Since Monday, I’ve been at FMI 2010, the Food Marketing Institute Show in Las Vegas. As with every industry, the economy has impacted grocery shopping, but unlike most other retail segments, we can’t stop eating. We’re just spending less.

In seminars, speakers focused on private label, defined value (not just by price) and demonstrated the importance of making an emotional connection with the consumer. Retailers and manufacturers are recognizing the need to deliver information using technology to reach target audiences with information they want, when they want it and in the way the want it. This includes mobile platforms to deliver recipes, online couponing, and presence on Twitter and Facebook. [more…]

The 55th Summer Fancy Food Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New City ended on Tuesday. I spent two days walking the aisles, sampling judiciously and trying to get a handle on upcoming food trends. This is a big show — with more than 24,000 attendees and 2,300 exhibitors from 70 countries.

One day I walked the show with friends from a national magazine who were looking for food gift ideas for their holiday issue. The second day I walked with a friend from a leading foodservice magazine. It’s so much more interesting to traverse the vast halls with a companion and to see the show through another perspective. [more…]

The Winter Fancy Food Show is coming up January 13 to 15 in San Diego. More than a thousand exhibitors, including international participants from 40 countries will participate. With so many booths in competition, how can you get your products noticed by the media?

As a freelance food writer, I’ve covered a number of food trade shows for the Associated Press. So let me tell you how I cover a show, from a reporter’s point of view. It will give you ideas about how you can find ways to interface with the media. [more…]

As Dana Jacobi tells it, timing is everything. Her first soy book, published in 1996, won culinary awards, but it didn’t really catch on until five years later, when the public was ready to embrace the benefits of soy. On the other hand, 12 Best Foods, her latest book, has been an instant success, due to the public buzz about antioxidants.

Keeping ahead of trends is a big part of what makes Dana a successful book author. She is a sought-after prognosticator who spoke at the Natural Products Show press briefing earlier this fall. Dana, a friend of many years, shared with me the information she presented. It represents her projections of food trends we can expect to see six to 12 months out. [more…]