Viva Fresh celebrates 10 years with sold-out expo
By
John Groh and Adam Campbell
Viva Fresh celebrates 10 years with sold-out expo
By
John Groh and Adam Campbell
HOUSTON — With a completely sold-out show floor that drew 2,760 attendees, including 438 buyers, the 10th annual Viva Fresh Expo was a rousing success and a testament to a decade of progress and purpose. Attendees were met with high-energy networking, vendor showcases, product tastings and the many acknowledgments of the growers, retailers and industry leaders whose vision and dedication have built the foundation of Viva Fresh over the past decade.
“This year is more than just a milestone — it’s a movement,” said Dante Galeazzi, president of The Texas International Produce Association. “We’ve seen this show grow from a regional event into a nationally respected platform for innovation, community and meaningful industry dialogue.”
Sophia Koorndyk, Giovanni Cavaletto and JC Cavaletto of GLC Cerritos.
Sam Richardson, Dennis Hay, David Reyes and Erendira Lara of Divine Flavor.
Mignon Marlow, Christopher Diaz, Larry Goens, Nancy Johnston, Julie Galyan and Zachary Wakefield of Wonderful.
Fraymil Rodriguez, Emil Serafino and Anthony Serafino of EXP Group.
Leigh Donath, Katherine Salinas and Silvana Descomps of Catania Worldwide.
At the Legacy Fresh booth were Steve Dishneau, Chris Franzoy and Tyler Franzoy.
Walking the Viva Fresh Expo floor from ProduceX were Shivam Sheel and Sukanya Romyanon.
David Barton, Tate Brooks and Joe Esta of Wada Farms.
Representing Eagle Eye Produce were Ryan Jacobsen, John Gee, Karen Guzman, Steve Yubeta and Joe Ange.
Chuck Yow and Sarah Quackenbush of North Bay Produce.
Bryan Roberts of Sunview Marketing International with Miranda Nonn of Schraad Sales & Marketing.
Brittnie Hammock and Nathan Wise of Sev-Rend.
Joseph Moavro, Johnny Neufeld and Rich Tiveron of Nature Fresh Farms.
Jen Doxey, Raul Acevedo, Noah Fox and Victoria Lopez of Fox Packaging.
Jack Jackson, Melissa Hartmann de Barros and Andrés Ocampo of HLB Specialties.
Dino Di Laudo, Lisa Sirizzotti, Nick Decarlo and Chris Veillon of Topline Farms.
Samuel Capin, Frank Camera and Jimmy Watson of Delta Fresh Sales.
Maria Compres and Albert Perez of Continental Fresh, Patrick Kelly of The Produce Industry Podcast, and Alejandro Guerrero, Bruce Letchworth and Robert Cabili of Continental Fresh.
Ken Paglioni, Majid Radam and Evan Testani of Mucci Farms with Matt Dinitto and Evan Dobratz of BrightFarms.
Melissa Brucker and Anna Kirsch of Calavo flanked by Brian Miller and Patrick Cortez of Prime Time Produce.
Mike Glass, Paul Murracas, Alaina Wilkins and Elizabeth Tavares of Pure Flavor.
At the SunFed booth were Juan Carlos Barrionuevo, Margie Kosnik, Pedro Balderrama, Matt Mandel and JC Myers.
Olivia Storvik of Generous Brands flanked by Dan Triplett and Tim Graas of Associated Wholesale Grocers.
At the Trinity booth promoting their line of fresh juices were Kristyn Lawson, Oscar Ramirez and Jackie Nakashian.
Walking the Viva Fresh show floor were Olivia Avellaneda of Go Produce and Paty Alvarado of San Pedro Produce.
Diego Acosta, Valeria Guadiana, Fernanda Doriz and Paulina Villareal of Hy Food.
David Watson, Daniel Heguertty and Roberto Hernandez of Fresh Farms promoted the company’s line of table grapes.
Neome Neme and Jim Fountain of Wholly Guacamole.
Tara Murray, Crystal Berry and Jay Alley of Yo Quiero! showed off their line of popular products.
National Watermelon Queen Tori Hobbs with Kerry Wiggins and Juliemar Rosado at the National Watermelon Promotion Board booth.
Cesar Favero, Lavanya Setia, Meg Buchsbaum and Angie Thomas of the National Mango Board.
Splendid by Porvenir was represented by Carlos Ferniza, Cindy Schwing and Gonzalo Alvarado.
Promoting the new Tropiful brand at Viva Fresh was Fio Villagomez of Farm Direct Supply.
At the La Bonanza booth were Salvador Macias, Daiana Quintero, Gabriel Villaseñor, Valeria Villaseñor, Jason Adams and Casey Evans Beltran.
Alfonso Delgado, Tanya Edwards and Oscar Garcia of Avocados from Mexico.
At The Onion House booth were Tim Bull, Colton Neuhaus and Clayton Neuhaus.
Allan Napolitano, Michael Napolitano, Michael Chirico and George Uribe of McDaniel & Chirico Worldwide.
Sarah Grizzle, Matt Hiltner, Anderson Manos and Rocio Munoz of Babe Farms Specialties.
Joe Padilla, Gahl Crane and Jim Leach of Oppy.
Bobby Peraza of Dayka & Hackett and Jason Laffer of Terrafresh Organics with Rigo Garcia and Tom Mueller of Dayka & Hackett.
Bryan Barsness of Prophet North America with Ross Nelson of FreshEdge.
Veronica Sanchez Flores, Lindsey Lance and Tyann Schlimmer of Bay Baby Produce.
Jared Lane of GrapeCo Farms with Christian Vega, Julian Vega, Urbano Magana and Bill Purewall of Purefresh Sales.
Kristen Small and Kim St George of Dole Fresh Vegetables.
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