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by Christopher Kolon
The tenth annual National Fiery Foods Show was held March 6-8 at the Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This was the largest show yet with 260 exhibitors, record attendance, and hot products ranging from peanut brittle, chocolate candies, desserts, ketchups, salsas, sauces of every variety, cookies, chips, teas and jellies, to decorated tiles, clothing, books, manufacturing equipment and pepper mash.
With such a diverse array of products, the show has grown not only in size but in sophistication, reflecting the maturation of the Industry itself. Often regarded as purely Mom and Pop operations, the Fiery Foods companies participating this year displayed business and marketing savvy, evidenced by sophisticated product and booth design, active solicitation of foreign buyers, expansion into the food service industry, and private labeling. If Mom and Pop attended this year's show, they brought their son, the MBA graduate, with them.
"I think (this year's show) is definitely a step up in sophistication," said Englishman, Pat Chapman, guest chef and author of more than ten books on Indian cooking. He suggested this maturity could have ample rewards in foreign markets.
"If the Brits could see this, it would be stunningly knockout. We have lots and lots of food shows, but nothing like this. Stuart McCallister, who sells chile sauces in England, is here buying product. The fact that he's here really says it all. Chile is getting a foothold (in Britain), both in specialty shops and in our multiples (supermarkets)," he said.
But England isn't the only country with a rising culinary thermometer. Exhibitors also reported visits by buyers from Japan, Nigeria, Sweden, China, Brazil, South Africa and last but not least, Canada, a country that is now on the edge of a fiery foods explosion. "I must have already been visited by a half dozen buyers from Canada," said Steve Berge, of Phamous Phloyd's Phine Phoods, early on the second day of the show.
Swedish food writer Stefan Johansson, of Aftonbladet, Scandinavia's biggest daily newspaper, attended the show with Jonas Lundin, owner of a Stockholm specialty store called BBQ Chilli & Co. "I look for labels first," said Lundin. "You Americans have some great labels. It's the best way to sell things. Of course, what's inside is important, too." Lundin reported that Sweden may be turning into a hotbed of hot food lovers; it has the highest per capita rate of taco eaters in all of Europe.
Additionally, Johansson had a suggestion for American manufacturers looking to market their products in Sweden. "They should try to break in with recipes and literature that take something from our food culture, like meatballs or smorgasbord, and tell people you can do this or that with our salsa or sauce. A very traditional Swedish dish is pickled herring. I went to a demonstration by a very famous Swedish chef and he marinated the herring with jalapeños. It was very nice," he said.
According to Jeff Ensminger, owner of Not Cool hot sauces, the Europeans are very interested in product that can be proved to be 100 percent organic. His entire line of hot sauces is certified organic.
"A buyer saw our product in Southern Seasonings (an East Coast specialty store) and contacted us. The reason he picked it up was that it was certified organic. He took our product to Europe for HPLC tests, which determine pesticide residues and such. The Europeans have stricter laws than we do. If the tests come out all right, he'll order product for stores in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Germany," Ensminger said.
A South African, Rodney Maister, has taken his worldly marketing savvy and applied it to his Barbecues Galore franchise in Laguna Niguel, California. "We carry about 150 barbecue sauces and what we've done is put a little hot shop in Barbecues Galore. We carry most of what is shown here. We feel it's the best show," he said.
This hot shop innovation has sparked the interest of the Barbecues Galore corporate office so much that Kim Tjepkena, a corporate buyer, attended the show with Maister. "They have grown their business a lot quicker than we have," said Tjepkena. "So I'm using their experience." She said that Barbecues Galore currently carries about twenty varieties of hot sauces but is going to expand big time. "That's why I'm here" she said.
Buyers were not the only ones at the show hailing from far off lands. Exhibitors included the China Hainan Huangdijiao Food Company, manufacturers of hot pepper sauces; Proluxa from Panama, makers, of among other things, Congo Sauce, a delightfully mild habanero sauce; Virgin Fire from Puerto Rico, the Peruvian Ají Collection; and Prairie Fire from Canada.
In fact, ethnic themes abounded in product lines as well. Dachen Kyaping, owner of the Khatsa line of Tibetan sauces, candies and teas, said that everything she's heard indicates that the interest in ethnic hot foods is growing. "There's a wave (of interest) building, and we are in a position to take advantage of it," she said.
The increasing refinement of the Industry is also reflected in the diversity of marketing strategies. For instance, this year's show saw some sauce manufacturers beginning to target the food service industry. Both the Kajun Ketchup and Bronco Bob's lines offer their product in new food service sizes, a half gallon and full gallon respectively.
Prairie Fire, of Calgary, Canada, has found improved sales in private labeling, and Owner Fred Swift suggested hot sauce manufacturers turn to this often overlooked area for increased profits. "When I was down here about three years ago, people were interested in promoting their own product. The private label wasn't much of an issue," he said.
Now Swift is enjoying great success just responding to people approaching him with a concept. "There are a lot of companies looking for something (affordable) to give away for Christmas or the like. I show them what is available to enhance the sale. Now they've got something with their image and name on it, a good quality product and it's out there with the consumer."
If next year's show follows the trends set in this one, we should see even more diversification, intelligent marketing, foreign sales, and plenty of good hot stuff. See you in 1999, March 5-7, at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Christopher Kolon is a chef, cooking teacher, and freelance food journalist living in Santa Fe.
