What you might want to try... from last week's food trade show, IFE
The annual IFE (International Food & Drink Event) was held last week. Here's what I think you should be paying attention to.
Hello!
Thanks for joining me here!
I hope you had a lovely Easter?
My 4yo has participated in Easter Egg hunts before this year, but this was the first one at home and my heart melted when, after she found three and realised there were more, she started handing them out to us and to our adult guests visiting from Massachussets, making sure we all had at least one of each type, leaving her with only one chicken-egg sized one and some tiny, indiviudally foil-wrapped Doisy & Dam chocolate-covered peanuts. I planned to give her more chocolate if she regretted her generosity later, but she didn’t seem to.
I suspect the knowledge that her grandparents had a Lindt bunny waiting for her in the subsequent days helped encourage her sharing. Or maybe it’s being an only child and never having what she considers “hers” stolen from her by siblings which makes her less protective? I know I wasn’t that generous as a 4 year old. I’m not even sure I am now!
I will forever find human behaviour and child development fascinating. Though it sometimes makes me an over-thinking, mentally tired parent, I can’t seem to turn it off, even if I did want to.
My lovely child may have thought twice if she’d realised the chicken-egg sized ones she was giving away were Pump Street Chocolate, but she’s probably not yet the chocolate snob her mother is.
I hope wherever you were, you also got to enjoy some good chocolate.
If you’re new-ish here you might not know that I used to work as a Food Buyer and as a Food Developer (creating the ideas for and refining food products). I still consult in the industry so I attend all of the food trade shows I can, as well as keeping on top of what’s new and exciting in London, and whilst exploring elsewhere.
This week’s newsletter is a list of things I tried - and was impressed by - at last week’s food trade fair. Some of the products will already be available to buy in the UK, some of the businesses were at the fair looking for retailers and distributors.
These food trade show summaries are usually behind a paywall, but this week, I thought you all might like to read it and I wanted to spread the word for the businesses. Please do share it with anyone you think might get value out of it.
Next week I’ll be back with more location-based recommendations.
The show was the International Food & Drink Event at Excel. It is one of the largest food trade shows in the UK and was was the biggest I’ve seen it in some years. I spent most of the full three days there and I’m fairly confident I got around to all of the stands, but it’s possible I missed some.
Do let me know in the comments if any of the products are particularly interesting to you, or if you’ve tried them too, or if you went to the show and saw something I haven’t mentioned here!
In between sharing things I stumble upon, I have written/spoken about other food shows, and the products I encountered at them, in the two (!) years (100+ weeks!) that I’ve been writing this newsletter continuously. I wrote it for a full year between 2018 and 2019, too. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to bring over anything from before November 2022, but there’s still a lot to read.
Scroll to the bottom of this post to see some of my summaries from shows in 2022 and 2023.
TWO QUICK FYI’s:
The 2024 London Coffee Festival is on next week! 11-14 April.
You can read more and get your tickets here:
https://www.londoncoffeefestival.com
This show is open to the public from Friday to Sunday.
📌 Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Ln, London E1 6QR
NEAREST STATION: Liverpool Street / Shoreditch High Street
* * * * *
Honey & Co have opened a pop up bakery opposite their Lamb’s Conduit Street store. 9am-5pm Monday to Saturday. I stopped into their Daily Goods store in Bloomsbury on Monday and couldn’t decide between their Love Cake (vanilla with a raspberry centre), a slice of Lemon, Tahini and White Chocolate Cake or their Baked Yoghurt Cheesecake with Ginger Marmalade. I took the staff member’s recommendation for the latter and thoroughly enjoyed it.
📌 opposite 54 Lamb's Conduit St, WC1N 3LW
NEAREST STATION: Russell Square
Here’s what I found fascinating at the International Food & Drink Event (IFE) 2024:
Grouped by:
Cooking at Home
Breakfast
Savoury / Healthy Snacks
Chocolate / Confectionery / Ice Cream
Drinks
There’s a lot! Brace yourselves…
Cooking at Home
UhhhMami stock powders. This is the third time I’ve met the Michelin-starred chef founder of this business and, every time I try them, the stocks amaze me.
