If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know how much I love to attend trade shows such the Sweets & Snacks Expo and the National Restaurant Association Show. After my recent review of the former, published here, now it’s time to focus on the latter, and to fondly remember the packed days I spent at McCormick Place learning about the latest trends and the most exciting news in the restaurant industry. The National Restaurant Association Show is definitely the best event to attend, from this perspective! You are welcome to check out my reviews of previous editions here, here, here, here and here.
The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show brought together over 53,000 foodservice professionals across 710,000 square feet of exhibit space. This year’s Show featured:
- Over 2,300 exhibiting companies
- 800+ first-time exhibitors
- Representation from 110 countries around the globe
- 900+ product categories, covering everything from kitchen equipment and tech to trending food and beverage
- 940+ exporting companies
- 600+ international exhibitors from 44 countries, offering a global perspective on innovation and sourcing
Food demo with Chef Rick Bayless at the 2025 National Restaurant Association Show
As usual, the media was invited to attend a breakfast the first morning of the event to hear from a panel of experts. While emphasizing the challenging overall environment, with low consumer confidence and low foot traffic, and the need to monitor constant price changes and to increase efficiency, the speakers also pointed to the silver linings, such as a sustained shift to local ingredients, an increase in wellness-oriented offerings, and exciting potential for customization particularly in the field of beverages, likely to drive up revenue.
The speakers also emphasized the off-premise growth generated by drive-throughs, pick-up orders, and catering, and the need to find a balance between dine-in and takeout. AI was a focal point of the presentations, within the broader context of data application and expansion and of making the world of technology effective, consumer-friendly, and approachable. How to become profitable by implementing small changes and how to capitalize on specials, and last but not least, how to maintain an efficient but also happy restaurant personnel? – all these topics were discussed, in preparation for the official opening of the Show.
- Trends
The following trends were featured prominently at this year’s edition:
1) Health-Focused Functionality
Products on the Show floor epitomizing this trend were Les Vergers Boiron Frozen Kumquat Purée…
…Poshi Marinated Quartered Artichoke Packs…
… and MyForest Foods MyBacon:
2) Experiential Food & Beverage
Products in this category: Epicurian Butter A1 Steakhouse Butter…
…and Kültee Kaviar:
3) Convenience & Customization
Products highlighted here were Seoulfully! Sauce Smoky Sauce…
… and Crafted Cocktails Brown Sugar Simple Syrup:
4) Cost-Effective Ingredients & Local Sourcing
Examples of products in this category: Roland Sofrito with Aji Amarillo…
… and The Ambriola Company Locatelli Crema Cacio E Pepe:
- Fresh discoveries
One of the best features of the National Restaurant Association Show is the ability to walk the vast exhibit floors to make new friends and to reconnect with companies you like – and to try lots of delicious samples first-hand, of course 🙂 There were plenty of personal highlights for me at this year’s Show, businesses I had met before or I came across here, for the very first time. I was excited to learn about Bindi North America and some of the exquisite brands in their portfolio, such as Sammontana, Tre Marie, Forno d’Asolo, and Gelpat.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the Tidewater Grain Co. team and learning the story of their passion for heirloom rice cultivation in North Carolina.
I also had the amazing opportunity to satisfy my sweet tooth with a variety of excellent artisan chocolates made by Mae Fine Foods. Delicious products and a personal story that resonated with me deeply:
As a big fan of mochi, I was eager to stop by the Mochi Foods booth to experience their mochi-based mixes – mochi donuts, waffles, pancakes, corn dogs, and more!
A renewable, zero-input superfood sea vegetable that fights climate change while purifying the ocean, kelp has rapidly emerged as one of the hottest food trends nationwide, and is known as one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. Trying out North Coast Seafoods’ FABI award-winning kelp “meat”balls made with USA-grown kelp was an amazing moment! These “meat”balls are free from gluten, dairy, food dyes and coloring, and are made with kelp harvested by farmers in the clean, cold waters of New England.
The flavor was wholesome and fresh, and the texture was soft and melt-in-your-mouth satisfying. A must-try!
Another exciting moment was stopping by the Kültee Kaviar booth to experience their fun, whimsical, and oh-so delish premium popping boba. These had been mentioned at the media breakfast as having the potential to revolutionize the beverage customization landscape (“the battleground for innovation,” according to one of the panelists) Kültee Kaviar balls are packed with natural flavor, feature an ultra-thin skin (no gumminess!), and are made locally in Plymouth, Indiana. With both sweet and savory profiles available – and custom flavors made to match brand or seasonal campaigns – Kültee Kaviar balls unlock a world of application possibilities across beverages, plated desserts, tasting menus, and even upscale savory dishes.
The delicious creative opportunities are truly endless!
In terms of visionary technology, I had a great time seeing AUTEC’s sushi robots in action. The company celebrated 25 years of innovation by unveiling two exclusive, limited-edition sushi robots and a groundbreaking partnership with world-renowned sushi master Chef Takashi Saito.
I was also excited to attend a demo of Eddie, The Edible Ink Printer. Made by Primera Technology Inc., Eddie turns desserts into personalized works of art by printing vibrant images directly onto cookies, macarons, fondant, white chocolate, and more. It prints up to 350 cookies per hour and meets full commercial-grade standards.
Gorgeous designs!
Last but not least, it was great to reconnect with the Richtech Robotics Inc. team, a Nevada-based provider of AI-driven service robots, who recently expanded the capabilities of their AI-powered barista robot, ADAM, with a new artisanal espresso system. The latter features equipment commonly found in cafés worldwide, including a precision grinder, distribution and tamping equipment, and a hand-pressed espresso machine. According to the company, ADAM uses NVIDIA-powered AI vision to “observe the water pressure during extraction and to make precise adjustments to optimize each shot.”
So impressive!
- Local favorites
I couldn’t let the Show pass without checking on a few of my local favorites, such as Vosges Haut-Chocolat (phenomenal truffles and reishi & walnut bars!)…
… Heray Spice (whose superb saffron I covered extensively here, here, here, here and here)…
…and my all-time go-to dessert place: Eli’s Cheesecake.
I was also delighted to meet a local favorite cheese business: Tulip Tree Creamery. I had used their products in my Instagram posts on many occasions, but I had never met the team before. What a great opportunity to learn more about the company and its exquisite cheese offerings!
A few more cheese samples…
…along the way…
…as well as some granola…
… and a smooth and silky oat milk latte…
…paired with a Tajin-covered buttery cookie (so yummilicious!)…
…and my coverage of the Show was complete – or almost complete! Time for a final sample, a very exciting, tasty, portable soft serve:
As always, my experience of the National Restaurant Association Show was packed with everything I had hoped for, and more: I had a great time (re)connecting, learning, tasting, and listening to compelling, inspiring stories. While the Show provided opportunities to reflect on some unsettling industry trends, it also offered many rays of hope with its showcasing of exciting innovations, as propellers of future growth. I look forward to attending next year. Will AI remain a hotly debated topic? We’ll have to wait and see 🙂
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