Specialty Food Association Announces 75 sofi™ Gold Award Finalists Ahead of Winter FancyFaire* 2026

News provided by

Oct 15, 2025, 12:03 ET

Top retail buyers select Gold Award finalists and three Outstanding Packaging Design Award finalists for prestigious honors

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Specialty Food Association (SFA) today unveiled the finalists for its 2026 sofi Awards, celebrating outstanding products across 25 categories, including snacks, beverages, cheese and frozen. Announced in advance of Winter FancyFaire* taking place January 11-13, 2026, these finalists serve as a forecast of trends that will shape the specialty food and beverage industry in the year ahead.

Since 1972, the sofi Awards have been one of the most coveted honors in food, with winners selected by a panel of top industry buyers based on taste, ingredient quality, and innovation. This year, the level of competition is increased by SFA's introduction of just 25 Gold Award categories, including Frozen and Prepared Foods, Charcuterie Meats, Nonalcoholic Beverages, Savory Snacks, Baking Mixes, Condiments and more.

Out of 1,284 total applications, 75 Gold and three Outstanding Packaging Design finalists were selected, including:

Alcoholic Beverages

Bittermilk LLC – Bourbon Barrel Aged Manhattan Mixer
Bittermilk LLC – Gingerbread Old Fashioned Mixer
Earl's Big Idea, LLC – IMPROVED WHISKEY COCKTAIL

Baking Ingredients

Dufour Pastry Kitchens, Inc. – Gluten-Free All Butter Puff Pastry
Flour & Olive LLC – Ginger Scratch Olive Oil Cake Mix
Top Seedz LLC – Bake-At-Home Seed Crackers: Sea Salt

Bread & Bakery

Clementine's Ice Cream Co. – Gooey Butter Cake
Lettieri & Co. Ltd. – Monte Pollino Pinsa Crust
Zucker's Bagels Products Inc. – Par Baked Sesame Bagels

Cereals & Granola

Butterfly Bakery of Vermont – Mighty Tasty Granola
Ivy's Gourmet – Hazelnut Coffee Granola - Gluten Free
Jamie's Farm – Chai Streusel Granola with Honey

Charcuterie Meats

Elevation Charcuterie and Artisan Meats LLC – Cecina
Fra' Mani Handcrafted Foods – Rosemary Ham
True Story Foods – True Story Heritage Breed Prosciutto

Cheese

Dutch Cheese Makers Corp. – Artikaas Vintage Lot 36 Month Aged Gouda
Marieke Gouda – Marieke Gouda Reserve Gouda Aged 1000+ Days
Vermont Creamery – Bijou

Chocolate

A Priori Specialty Food & Distribution – Caputo's Wild Jurua
Hazy Fudge, LLC – Hazy Fudge Cabernet Alcohol Infused Fudge
KLG Candies, LLC – Griff's Pecan Toffee

Condiments

Elephant Green Chili Chutney – Elephant Green Chili Chutney
New Canaan Farms – New Canaan Farms Olive Rosemary Dijon Mustard
Roland Foods, LLC – Roland® Tamarind Concentrate

Crackers & Crispbreads

Effie's Homemade, LLC – Effie's Homemade Gruyere Biscuit
Joyfull Bakery – Joyfull Five Seed Parmesan Flats
Kayco – Craize Everything Toasted Snack Crackers

Dairy & Eggs

AGA Smor – AGA Smor Creative Butter - Mushroom Butter
Oakridge Creamery LLC – Oakridge Horchata Milk
SODIAAL INTERNATIONAL – Candia Professional Brittany Puff Pastry Butter

Frozen & Prepared Foods

Lettieri & Co. Ltd. – Monte Pollino Pizza Napoletana - Burrata
Lily Maude's LLC – Lily Maude's Double Chocolate Brownie Slow Churned Ice Cream
Fazlani Exports Pvt Ltd – Food Earth A Perfect Marriage Tomato Coconut Soup

Grains, Pastas, & Legumes

Brooklyn Delhi – Brooklyn Delhi Black Bean Butter Masala
Brooklyn Delhi – Brooklyn Delhi Chickpea Tikka Masala with Potatoes
Cafe Spice - Global Cuisine – Cafe Spice Coconut Rice

Meats

Lottie's, LLC – Everyday Ground Pork Sausage
MEAT THE VEGGIES LLC – THE ORIGINAL PULLED OXTAIL MEAT
Texas Iberico LLC – Texas Iberico Oak-Smoked Uncured Bacon

Non-Alcoholic Beverages

Berryfield Bottling – Joe's NY Style Lemonade
EUROK, Inc. – Mischief Brew, Piña Picante
RMBR Beverage – RMBR Kombucha

