MONTEREY, CA — From the poignant messages of the engaging keynote speakers to the abundant networking opportunities to the quality of exhibitors and buyers on the sold-out expo floor, the 2019 PMA Foodservice Conference & Expo proved to be a keystone event of the summer for the produce industry.
The 38th annual conference and expo, held here July 24-27, drew around 1,900 attendees, including approximately 600 buyers, with a sold-out expo floor that featured 201 booths.
Representing the Idaho Potato Commission at the PMA Foodservice Expo were Alan Kahn, Armand Lobato, Jamie Bowen, Stanley Trout and Matt Brigotti.
For an event that is praised by the industry year after year, it can be a challenge to meet the high expectations and maintain its relevance. But PMA President Cathy Burns said the conference committee is consistently focused on that and again delivered this year.
“The bocce tournament on Wednesday set the tone, and the golf tournament and 5k were a big success as well,” said Burns. “Also, the change in the schedule helped this year, holding the expo on Saturday instead of Sunday, and the keynote speakers, Ted Allen and Dan Buettner, were excellent, as were the a la carte sessions that allowed people to pick and choose what they wanted to see. All of that is really due to the guidance and leadership of the conference committee, led by co-chairs Jill Overdorf and Nichole Towell.”
Burns added that moving the opening reception off site to the Barns at Cooper Molera resulted in the best attended opening reception ever for a foodservice conference. And she said the Women’s Fresh Perspectives reception held by the PMA Center for Growing Talent atop the Monterey Marriott was a huge success and continues to be a cornerstone event at PMA Foodservice.
Regarding the trade show, Burns said there was palpable energy and spirit on the floor.
“The full supply chain was represented, which is outstanding,” she said. “The thing that stood out most to me was the ratio of exhibitors to buyers — approximately 3:1. This really speaks to the interest of foodservice buyers in the fresh produce segment. Also noteworthy is that we had 30 first-time exhibitors this year, which speaks to the level of interest in growing this part of the industry. What also struck me was the multi-generational impact this year, with companies hiring more millenials and seeing them come into their own.
“To me, it’s not as much the number of people that attend but it’s having the right people attend,” she added. “We had a nice mix of industry stalwarts and brand new companies.”
PMA recognized several exhibitors for their excellence. Driscoll’s won Best of Show, Coastline Family Farms was the second place winner for Best of Show and Good Farms won Best Product Promo. Duda Farm Fresh Foods won the PMA Produce Plate Award presented by Ted Allen as well as the People’s Choice Award at PMA’s 2019 Strolling Lunch Competition at Foodservice. The winning dish was prepared by Chef Todd Fisher.
The central tenet all participants had in common was a desire to bring more fresh, flavorful produce to plates and to provide a hungry public with quality produce products and new and innovative flavors, according to PMA. Among the notable trends at this year’s conference and expo were:
- Attendance from foodservice distributors was among the highest in recent years. U.S Foods, Sysco, Produce Alliance, PRO*ACT LLC, and Coastal Sunbelt Produce were well represented. Buyers also included Top Golf, Studio Movie Grill and Disneyland; cruise lines Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Carnival; Hilton Hotels and Marriott; and LSG Sky Chefs.
- Operator participation at PMA Foodservice continues to rise, including procurement personnel, culinarians and menu developers. Commodity boards like the California Avocado Commission, the National Mango Board, and the National Watermelon Promotion Board, and influencers in health and culture like American Heart Association, Culinary Institute of America, and Produce for Better Health also attended.
- Several operators recently recognized as plant-forward innovators attended, including Blaze Pizza, Panera, Sweetgreen, Veggie Grill, Zoës Kitchen/CAVA Brands.
