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Specialty foods


Specialty foods are foods that are typically considered as "unique and high-value food items made in small quantities from high-quality ingredients". Consumers typically pay higher prices for specialty foods, and may perceive them as having various benefits compared to non-specialty foods. Compared to staple foods, specialty foods may have higher prices due to more expensive ingredients and labor. Some food stores specialize in or predominantly purvey specialty foods. Several organizations exist that promote specialty foods and its purveyors.

The term "specialty foods" does not have a standard definition. Food processors, regulators and consumers may be confused by the term due to its potential ambiguity.

Foods that have been described as specialty foods include:

Bean-to-bar chocolate, used here to prepare hot chocolate

Foie gras being sliced

Mostarda di Cremona

Stinky tofu

A black Périgord truffle

Some specialty foods may be ethnic specialties.

Foods that have been described as specialty foods as per not precisely corresponding into other food categories include:

Frozen bee pollen, a human food supplement

Kimchi

Various olives

In China, specialty foods have been described as having "important roles in the food culture..." Some Chinese recipes may be footnoted with a statement that ingredients may only be available in specialty food stores and Chinese markets.

In the United States, specialty foods and their purveyors are regulated by both federal and state agencies.

The Specialty Food Association's annual "State of the Specialty Food Industry 2014" report stated that in 2013 in the U.S., specialty foods and beverages sales totaled $88.3 billion, accounted for an increase of 18.4% since 2011, and was a record high for the fourth consecutive year. The report also stated that around 80% of specialty food sales occur at the retail level, and that seven out of ten specialty food retailers reported that the word "local" had the most importance as a product claim.

As of March 2015 in the United States, the number of bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturers (companies that process cocoa beans into a product in-house, rather than melting chocolate from another manufacturer) had increased to at least 60. The Fine Chocolate Industry Association stated that this represented "a tenfold increase in the past decade that's outpacing growth in Europe".


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