Summer Fancy Food Show 2027: how a food exporter should prepare

When and where

The Summer Fancy Food Show 2027 runs from 25 to 27 July 2027 in New York. Note the month: the 2026 show was in June, at the Javits Center, and the 2027 one is in late July. When this page was written in October 2026, the organiser, the Specialty Food Association, had not yet named the 2027 venue on its site. Check specialtyfood.com before you book.

Who you meet there

The organiser lists manufacturers, early-stage makers, retail buyers, restaurateurs, distributors, investors, brokers and press among the people who attend. Its show page gives more than 9,000 buyer attendees, more than 2,500 exhibiting companies and 57 countries, without saying which year those figures describe.

For an exporter, the useful people are the importers and distributors who bring speciality food into the United States, and the retail buyers who decide what goes on the shelf. The organiser lists brokers among the attendees too; ask the retailers you meet whether they buy through one.

The winter show

The Specialty Food Association’s January show, which used to be the Winter Fancy Food Show, is now called Winter FancyFaire. Our Winter FancyFaire 2027 guide covers it. If you cannot do both, the summer show in New York is the larger of the two by the organiser’s own figures.

Six to eight weeks before

Pick twenty companies, by name. Importers, distributors and brokers who carry products like yours, and the retailers you would most like to reach. One line on why each one fits.

Write to them before you fly. Say you will be in New York, why you think there is a fit, and ask for fifteen minutes at their stand or a coffee nearby. The ones who answer are your best meetings.

Prepare what an American buyer asks for. Spec sheets, certificates, shelf life, minimum order, how you ship to the United States, and who your importer of record would be.

Check your email arrives. A note in a spam folder looks exactly like a note that was ignored. Our guide on why buyer emails go to spam covers the three records to check.

During and after

Write on the back of every card that evening: what they asked, what you promised, and one detail that will remind them who you are. Keep the price for a written follow-up. Then send what you promised in the first few days, and one or two more notes over the following weeks, each with something new to say. Our trade show follow-up guide has the plan and three short notes you can adapt.

The short version

The Summer Fancy Food Show 2027 is 25 to 27 July in New York, later than usual. Pick twenty importers, distributors, brokers and retailers, write to them first, prepare your US shipping answers, and follow up within the week.

Next: How to follow up with buyers after a food trade show