The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show is opening applications for the 2024 Food and Beverage (FABI) Awards.
“This renowned award program recognizes and celebrates forward-thinking and creative products that are shaping the future of food and beverage within restaurants and for consumers,” the association said. “FABI Awardees will be prominently featured at the 2024 National Restaurant Association Show, taking place from May 18-21, 2024, at McCormick Place in Chicago.
The deadline for FABI Award submissions is Jan. 10, 2024.
“The FABI Awards program truly represents the heart of culinary innovation within the food and beverage industry,” said Tom Cindric, president of Winsight Exhibitions, Chicago.
In addition to the FABI Awards, a select group also will earn the esteemed title of FABI Favorites. “These exceptional products are carefully chosen by our expert panel of judges as the most groundbreaking and influential of the year,” the association said. “Introduced at the 2023 Show, this new designation offers special recognition to food and beverage products that excel within an already extraordinary lineup, exemplifying creativity, ingenuity, and the ability to expand menu options industrywide.”
“The FABI Award is incredibly important because it provides credibility in an environment where there's a lot of innovation,” said Scott Tassani, president and chief operating officer of Meati Foods and a 2023 FABI Favorite recipient. “It helps operators understand which products are really breaking through and standing out.”
All FABI awardees receive industrywide exposure before, during and after the show. Additional exposure includes:
- Recognition in a wire-distributed press release announcement to national and trade media
- Promotion to event attendees through the show’s website, marketing emails and social channels
- Feature on The Show To Go, the show’s digital marketplace, connecting operators directly with suppliers to explore each product
- Comprehensive coverage via show public relations efforts, encompassing pre-show pitches, daily show media alerts, on-site press events and priority placement in on-site media opportunities with broadcast media
- Opportunity to participate in a FABI tasting session at the Connections space in The Culinary Experience. Tastings are promoted to attendees in the online planner and mobile app
Each FABI Award submission will be evaluated by an independent panel of judges from across the foodservice industry who represent some of the most well-known brands and organizations.
“Recipients are selected for their exciting new tastes, uniqueness in the market, appeal to the operator community, creative approach to operator challenges, or introduction of new opportunities and profit potential,” the association said. “All FABI award applicants must be willing and able to ship product samples to each judge in early February 2024.
The 2024 FABI Award judges are:
- Zia Ahmed, senior director, The Ohio State University
- Katie Belflower, editor, Technomic
- Pat Cobe, senior editor, Restaurant Business and Foodservice Director
- Becky Davis, director of culinary Innovation, The Wendy’s Co.
- Marion Gibson, culinary development director, Aramark
- Farley Kaiser, senior director of culinary innovation, McLane Fresh
- Ana Maria Rodriguez, chief food innovation and quality officer, Pizza Hut International
- Robin Rosenberg, vice president, chef de cuisine, Levy Restaurants
- Bret Thorn, senior food and beverage editor, Informa Food & Restaurant Group
“The FABI Awards are the pinnacle of recognition in the food industry,” Rodriguez said. “Winning a FABI Award means that experienced judges from across the food industry have all agreed that your product is truly 'the best of the best.’ We welcome all companies, from startups to industry giants, to participate because culinary creativity knows no boundaries.”
Awardees will be officially announced in March 2024. To qualify, all FABI submissions must have been introduced within 24 months prior to the 2024 Show. Application information for the 2024 FABI Awards, including the fee to apply, is available online.
For more information and to register, click here.
The National Restaurant Association Show, Hotel-Motel Show is owned and operated by Winsight LLC, which also owns CSP, in partnership with the National Restaurant Association.
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