London’s Olympia has never seen such a collection of gourmet foods – from chocolate delectations to spicy snacks, lip smacking condiments to fragrant teas and sophisticated soft drinks for adults. The packaging world has to be commended – so many gorgeous designs – some handcrafted, others slick and polished with lots of matt black juxtaposed with shiny embossing or bright colours with handwritten typography.
And the trends? Well spicy certainly, whether in chocolate (where cardamom and cinnamon are big news along with lemongrass and cumin) or similar flavours in savoury snacks – from On The Pulse Foods for instance, with the Taking the Pea range of crunchy peas including wacky wasabi and cheasy peasy. The niche sector of seaweed is also seeing growth, as is that of frozen yogurt such as Lick of Brighton who now produce a ready-to-eat range.
Even the traditional sectors such as charcuterie are being updated with companies such as Cannon & Cannon blending venison with peppercorns, and salami with cider and seaweed. The Real Meat Co was introducing turkey jerky to join its chilli and original lines.
While in confectionery and cakes, the beautifully decorated Sari Cakes from entrepreneur Rish Patel were garnering a great deal of attention.
Mug baking is part of Baked In’s micro-baking range with the favourite being an obvious Belgian chocolate but with choca mocha, sticky toffee and gluten-free variants too.
For the ultimate in chilled cocktails you can have gold flake inside your ice cubes and the name of your company printed on them – and they last 20 minutes thanks to new freezing technology from London Ice Smiths.
In refreshing drinks we have sparkling flavoured Buddha birch water and real fruit syrups from Shott in New Zealand, plus a new cranberry raspberry blend from Rochester, and from the Galway Hooker Brewery a thoughtfully tasty range of artisan beers. Köld Cocktails are premium frozen cocktails in white pouches ready for your fridge.
To finish on a warmer note for winter, James White Drinks launched its ginger zinger shot at the show, while the move into bone broth that started with the Brodo chain in New York is now available as ready-to-drink organic Osius from The Bone Broth Company at Lodge Farm Kitchen. And the best drink of the day? Ready-to-drink real hot chocolate from Benoit’s Chocolate Factory – it has to be tasted to be believed.
If you have an ace drink that should be celebrated in the upcoming World Beverage Innovation Awards, then get your entries in before the closing date of 22 September. Click here for more information.
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