The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) held its annual trade show June 7-9 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. More than 11,000 attendees gathered, exploring 1,019 exhibiting companies — a new record for IDDBA — including 195 first-time exhibitors.
“I am incredibly proud of the IDDBA team, our partners, and our volunteers for delivering a truly record-breaking show this year,” said Chris Schwass, Acting CEO.
“We also achieved our largest and most innovative show floor to date, spanning a sprawling quarter of a million square feet. This incredible achievement is a testament to the power of our community, and I want to thank everyone involved for making this an outstanding success.”
Key trends from the show floor
- Protein Power in the Perimeter: Meat sales are up 6.5 percent year-over-year, according to data presented by Roerink, leading all departments in dollar growth. Deli performance varied by subcategory — deli prepared is up 3.7 percent, deli cheese up 4.0 percent, and deli meat up just 0.3 percent. Dairy and bakery are both up 0.7 percent in dollars, though dairy is seeing explosive unit growth in cottage cheese (+12.9 percent) and yogurt (+4.9 percent).
- Grab-and-Go Meat Snacks: Almost every deli meat producer has expanded into grab-and-go meat snacks, often with exotic flavors. Freshhouse Foods promoted Charcuterie Bites in Truffle, Red Wine, and Classico varieties. Brooklyn Cured offered cocktail-inspired salamis including Dirty Martini, Mezcal & Lime and Bourbon & Sour Cherries.
- Quick Asian Food: Take-out sushi is seeing competition from other refrigerated and frozen Asian products, including bao buns, dumplings, and frozen Indian pizza.
- The “Mental Load of the Menu”: A shopper quote from the trends session – describing the daily grind of feeding a family as “the mental load of the menu” – became a strategic brief for prepared-foods exhibitors. Mama’s Creations showcased new protein formats and globally inspired menu solutions built to support execution across hot bar, grab-and-go, and center-of-plate.
- Packaging and Innovation: A recurring through-line across the show floor was protein, permissibility, and packaging that does more than hold food. Innovation in mature markets like dairy, deli and bakery arrives not through wholesale disruption but through hundreds of incremental improvements – refining packaging, improving merchandising, reducing labor requirements and finding new ways to meet evolving consumer expectations.
What independent grocers should do now
The trends from IDDBA 2026 point to several immediate opportunities for independent grocers:
- Expand grab-and-go meat and charcuterie offerings – The shift toward single-serve, portable protein snacks is not slowing down. Independent grocers can add a small selection of charcuterie bites, cocktail-style salamis, or premium meat snacks to deli cases or checkout coolers to capture on-the-go shoppers.
- Lean into permissible indulgence in bakery – Smaller-portion bakery items – donut holes, mini pastries, single-serve cookies – align with consumer demand for treats that feel less guilty. Merchandising these items in front-end displays or near checkout can drive impulse purchases.
- Address the “mental load of the menu” – Prepared foods that solve dinner decisions (serving-for-one formats alongside family-scale solutions) are resonating with shoppers. Independents can expand their grab-and-go prepared foods section with globally inspired meals that require minimal effort.
- Audit fresh perimeter departments – With meat and deli leading growth and dairy and bakery lagging, independents should evaluate their fresh department mix. Consider expanding deli-prepared offerings and testing cottage cheese-based products, which are seeing explosive growth.
Looking ahead to IDDBA 2027
IDDBA 2027 will be held June 6-8 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The show is expected to build on the momentum of 2026, with organizers already planning for another record-breaking event.