I’m so excited that they will soon be available in the UK, definitely on Amazon, hopefully in other places. They might look expensive but it makes a lot of stock, is truly delicious and contains only pure and 100% natural ingredients.
The “vegetable extracts” mentioned in the ingredients come from actual vegetables that Frank ferments and/or cooks, it’s all organic and stock is the easiest and quickest shortcut to making your home cooking taste restaurant-quality (adding lots of butter and oil would be the other one 😅).
Speaking of home cooking shortcuts: one of my favourite brands, Belazu, have launched a jarred range of “Flavour Hacks” which are delicious cheats to elevating any recipe. Currently in Green Chilli, Sundried Tomato, Caramelised Onion and Roast Garlic.
Belazu have also acquired one of my favourite miso brands, Miso Tasty, who have just launched TofuWings. These are sheets of the skin that forms on the top of the soy milk when you make tofu, which you might recognise as the pouch that holds sushi rice (Inari sushi) in a Japanese restaurant or lunch chain. It’s extra high in protein so a 75g serving of these contain 36g of protein! The sheets are twisted into bows and dried. You rehydrate them in water overnight and cook like any protein. I’m excited to try them.
A British-based Indian couple, Aparna and Roshan Chainani, are launching Healicious ready-to-eat millet packs and millet pasta to help people diversify the grains they eat. Millet is an incredible grain to add to your rotation. Hopefully coming soon to a supermarket near you, or available on their website. Who knew there were so many types of millet?
What is millet?
The most sustainable grain.
Like wheat, it’s a cereal belonging to the grass family, but it doesn’t contain gluten, though often it’s processed alongside gluten so celiacs need to be cautious.
It’s extremely high yielding. 97% is grown in Africa and Asia.
It has two main subgroups: major and minor. Many of the varieties XXX are launching are minor varieties which are less common but higher in potassium and calcium.
It has sub varieties including pearl millet, finger millet and sorghum.
Nutritionally it’s pretty similar to wheat, slightly higher in protein and because it is less intensively produced than modern wheat, likely to contain lead to more antioxidant activity. It has also been shown to improve gut health and blood pressure.
As a crop, it is tolerant of drought and extreme weather conditions. It uses a tiny amount of water to grow vs wheat, rice, maize or cassava but provides more calories per 100g than all but rice of which it’s similar depending on the millet and rice variety. It also grows in half the time it takes rice or wheat to be ready for harvest.
I’ve seen Fable many times at shows, but it seems I haven’t written about them before. As a meat alternative, I love that it’s made from tough shitake mushroom stems that would otherwise leave the for-human-consumption food chain, and we all need more mushrooms in our diet. It also contains soy.
I tried and was impressed by a great vegan tortilla (the Spanish potato omelette, not the flatbread for tacos) by Spanish business, Revolu Green.
LIFE Caribbean dehydrated meal sachets which looked delicious and had really clean ingredient lists. I was especially intrigued by the Callalloo. All had pimento.
Have you ever tried natto?
I think - until now - you could only find it frozen in some Asian supermarkets. Now, chef John from Corby is making and packing it for you under the brand Natto K2. He also sends it frozen.
It’s an acquired taste and texture, but very, very good for you.
What is Nattō?
Nattō is soy beans fermented with a special bacteria that leads to the production of K2, a nutrient associated with heart health and difficult to get enough of from modern diets, especially if you’re vegan or vegetarian.
The bacteria turns the soy beans into something slimy and quite stinky, both of which individually can be offputting for many people. The taste isn’t as intense as the smell and it can be used as an ingredient in biscuits and muffins, which I tried at the show. That might kill off some of the fermented bacteria benefits but the K2 remains.
It’s traditionally mixed with soy and/or mustard and often chopped green onions and eaten with rice. I can’t remember where I first tried it, I think in Japan in 2003. I remember thinking it was weird, but it grew on me and I loved the idea that it was healthy. With the right accompaniments it was delicious.
It’s extremely high in lots of minerals and vitamins and micro and macro nutrients and has been proven to support bone, gut and heart health.
