Summer Fancy Food Show
Clark + Hopkins Wins Fourth Sophie Gold Award for DC-Style Hot Sauce
Thirteen Virginia businesses exhibited at the 2024 Summer Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center in New York City, showcasing locally made specialty products alongside more than 2,000 exhibitors from 56 countries. Artisan hot sauce maker Clark & Hopkins won its fourth Sofi Gold Award for District Sauce. (Photo by Megan Thomas on Unsplash)
RICHMOND, Va. — Thirteen Virginia businesses exhibited at the 2024 Summer Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center in New York City, showcasing locally made specialty products alongside more than 2,000 exhibitors from 56 countries. Artisan hot sauce maker Clark & Hopkins received its fourth Sofi Gold Award, this time for District Sauce.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) supported local businesses by hosting a Virginia Pavilion within the trade show to showcase Virginia’s finest companies exhibiting at the Summer Fancy Food Show. VDACS also coordinated networking opportunities with national and international industry buyers and distributors.
“It’s always exciting to see Virginia’s finest products on display alongside a variety of specialty products from the U.S. and around the world. The Summer Fancy Food Show is an opportunity to highlight what Virginia has to offer and connect talented business owners with important buyers representing grocers, restaurants, markets and gift shops,” said VDACS Commissioner Joseph Guthrie. “Clark + Hopkins is a particularly impressive success story, and we congratulate them on their fourth SoFi Gold Award win, proving they are the best at creating unique, delicious hot sauces.”
For more than 50 years, the Specialty Foods Association has honored the industry’s best through the prestigious sofi Awards, presented at the Summer Fancy Food Show. This year, Clark + Hopkins, a Leesburg-based maker of artisanal hot sauces and Bloody Mary mixes, won the 2024 sofi Awards Gold Award in the Hot Sauce category. The winning sauce, “District Sauce,” features a unique fusion of hot honey and fragrant berbere spice, created as a tribute to Washington, DC’s Ethiopian community. This is Clark + Hopkins’ fourth sofi Award, having previously won in 2023 for its Ethiopian Pepper Sauce, 2020 for its Lao Pepper Sauce and 2019 for its Assam Pepper Sauce.
“The Summer Fancy Food Show is the food show of North America. Everybody in the food industry comes to the show, and 20 percent of our sales come from the connections we make at the show,” says Brandon Clark, founder of Clark + Hopkins. “Nowhere else in Virginia do we have this kind of support at the Summer Fancy Food Show pavilion, and we have the most supportive cheerleaders in the VDACS team. When we act as a foodie community, the rest of the state acts up, too.”
The Summer Fancy Food Show also provided an opportunity to showcase Virginia’s new collaboration, featuring Belmont Peanuts and Jody’s Popcorn flavors fused with Clark + Hopkins.
Below is a list of Virginia companies exhibiting at this year’s fair.
AR’s Hot Southern Honey, Richmond, Virginia;
https://hotsouthernhoney.com/
Belmont Peanuts of Southampton, Capron, Virginia
Belmont Peanuts
Berry Frozen Yogurt LLC, Chantilly, Virginia.
home page
Birdie’s Pimento Cheese, South Hill, Virginia;
https://www.birdiespimentocheese.com/
Blue Crab Bay Company, Melpha, Virginia.
Source
Clark & Hopkins, Middletown, Virginia.
Click here for details
The Crispary, Portsmouth, Virginia.
Amazingly good food, Falls Church, VA.
translation:
Firehook Bakery, Chantilly, Virginia
Fire Hook
Forbes Candies, Virginia Beach, VA.
https://www.forbescandies.com/
The Perfect Pita, Inc., Springfield, Virginia
Source
Aunt Kathe, Chester, Va.;
https://tante-kathe.com/
The Virginia Diner Company, Wakefield, Virginia
home page
Many of these companies participate in VDACS’ Virginia’s Finest trademark program, which identifies, differentiates and promotes the highest quality specialty food and beverage products produced and processed in Virginia.
–Michael Wallace, VDACS
