I have to admit, I go grocery shopping about three times a week to see what is new on store shelves because stock does change quickly at the major grocery stores. I always like to keep an eye on what is happening in the snack aisles to give you all a glimpse of what is in Canadian stores. Grocery & Specialty Food West is a two-day conference and tradeshow held annually in Vancouver. I attend and get the inside scope.

Top 10 in Grocery for 2018

Grocery & Specialty Foods West included a Top 10 in Grocery judging session that featured local food experts who anonymously evaluated a series of products from the New Product Showcase, based on criteria such as: practicality, packaging, innovation and more. I was lucky to judge last year but was unable to make it this year due to prior commitments, but this is what was chosen in no particular order.

Best Convenience: Blue Dragon 3 Step Meal Kits
Best Health/Wellness: Apple & Eve Vegan Protein Smoothie
Best Oil: Canada Golden-Pure Cold Pressed Camelina Oil
Best Non-Food: CasuGrill
Best Refrigerated: Egg Bakes Crustless Quiche (Burnbrae Farms)
Best Condiment/Spread/Sauce: Fatso Hybrid Peanut Butter
Best Frozen: Monteli Cauliflower Thin Crust Pizza
Best Beverage: Partake Pale Ale
Best HABA: Sugar & Spice-Pink Sugar Body Lotion
Best Sustainable: World Centric Certified Compostable Party Plates

Foodology’s Grocery Picks for 2018

Given that they are so many products out there, here are some of my favourite products that are on store shelves or will be in the near future.

1. Heinz Burger Sauce, Heinz Hot & Spicy Aioli, Heinz Garlic Aioli

Last year we saw Heinz team up with McDonalds to create the Big Mac, McChicken and Filet-O-Fish Sauce for a limited time only. Unknown if they will bring those back, but Heinz is rolling out a burger sauce, hot & spicy Aioli and a garlic aioli which are all very tasty and would go great for any Summer BBQ this year.

2. Oreo O’s

Post is finally bringing back Oreo O’s after 10 years being absent on store shelves in North America. Previously, you could only get this in South Korea.

3. Spam

Besides original spam, less salt and less fat options, there are 4 other flavours bring introduced at different stores – Teriyaki, Mala, Bacon and Garlic. The best place to get your hands on these is at T&T Supermarket.

4. Heinz BBQ Sauce

Step aside ketchup, there are 3 new BBQ sauces in town – Texas, Memphis and Carolina. All with their unique flavour profile, I can see it being very versatile this summer as well, plus the design of the upside down bottle is great to get every bit out of the container.

5. Almond and Walnut Fortified Soy Beverage by Vegemil

This Korean beverage is delicious with its flavours of soy, almond and walnuts. If you are a fan of banana milk or black bran soy milk, you’ll enjoy this. Most likely, you will find thos at Korean Supermarkets like H-Mart or Hannam.

6. Takis

Takis slowly rolled into Canada in June 2017. Checkout what I wrote about their Fuego, Xplosion and Crunchy Fajita flavours. For 2018, they are releasing their Angry Burger. It has a zesty taste, but not spicy at all.