Nuts, Seeds, Trail Mix, & Dried Fruits

Ackerley Balicike LLC – Evie's Texas Pecans Banana Bread
Atalanta Corp. – Casa Flores Rosemary & Sea Salt Marcona Almonds
FoodMatch, Inc. – Chili Popnuts Crunchy Corn Coated Peanuts - Chili Flavor

Oils & Vinegars

Bono USA Inc – "BONO" Family Estate Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Manfredi Barbera & Figli S.p.A. – KALAT Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Acetum – Mazzetti - The Artistry Edition

Pickles, Olives, & Fermented Foods

Mama Lil's Peppers – Mama Lil's Kick Butt Peppers in Oil
Musco Food Corp. – Vantia Grilled Italian Cipollini Onions
Pacific Pickle Works Inc – Kimchi Meets Pickle

Plant-Based Alternatives

Clementine's Ice Cream Co. – Peanut Butter Cup Frozen Dessert
Clementine's Ice Cream Co. – Clementine's Vegan Raspberry Push Pop
UMYUM Food Inc. – Za'atar & Spices Plantbased Cashew Cheese

Salsas & Dips

AAJI'S – Aaji's Original Tomato Lonsa
Bitchin Sauce LLC – Bitchin' Sauce Cilantro Chili
Nuovo Pasta Productions, Ltd. – Lemon Basil Pistachio Dip & Spread

Sauces

Buddha Baby LLC – Banyan Thai Panang Thai Curry Sauce
Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods, Inc. – Hot Peach & Honey Sauce
Wozz! Kitchen Creations – Middle Eastern Shawarma Sauce

Savory Snacks

Milton's Craft Bakers – Milton's Meat Lover's Trio Pizza Snack Bites
Beefy's Own – Beefy's Own Sea Salt Beef Tallow Potato Chips
Oh So Healthy Corporation – OSH! Kimchi Crisps Cabbage & Natural Spices

Seafood

A Priori Specialty Food & Distribution – Gueyu Mar Chargrilled Sardines Loins
Calvisius Caviar – Calvisius Essentia caviar
Seabear Smokehouse – Wild Alaskan Smoked Weathervane Sea Scallops

Seasonings & Sweeteners

Madison Park Foods – CRIMBERA - Fused Haiku Blend - By Madison Park Foods
Pom Pom Popcorn by Bessou – Bessou Furikake - Umami Sprinkle Seasoning
Airborne Honey USA LLC – Airborne Pure New Zealand Clover Honey

Spreads

Janet's Finest Compotes – Janet's Finest Compotes Peach Berry Jalapeno Compote
RedCamper – Absinthe Orange Deliciousness
Umikah – UMIKAH LIME YUZU CURD

Sweet Snacks

Southern Caramel – Coffee Caramel
Norwegian Baked – KnekkeGodis Sweet Treat Crispbread
You're a Cookie LLC – Oatmeal Blueberry Take and Bake Cookie Dough

Outstanding Packaging Design Finalists

LADY BABKA – Lady Babka Cinnamon Mini Babka
Angel Oak Smokehouse – Angel Oak Hot Smoked Salmon
Knox & Dobson – Knox & Dobson Moscow Mule

"The sofi Awards set the tone for what we expect to see when it comes to innovative ideas in food and beverage, and Winter FancyFaire* acts as a guidepost for what's trending in the year ahead," said Leana Salamah, SVP of Marketing and Communications at SFA. "Every finalist received top scores from our team of experienced buyers, who have invaluable insight into what's hot in specialty food today and what will be popular in 2026. Congratulations to all of our finalists, and we look forward to revealing all of the winners onsite at the show in January."

sofi Award winners will be unveiled at Winter FancyFaire* to a live audience of buyers, investors, press, manufacturers, and more on January 12 from 4-6 p.m. following SFA's highly anticipated "Trend of the Year" announcement on January 10. Five Grand Honors winners will be announced alongside 25 Gold Awards that will be presented as the top-scoring product in each category. Finalist products will also be available for select attendees to sample at the First Taste Table onsite.

As with all SFA trade shows, Winter FancyFaire* will be open only to qualified members of the specialty food trade, industry affiliates, and media. To learn more about the event, book exhibit space, or register to attend, please visit www.winterfancyfaire.com.

About Specialty Food Association

The Specialty Food Association (SFA) was founded in 1952 and is the not-for-profit trade association of the $219-billion specialty food industry. Representing more than 4,000 businesses worldwide, SFA champions industry participation and success for a diverse community of makers, buyers, importers, distributors, and service providers by producing events, programs, and year-round resources and education. SFA owns and operates the Summer Fancy Food Show, Winter FancyFaire*, and the sofi™ Awards, which have honored excellence in specialty food and beverage annually since 1972. SFA also produces the e-newsletter Specialty Food SmartBrief, the Trendspotter Panel annual predictions, and Show reports. Find out more at Specialtyfood.com, and connect with SFA on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X.