The Specialty Food Association (SFA), the leading advocate for the $158.4 billion specialty food industry, today announced that the 46th annual Winter Fancy Food Show scheduled for January 17-19, 2021 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco has officially been cancelled. In addition to the current closure of the Moscone Center for scheduled events, this cancellation is being driven by the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing travel restrictions and general safety for all participants. 

Separately, after the success of Specialty Food LIVE!, SFA’s first virtual experience this past September, a second virtual event will be scheduled for January 19-22, 2021.  

“While we are disappointed that the Winter Fancy Food Show has been cancelled, we’re excited about our new series of virtual events, Specialty Food LIVE!  Our initial launch this past September generated significant positive feedback. With more than 11,0000 connections between buyers and makers, and buyer demand to extend the event by an extra day, we are confident that we can continue to build on that success and deliver more opportunities for our members to grow their business in January,” said Bill Lynch, interim president, Specialty Food Association.  

The second iteration of Specialty Food LIVE!, taking place in January 2021, will be an all-inclusive digital marketplace event, where members and buyers can conduct business and continue to put specialty food on store shelves, safely and economically. The January event will also include new educational programs, fun virtual networking events, and our new and very popular Virtual Product Tasting Experience. This unique element allows buyers to sample pre-delivered specialty food products while listening to makers describe them. The January edition will also include SFA’s Incubator Village and International Pavilions. There will be additional Specialty Food LIVE! events throughout 2021. 

More details about Specialty Food LIVE! January 2021 will be released in the coming weeks. Specialty Food LIVE! is a trade-only event for qualified food buyers, SFA product-qualified maker members, and the business service provider companies that support them. Visit specialtyfood.com to stay up to date on the latest.