May 16–19, 2026
McCormick Place
Chicago, IL
FABI Awards Application
All interested exhibitors are invited to apply by Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025.
Office Hours
Do you have questions about participating in FABI or the application process? Click here to book a 15-minute appointment with the Show team to learn more.
The FABI Awards recognizes food and beverage products that are breaking new ground in taste, creativity, and profit potential. These awards are judged by an independent, expert-led panel of judges from across the foodservice industry.
In addition to FABI Awardees, a select group of recipients are designated by the judges as FABI Favorites. These exceptional products exemplify a game-changing influence on the industry and address a variety of today’s pressing challenges to foodservice operators.
The deadline to apply is Wednesday, January 29th, 2025.
Submission Guidelines
FABI Promotions
FABI awardees benefit from significant promotions in advance of the Show, and onsite attention. The press release announcement is sent in March, followed by promotions to Show attendees in email and social media. Onsite, FABI gets a mention at the Show’s press briefing and media tours. Click here for more details on press attention in 2024.
Learn more about the wide range of products awarded in 2024.
Application Process
Note: Products must be new from within 24 months of, and available for sale at the 2025 National Restaurant Show to qualify.
Applicants are asked to address the following in detail:
- Click here to view the full list of application questions and advice directly from the judges on how to specifically address them.
- In addition to written answers, the following resources are required:
- Operator references to verify information and benefits.
- Nutritional information.
- Marketing materials including company logo and high resolution product images.
- If the judges elect to move the application into the sampling round, applicants are required to ship individual samples to each judge in February 2025. You will be contacted with addresses and additional instructions at that time.
- We highly recommend answering the application questions in a word doc so you can easily copy and paste your answers into the application page once ready to submit. Find a list of the application questions in a word doc here.
All applicants must be willing and able to ship samples to each judge in early February 2025.
The deadline to apply has been extended to Wednesday, January 29th, 2025.
FABI Application Guide
For a step by step guide on how best to complete your application, click here
- View the full list of application questions.
- Review question specific advice from the panel of judges on what makes a successful submission.
- “Before you Begin” highlights a few significant preparations to make before starting your application, ensuring all resources are in hand when you are ready to submit.
Participation Fees
The FABI Award participation fee is $1,250, which includes the benefits listed below. A non-refundable application fee of $300 FABI participation is due with each application.
If the application is awarded for FABI, $1,250 will be due for applications selected by the expert panel of judges. The application fee plus award participation fee equals $1,550 as the total award cost.
The following benefits are included with the FABI participation fee:
- Inclusion in press release announcement with significant media coverage leading up to, and during the Show.
- Promotion to Show attendees through our website, emails, social media, and online planner/mobile app.
- Participating attendee list scans from onsite tastings, to include email address.
- Opportunity to participate in FABI tastings, marketed to Show attendees in the online planner.
- Use of the 2025 FABI Award logo with promotions for the life of the product.
Click here to view the FABI Rules & Regulations.
Contact your Sales Representative or email RestaurantShowSales@informa.com with any questions.
Food & Beverage Excellence Starts Here!
Amplify your product to operators, suppliers and esteemed chefs and carve a future brimming with success. Submit your application to be recognized in the FABI Awards and take advantage of dedicated marketing promotion and PR opportunities at the National Restaurant Show taking place in Chicago, May 17-20, 2025.
Considering applying?
Hear from FABI judge Becky Davis on what makes a stand out application!
FABI Award Judges
Each year, judges from across the foodservice industry choose the most exciting and flavorful new food and beverage products to become a part of the next class of FABI Awardees.
