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.

SOURCE Specialty Food Association