Karla Lugo, creator of Garlish, won MADE Central Valley's Pressure Chamber pitch competition, and was awarded $10,000 that is going to be used to demo the product at more industry shows and events. Photo by Frank Lopez

Local food businesses — and hungry attendees — gathered for the second annual MADE Central California trade show in Fresno last week.

On Nov. 2-3, food producers, restaurateurs, cottage kitchen operators and more gathered at the Fresno Convention Center to showcase their products to the public, build connections with corporate buyers and more.

The MADE Central California event is borne from the Fresno Food Expo, which dissolved in 2020 after nine years of showcasing the Central Valley’s food scene.

The second day’s schedule kicked off with an industry breakfast, a business-to-business trade show where producers showcase their products to qualified buyers, and the Fresno First Bank Pressure Cooker Competition, a pitch competition where Made exhibitors competde for a $10,000 cash prize.

This year’ winner was Garlish, a gluten-, dairy- and nut-free, garlic-based spread that can be found in about 80 stores across California.

Garlish creator Karla Lugo recently opened Garlishious Deli, a Downtown Fresno sandwich shop focused on carrying the freshest ingredients, meats, and cheeses, and showcasing its signature product.

Coming off a successful grand opening for Garlishious Deli, Lugo said she is grateful to the City of Fresno and the Chamber of Commerce for making events like MADE Central California possible.

“Small businesses like us need opportunities like this to continue or growth. I want to thank everybody that believed in me and my customers,” Lugo said.

She said the $10,000 cash prize will be used to market her Garlish products by doing more demos at stores and events to show off their product to people.

Lugo said she wants Garlish to get into more stores, especially with national grocery chains such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

The runner-up winner was Saint Goods, founded in 2022 by sisters Suzy and Nancy Vang, who wanted to bring Asian-inspired food and flavors to the Central Valley, starting off with a Japanese cheesecake that is packaged in a can.

Saint Goods won the second-place crash prize of $1,000.

The sisters want to bring Asian flavors not normally seen in Western baking — including Thai tea, pandan coconut and ube — to American consumers.

“We saw there was a lack of trendy, Asian baked goods in the Central Valley. We decided since we love it we wanted to bring it here and extend it out into the community and share our Asian flavor in the food industry,” Suzy said.

Customers can find Saint Goods Japanese cheesecake in a can at local RN markets, Asia Supermarket, Wonders Ice Cream and community food events.

Suzy said the canned cakes are a premium product for people with “on-the-go” lifestyles who might want to enjoy cake, which is usually eaten during special events.

They sought juxtaposition with their gourmet food packaged in a can, which is usually associated with cheaper, processed foods.

Other competitors included Wootzano, an English fruit packaging robotics company expanding to the U.S., a hydrogen-infused designer water company LifeForce Water, and La Jacka, the first vegan Mexican food truck in Fresno selling jackfruit as a meat substitute.

Scott Miller, president of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, said he is grateful for the collaboration of local organizations to make events like MADE Central California possible.

“It’s really important for us at the Chamber to tell these stories, and I’m grateful we have these partners to make us be able to do that,” Miller said.

The expo ended with the public event, where guests can sample and buy the culinary creations of long established food companies, as well as from small businesses that are just starting out.