I met the founder of this seaweed brand, PhycoHealth, at a previous show and her daughter this time. They use a green seaweed, unique to Australia and low in iodine, to make a range of snacks, dukka, pasta and drinks. You can find them on their U.K. based website. Seaweed also has a huge amount of benefits for us when added to our diet. Their particular brand was mentioned by Dr Michael Mosley.
I liked the idea of MōMangy’s dried pasta and chickpea dish (pasta e ceci) ready to eat in 12 minutes from the pantry.
I saw A LOT of Indian snacks and meals and chutneys. Almost all that I tried were moreish but my two favourite businesses that I’ll be looking out for to buy from personally for home cooking are:
Chutneys by Chutnefy. These are kind of crazy. I may have written about them before. You add water, stir and leave for a few minutes and they taste like they’ve been freshly made. They are packed with flavour. I particularly enjoyed the coriander, coconut and mint versions.
These Sizzle Mix sauces are made in India exactly as though a chef or home cook was making them, just on a large scale, and imported. I really enjoyed the three I tried. Not yet launched here, but hopefully soon.
Another Indian meal kit where I was impressed by the founder, but am yet to try the ones she sent me home with, is the newly launched Bang Curry.
Breakfasts
Madam Jar “Diet Jam”
100% fruit “jam” from Serbia. I was really impressed by the taste and texture. You can’t officially call it “jam” without sugar, hence the awkward name.
I also really enjoyed this Chia Smash, another “jam” made from upcycled (I guess too soft for sale in grocery stores?) blueberries, chia seeds, dates, lemon and added fruit pectin. It was delicious and made a nice snack just eaten with a spoon because the sweetness was in balance with the fibre from the fruits used. It’s apparently popular in the US where it’s from and sold in Holland & Barrett here where it’s currently on Buy One Get One Half Price (not an ad! well, I wasn’t paid for it!).
Up’n’Mellow - nut porridge. Based on Peanut Porridge eaten in Jamaica. I tried the Pecan & Mango version. Very good value for the ingredients used. The pictures below were sample sizes, not the actual quantity you’d get in the tubs.
Savoury / Healthy Snacks
Kin + Deum - sriaacha Sticky Rice Cakes and freeze dried Mango Sticky Rice bites Literal tiny portions of the Thai dessert - only mango, sticky rice, coconut milk, coconut sugar and sea salt - freeze-dried into crunchy puffs of deliciousness. I loved the savoury seaweed and sriracha mini rice cakes, too. They had more texture and interest than regular rice cakes, because of the type of rice used.
They have a plant based restaurant in London:
📌 2 Crucifix Ln, London SE1 3JW
NEAREST STATION: London Bridge
Qui Ma Chi
Pineapple candies and other dehydrated fruit and vegetable snacks. These are made in Peru. I especially enjoyed the pineapple candies and the snacks made with purple corn. They’re available on Amazon but hopefully stocked elsewhere soon. Fingers crossed.
luskeeto
These were tasty baked crackers made from lentil flour from the Czech Republic.
The Keto Elf seeded crackers were delicious, too.
Two Farmers Woodland Mushroom & Garlic flavour crisps. A business you probably know well. This flavour may have been out for a while, I didn’t stop to chat, but I liked it!
Mr Makhana snacks have a lotus seed base. These are popped, flavoured and bagged in India and imported. There are a whole range of flavours. I especially liked the “traditional Indian” flavours. The chocolate one was not for me, but if you’re into Cocoa Pops, you might love it.
Big bags £2.99 75g
£1.39 small 25g
www.mrmakhana.com
These dried fruit and vegetable snacks from Super Munchies were tasty. They are vaccuum cooked and then processed to remove the excess oil, in most cases the only other ingredient.
50-60% nutrients remain, apparently.
£2.99-£3.50 for 50-60g packs.
Have you heard of Pili Nuts? They won the top award at The Great Taste Awards a few years ago. They’re buttery and delicious. Galip nuts are a relative, even more buttery and have more nutrition than pili nuts.
Galip nuts grow in Papua New Guinea and are a complete protein with less than 7g of carbohydrates and less than 1g of sugar. They’re high in lots of vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin E.
They grow in the rainforest, amongst cacao trees in plantations and around homes. They are usually picked by rural families.
