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‘Going through sales, you learn how to navigate yourself. You eventually get to the point where every day coming in and doing the regular thing isn’t enough.’ — Michael Armata, E. Armata
Co-sponsored by the Eastern Produce Council, the event never ceases to amaze council secretary Mike Maxwell, president of Philadelphia’s Procacci Bros. “This show is non-stop of retailers and wholesalers,” he says. “Every year sets a new atten- dance record. There’s a lot of excitement in Manhattan. The excitement on the street spilled into the expo hall.”
Buyers packed the trade show aisles, which over owed with people visiting exhibitors. “This show has a lot more retail presence than we have seen in the past,” says Krysten DeGiglio, regional sales manager with Village Farms. “It seems a little more crowded than in years prior.”
Retailers from New England to Florida walked the show oor and visited with exhibitors. “This is a good show. There’s always something new to nd here,” says Don Drust, owner of Drust Markets, part of ShopRite of Wallingford, in Wallingford, CT. Drust brings younger employees so they can see the innovations displayed by the sellers. “We like to look for new trends and let these young managers explore,” he says. “They learn a lot and like to take photos. This show is also a good chance to see old friends.”
While Simone Wojtaszek, business development representative at Frieda’s in Los Alamitos, CA, has only been in the industry for a couple of months, the show made a big impression on her. “Every company has a different personality,” she says. “You can tell the industry is all one big family. Everyone’s hugging and happy to see each other. That makes it so unique.”
The show experienced strong regional support, with states including Florida bringing many suppliers. New York’s agri- culture department upgraded its expo pres- ence by hosting a half-dozen exhibitors. “This show has good traf c. It seems busier continuously,” says Deb May, trade develop- ment administrator with the Florida Depart- ment of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The Idaho Potato Commission has exhibited since the rst show. “This is among the best regional shows we attend. It’s something we will always attend,” says Seth Pemsler, vice president of retail merchandising and international. “There
are many regional shows, but this is a must to attend.” Pemsler lauded the Eastern Produce Council. “The council has been a huge success. It’s getting bigger and better. Everyone you need to see is here.”
Wholesalers see great value in the show. “We can tell this is a good show because we see it growing every year,” says Stefanie Katzman, executive manager with New York’s S. Katzman Produce, another original show exhibitor. “We like the fact that there are different types of buyers and customers here, including retailers of many types, whole- salers, caterers, restaurants and institutions.”
PRE-SHOW AND POST-SHOW EDUCATION AND NETWORKING
At the Dec. 10 Foundational Excellence program, Cornell University’s Future-Lead- ers-In-Produce Program helped broaden the outlooks of new industry members with less than ve years’ experience. During the sessions, participants learned about the multitude of challenges facing the industry, including online retail competition. At the daylong session, the Eastern Produce Council honored its rst leadership class of individ- uals possessing 10 years produce experience or less. “It’s a good day and we have a good group here,” says Susan McAleavey Sarlund, the council’s executive director.
At the Dec. 11 Global Trade Sympo- sium, produce trading members from around the world discussed the global chal- lenges of importing and exporting.
During the Dec. 11 opening cocktail reception, buyers, sellers, distributors, brokers and others interacted and renewed acquaintances and met new business friends. The event has become the largest produce networking event in the Eastern United States.
Large national retail and foodservice distributors, including U.S. Foods, Sysco and New York’s Baldor Foods, attended the expo and participated in the Dec. 13 Ideation Fresh Foodservice Forum. Sysco brought 45 operators to the show. “No other event in the U.S. (the foodser- vice forum) is beginning to capture this important market, the foodservice industry,” says Jim Prevor, founder and president of Produce Business.
At the forum, speakers and panelists from fast-food to fast-casual and institutions addressed the foodservice industry’s future. Panelists discussed how the industry can approach the age groups that buy produce: the Baby Boomers, Millennials and Gen X. Trend experts highlighted ways chefs are making produce a bigger player. Ideation Fresh also included a challenge in which participants were divided into groups to solve real-life produce-related problems the foodservice industry often faces.
“The Ideation Fresh seminar gives students the rare opportunity to experience an industry conference and to hear from foodservice industry chefs and managers regarding what it takes to be successful in the industry as well as current and future trends that will impact their careers,” says Douglas Stuchel, associate professor at the College of Hospitality Management at Johnson & Wales University. At Ideation Fresh, Stuchel’s students were responsible for leading each round-table discussion where industry profes- sionals brainstormed ways to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables in an industry-speci c segment case study.
Industry tours took participants to a variety of sites to see the region’s unique retailing environment. Participants rode buses to supermarkets and stores in Manhattan, Brooklyn, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Tours also took people to the Hunts Point Terminal Market in the Bronx, the world’s largest produce-only market, and to Philadelphia’s Wholesale Produce Market, the most modern U.S. terminal produce market. As part of the Dec. 13 tours, visitors saw urban agricultural opera- tions showing produce growing on rooftop and aeroponic operations.
PRODUCE BUSINESS / JANUARY 2019 NYPS3