The Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition takes place Jan. 20-22 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL, showcasing the latest trends in floral, foliage and tropical plants. With 400 exhibiting companies in just over 800 booth spaces on the 200,000-square-foot show floor, TPIE offers wholesale buyers a wide array of resources, according to a news release.

“It’s a great venue and a great location in the tropical paradise of Fort Lauderdale,” Marcella Lucio, vice president of sales and marketing at Silver Vase in Homestead, FL, told The Produce News. “It’s three days of getting immersed in what tropicals are all about —not only plants, but hardgoods and packaging items — plus a lot of marketing ideas.”

The exhibition hall at the 2015 TPIE held at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL.In step with the new TPIE tagline, “Elevating Expectations,” a special session has been added to the schedule. International speaker, author and strategist John Kennedy will address not only reacting to changing expectations, but also taking steps to elevate expectations of yourself, your business and your industry, according to the release.

In addition, the TPIE Create Theater offers an experience on the show floor to encourage creative thinking for new sales opportunities for foliage and tropical plants. The American Institute of Floral Designers will provide two daily workshops based on market trends.

The Garden Center Group will facilitate a session showcasing the top 15 cool plants and products voted on by the buyers at the show. Exhibitors with winning products will share more information about the items during the session, allowing for a quick way to see what’s trending.

“We get a lot out of this show, not only in the interactions with our buyers but new business also,” Lucio said. “It is an education for our team about what is coming up next and what is trending.”

And of course there will be several other educational sessions, design competitions, receptions, award presentations, a horticulture career fair and a happy hour celebration during the three-day trade show. Plus there will be ample opportunities to connect with vendors and network with other floral industry professionals.

“The unique thing about TPIE is that it’s open to a very diverse group of buyers from interiorscapes, retailers, mass-market, florists, you name it,” said Lucio. “It’s a very diverse group of exhibitors and attendees also, and I think it’s a great place to be.”

For more information, go to www.fngla.org/TPIE.