Brands embraced indulgence at this year’s Fancy Food Show as shoppers crave little treats
At the 2025 Summer Fancy Food Show earlier this month, there was a noticeable shift from the emphasis on healthy and better-for-you foods that have dominated recent trade shows.
While high-protein and low-carb snacks were still abundant, exhibitors also gave buyers a taste of unique flavors and decadent desserts. For example, GoodSam showcased its crispy dried fruit, such as chocolate-dipped mango. Meanwhile, Sal de Ibiza sampled its Mediterranean-inspired snacks such as potato chips made with hand-harvested sea salt from Ibiza. It’s a departure from the better-for-you variations on popular snacks seen in recent years and signals consumers’ appetite for comfort foods during uncertain times. According to an October 2024 report by Circana, indulgence is “here to stay,” as it balances out the rise of better-for-you snacks. Now, brands must find a balance in catering to health-conscious consumers while creating a pleasurable experience that many people expect when reaching for a snack.
Some of the exhibiting brands this year are trying to offer the best of both worlds. For example, Spring & Mulberry makes date-sweetened dark chocolate bars topped with fruits, florals and nuts. Another newcomer at the show was Byte’m, specializing in nostalgic desserts like crispy-edged brownies boasting “real ingredients” like AA-grade butter and chocolate chips.
Jeannie Houchins, a trendspotter for the Specialty Food Association, told Modern Retail that “there is quite a bit of research showing that, during downturns, consumers often turn to food for emotional comfort as a little luxury to help cope.”
While there are definite parallels to the early Covid-19 days, snacking now has evolved into something more intentional that Houchins refers to as “conscious indulgence.” As this year’s Summer Fancy Food Show showed, people are gravitating toward treats that either offer added health benefits or come in smaller, more mindful portions.
“When times get tough, we don’t just snack, we treat ourselves to tiny moments of feel-good escape,” Houchins said. At the Fancy Food Show, this came to life in wellness snacks like individual popcorn packs by Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn, in flavors like chili or dill pickle.
There are other trends pushing brands toward an increased emphasis on indulgence, like the rise of Dubai chocolate. In turn, brands showed up to the Fancy Food Show with products that showcased their own twist on the pistachio-and-knafeh-filled treat. Startup Just the Fun Part, which makes chocolate-filled waffle cone bottoms, introduced its Dubai Cones SKU at the show. Snack brand Eden’s Sweet Ideas, which exhibited at the Fancy Food Show for the first time, introduced its halva pistachio spread.
Nate Rosen, who runs the CPG newsletter Express Checkout, called what he saw at the Fancy Food Show this year “a pendulum swing away from the ‘have your cake and eat it too’ mentality of recent years.”
Rosen said this comes down to consumers saying that, if they’re going to indulge, they may as well have what they’re actually craving, as opposed to the healthy version. “It’s almost a form of mindful indulgence and saying, ‘I’ll eat less of it, but when I do, I want it to be worth it.’”
“The past few years flooded the market with sugar-free brownies, keto cookies and guilt-free everything,” Rosen said. “But people are tired of the compromise.” Products offering better macro nutrients can come with drawbacks like an aftertaste of artificial sweeteners or the strange texture of alternative flours. “They want the emotional satisfaction and the sensory experience of real dessert,” he said.
That’s not to say the emerging trend is in direct contrast to all better-for-you trends. For instance, many brands are applying clean label practices to indulgent snacks and desserts. Rosen pointed to brands like Byte’m brownie bites, “because they’re using ingredients your grandmother would recognize,” like butter, sugar, eggs and flour. It’s a return to basics after years of erythritol, monkfruit and additive protein sources.
Houchins said the indulgence trend also goes hand-in-hand with the continued interest in global flavor profiles injected in more convenient snacks. This is fueling the rising popularity of Asian-inspired treats like Thai coconut milk cold brew by Thai Coco and adzuki bean biscuits, which were on display at the show from various distributors. “Big, bold flavors from Thailand, Japan and Latin America are landing in everyday, easy formats,” Houchins said.
Despite the fact that the snacking world continues to optimize toward health, experts say there will always be room for a pick-me-up that doesn’t come with a health halo.
“It’s quality over quantity, real over reimagined,” Rosen said. “In uncertain times, people crave authenticity, especially in their treats.”