Specialty Food Association Announces 2026 sofi ™ Gold Award and Grand Honors Winners at Winter FancyFaire*

SAN DIEGO (Jan. 13, 2026) – The Specialty Food Association (SFA) announced the winners of the 2026 sofi™ Awards, celebrating the brands and products driving the specialty food and beverage industry forward. The awards were revealed live at Winter FancyFaire* during a ceremony hosted by celebrity Chef Joe Sasto that brought together makers, buyers, press, and industry leaders to honor the specialty food industry’s most outstanding products of the year. Spanning 25 Gold Award categories and five Grand Honors distinctions, the sofi Awards recognize products that stand out for innovation, exceptional taste, and high-quality ingredients — and signal what’s next for specialty food. Chosen through blind tastings by a panel of leading retail and foodservice buyers, this year’s winners rose to the top from a pool of more than 1,200 entries. The top-scoring products of the 2026 Awards showcase a wide range of trends driving market growth: bold flavors, thoughtful ingredient sourcing, standout packaging and more. From reimagining familiar categories to blazing a trail with entirely new product formats, the sofi Award winners demonstrate how the specialty food industry continues to lead with creativity and quality. “These outstanding products really capture where specialty food is headed,” said Mary Beth Vultee, SVP of Membership at SFA. “They reflect what buyers and consumers are actively seeking today while offering a look into tomorrow’s most compelling trends and features. It’s been wonderful to see these ideas come together during Winter FancyFaire*, the ideal event to celebrate the makers we’ll all be talking about in 2026 and beyond.”