s delivers cookie dough in pre-portioned pieces to maximize ease in baking and consistency.
Vendors were also promoting products to help agricultural businesses become more consistent, efficient, and customized. Met Speed Label (www.metspeedlabel.com) has developed label printers that allow companies to work with a designer to create professional looking labels which can then be printed in-house. Roxispice (www.roxispice.com) and Cookal (www.brunowhitefoods.com) showcased products to customize restaurant food and drinks. Roxispice is a drinkware rimming system that allows the bartender to rim glasses in colored spices. Cookal is a carmelization kit used to create a caramelized look for desserts like crème brulee.
One major area of agriculture that consumers frequently overlook is non-food/non-human food products. Envirosax (www.envirosax.com) markets reusable bags made from hemp, bamboo, linen, and organic cotton. Big Bark Bakery (www.bigbarkbakery.com) bakes designer dog and cat treats. Their treats are preservative, sugar, and salt free.
As an ag entrepreneur, do you market to food service providers? Do you use or produce products or services that help customers make a final product (like Roxispice or Cookal)? Have you considered making a non-food or non-human food agricultural product like bags or dog treats?