Turned into a flour (and removing most of the natural oil) makes the protein content 30g vs 13.8 per 100g. An all natural, delicious protein powder. One to look out for.
frangipanifoods.org (a PNG company that’s also a family business)
Chocolate / Ice Cream / Confectionery
Cacao Crudo
This is unroasted chocolate from Italy which I enjoyed. My favourite item I tried was a jar of almond praline. I’ve never tasted an almond praline like this, and with just two ingredients. Someone please stock this.
Chocolat Madagascar
I’m a longtime fan of Chocolat Madagascar. I tried their new unroasted chocolate for the first time and was really impressed by it. I can’t believe I enjoyed two unroasted chocolate last week. Normally I would steer clear. It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed eating freshly fermented and dried beans at cacao farms, but that generally “raw cacao” is sold for purported health benefits with little regard for flavour.
Cremoloso gelato. Especially the salted amaretto. So good! Currently only available for restaurants and other food service but they’ve just launched 500ml tubs which might get picked up by delis or supermarkets. I loved the Tiramisu, too.
Gigi fruit lollies. Described as “gelato” but made entirely from fruit. One of the founders is an Italian gelato master with 20 years’ experience in the Ice Cream Industry. The fruit fibre added gives them a creamy texture, yet it’s the only additional ingredient. Three of their four flavours will be coming to Ocado soon.
Mango + passion fruit + fennel
Ginger + orange + carrot
Kiwi + Spinach + Pineapple
Froot Pops - I kept saying and typing this wrong when telling people about it. 😬 🫣
I had a version of these chocolate-covered frozen raspberries at another food show made by a European company, but this brand launched a few months ago by a London-based company. I loved the freshness and tartness of the raspberries. A great alternative to ice cream or candy.
Sow Good freeze dried candies A business selling freeze dried candy blew up via Tik Tok in the past few years. They’re really enjoyable to eat so I can see why. They also had freeze dried ice cream sandwiches. I’m sure all coming soon to a store near you soon. I didn’t look at the ingredients. Probably for the best.
I may have written about Bramble & Hedge before, but now they have U.K. distributors. If you’re into nougat, this is an excellent version and very pretty and giftable.
Drinks
Wow Cacao launched their cocoa fruit water at the show. I tried a couple of great cacao juice drinks in Amsterdam at Chocoa. This one was diluted with spring water and had added electrolytes, but no added sweeteners, sugar or other fruit juices. Great for exercise!
Another brand I’ve written about before. No dilution with apple at Daily Good, either. I was particularly interested by this NZ company’s pouches of pure ginger and turmeric juice, both a pain to juice or blend at home - especially turmeric. They’re pasteurised with a long shelf life.
Glug are more pure juices, canned. I really enjoyed trying them, though they are quite sweet, I feel like you could do some interesting things with them as ingredients.
£1.99 each. Available on Amazon as 12 for £19.99.
The Berry Farmacy juices don’t yet have a U.K. distributor, but hopefully it won’t be long. More pure juices, no dilution with apple juice. These are produced in South Africa. I loved the tartness and uniqueness of the pure raspberry, but I enjoyed them all.
Win Win Water. This water is sourced from Cheddar in the UK, naturally high in electrolytes and minerals and with a ph matching our body. The bottle will decompose in commerical composting in 90 days. Now we just need more councils to collect food waste for commerical composting…
That’s it! Thanks for getting to the end!
Questions for you!
Were you at the show? Did I miss listing anything you found interesting? Please let me know!
Have you tried any of the above?
Which of the items most excites you?
Will you go to The London Coffee Festival? Have you been before?
This newsletter has taken a long time to put together over the past week and almost all of today. I hope it’s been useful. Normally I’d put it behind a paywall, but I wanted the businesses to get the promotion I think they deserve. Please do share it!
If you found this or any of my other newsletters useful or interesting then, apart from the option of becoming a paid subscriber, you can buy me a virtual coffee (though you know I’ll probably spend it on a cake and then come back here and tell you about it ☺️).
Endless thanks,
Jen x
Other Food Trade Show summaries from 2022 and 2023:
Here’s what I discovered at the 2023 London Coffee Festival:
PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2022:
