FPFC Expo to be featured on PBS
FPFC Expo to be featured on PBS
The Fresh Produce & Floral Council?s March 8 Expo is going to feature Public Broadcasting Service reporter Huell Howser as its keynote speaker, and he, in turn, will feature the Expo on an upcoming segment of his popular "California?s Gold? television show.
Mr. Howser was a guest speaker at an FPFC luncheon in 2004, at which time he proposed doing a segment on the Expo in his show. His "California?s Gold? program regularly travels throughout California highlighting people, places and events in the Golden State. He has featured some California growing regions in the past, but this will be the first show focusing on an agricultural industry event, which brings together growers, shippers, retailers and foodservice personnel involved in the distribution of fruits, vegetables, nuts, flowers and allied products.
And that, in a proverbial nutshell, is what the FPFC Expo is all about. According to FPFC President Linda Stine, in many ways, the Expo dates back to the beginnings of the Fresh Produce & Floral Council, which is celebrating is 40th anniversary in 2005. The council did not have an Expo per se in the early years, but at the very beginning, it was founded on the notion of bringing the various segments of the industry together to promote fruits and vegetables.
Early on, the council established a one-day seminar and show that were a link to the home economics teachers in Southern California. The idea was to educate these educators so they in turn could pass on knowledge about fruits and vegetables to their high school students. In the early years, the Fresh Produce Council, as it was then called, held two teacher conferences a year. Those programs eventually morphed into Fresh & Fit " again a produce show and one-day seminar, but this time targeted at educating retail produce clerks, who could then educate consumers.
That show, and the separate Floral Expo, directly evolved into the Expo more than a decade ago. "The 2005 Expo will be the biggest and best ever," Ms. Stine said. "A few years ago, we combined the floral and expo shows, and this year we will have a strong presence by both groups. In total, we have 179 companies represented in 171 booths. Some of the food brokers represent multiple companies, which is why we have more companies than booths."
The FPFC executive said that the show brings together all segments of the FPFC membership, which geographically is focused in California and Arizona and professionally includes all segments of the industry from produce and floral growers to the end users, be they retailers or foodservice. "We are very excited about this show," Ms. Stine said. "There will be lots of new produce and floral products displayed, and lots of new information passed on to the front-line representatives of our industry."
Including the foodservice personnel, retail produce clerks and managers in the program has been a very important part of the effort for many years. It is a difficult segment of the industry to reach but obviously a very important group, Ms. Stine said. These front-line workers are the conduits between the industry's products and the consumers. During the Expo, these retail and foodservice employees spend as much time giving feedback to the suppliers as they do learning about the new products. They are a very important link in the distribution chain.
Besides the keynote address by Huell Howser, there are two separate seminars for the attendees dividing them along floral and produce lines. The two seminars will run simultaneously during the morning hours. The retail/foodservice seminar will feature Ronnie De La Cruz, vice president of training for the Produce Marketing Association, who will speak directly to the foodservice and retail clerks, giving them tools to increase sales and discussing trends in the fruit and vegetable business.
The floral seminar will feature Kurt Schroeder from Floralife Inc. and Rene Van Rems from Rene Van Rems International. Both of these floral experts will discuss trends and care-and-handling techniques. They will guide floral clerks in their efforts to increase sales. Always entertaining is Mr. Van Rems? unique take on new floral design trends for the mass marketer. About 1,000 retail-foodservice personnel and produce-floral suppliers are expected to attend the event. After a continental breakfast, the education seminars will kick off the event, with the exhibit hall remaining open most of the day. The exposition will feature a floral design contest in which contestants from the retail chains will have their designs graded by floral-industry leaders. There will be also be chef demonstrations throughout the day designed to give foodservice operators some new menu ideas and give retail produce clerks some serving suggestions they can pass on to their customers.
As always, the luncheon will feature the presentation of the FPFC?s annual awards, including the prestigious Norman H. (Buz) Bolstad Produce award and the Fresh Produce & Floral Council Floral Achievement award. Each year, these awards are given to individuals who have made a difference in their respective industries, with a special emphasis on the western region covered by the FPFC. The names of previous winners represent an impressive list of who?s who in the Western produce and floral industry.
Mr. Howser was a guest speaker at an FPFC luncheon in 2004, at which time he proposed doing a segment on the Expo in his show. His "California?s Gold? program regularly travels throughout California highlighting people, places and events in the Golden State. He has featured some California growing regions in the past, but this will be the first show focusing on an agricultural industry event, which brings together growers, shippers, retailers and foodservice personnel involved in the distribution of fruits, vegetables, nuts, flowers and allied products.
And that, in a proverbial nutshell, is what the FPFC Expo is all about. According to FPFC President Linda Stine, in many ways, the Expo dates back to the beginnings of the Fresh Produce & Floral Council, which is celebrating is 40th anniversary in 2005. The council did not have an Expo per se in the early years, but at the very beginning, it was founded on the notion of bringing the various segments of the industry together to promote fruits and vegetables.
Early on, the council established a one-day seminar and show that were a link to the home economics teachers in Southern California. The idea was to educate these educators so they in turn could pass on knowledge about fruits and vegetables to their high school students. In the early years, the Fresh Produce Council, as it was then called, held two teacher conferences a year. Those programs eventually morphed into Fresh & Fit " again a produce show and one-day seminar, but this time targeted at educating retail produce clerks, who could then educate consumers.
That show, and the separate Floral Expo, directly evolved into the Expo more than a decade ago. "The 2005 Expo will be the biggest and best ever," Ms. Stine said. "A few years ago, we combined the floral and expo shows, and this year we will have a strong presence by both groups. In total, we have 179 companies represented in 171 booths. Some of the food brokers represent multiple companies, which is why we have more companies than booths."
The FPFC executive said that the show brings together all segments of the FPFC membership, which geographically is focused in California and Arizona and professionally includes all segments of the industry from produce and floral growers to the end users, be they retailers or foodservice. "We are very excited about this show," Ms. Stine said. "There will be lots of new produce and floral products displayed, and lots of new information passed on to the front-line representatives of our industry."
Including the foodservice personnel, retail produce clerks and managers in the program has been a very important part of the effort for many years. It is a difficult segment of the industry to reach but obviously a very important group, Ms. Stine said. These front-line workers are the conduits between the industry's products and the consumers. During the Expo, these retail and foodservice employees spend as much time giving feedback to the suppliers as they do learning about the new products. They are a very important link in the distribution chain.
Besides the keynote address by Huell Howser, there are two separate seminars for the attendees dividing them along floral and produce lines. The two seminars will run simultaneously during the morning hours. The retail/foodservice seminar will feature Ronnie De La Cruz, vice president of training for the Produce Marketing Association, who will speak directly to the foodservice and retail clerks, giving them tools to increase sales and discussing trends in the fruit and vegetable business.
The floral seminar will feature Kurt Schroeder from Floralife Inc. and Rene Van Rems from Rene Van Rems International. Both of these floral experts will discuss trends and care-and-handling techniques. They will guide floral clerks in their efforts to increase sales. Always entertaining is Mr. Van Rems? unique take on new floral design trends for the mass marketer. About 1,000 retail-foodservice personnel and produce-floral suppliers are expected to attend the event. After a continental breakfast, the education seminars will kick off the event, with the exhibit hall remaining open most of the day. The exposition will feature a floral design contest in which contestants from the retail chains will have their designs graded by floral-industry leaders. There will be also be chef demonstrations throughout the day designed to give foodservice operators some new menu ideas and give retail produce clerks some serving suggestions they can pass on to their customers.
As always, the luncheon will feature the presentation of the FPFC?s annual awards, including the prestigious Norman H. (Buz) Bolstad Produce award and the Fresh Produce & Floral Council Floral Achievement award. Each year, these awards are given to individuals who have made a difference in their respective industries, with a special emphasis on the western region covered by the FPFC. The names of previous winners represent an impressive list of who?s who in the Western produce and floral industry.
