
United Fresh's rich convention history
With its beginnings dating back to the turn of the last century, the United Fresh Produce Association has a rich and storied history of bringing the fresh produce industry together under the same roof on an annual basis to discuss the issues of the day.
COVID-19 forced United Fresh to pivot to a virtual platform in 2020 and eliminated the 2021 annual convention and trade show. Senior leadership at United Fresh and the Produce Marketing Association, which is finalizing the 2022 merger of the two organizations, has not yet announced what the trade show landscape will look like moving forward. Whatever the future holds, United’s convention history is marked by innovation and collaboration — especially over the last several decades.
John J. Toner, United Fresh’s vice president of convention and industry collaboration, recently sat down with The Produce News virtually to discuss that history and give a little glimpse into the future.
From its 1904 inception until the 1950s, United Fresh, which has had several name changes over the years, was the fresh produce industry’s only national organization. It had the stage to itself, and its annual convention and trade show was the go-to event. Typically held in February, the venue was usually one of the nation’s top cities on a rotating basis. San Francisco, for example, was home to the event every 10 years for many decades.
Toner noted that this remained the case even after the Produce Marketing Association was founded in 1949 and began holding its own annual event. United kept the February time slot while PMA held its meeting in October, with United typically “winning” the attendance battle well into the second half of the 20th century.
Toner, who joined United Fresh in 1999, said history reveals that PMA took a great leap forward in the 1980s as its retail focus became more and more popular. The two associations competed side-by-side at the opposite ends of the year for several decades, with PMA’s Fresh Summit gradually becoming the more voluminous of the two shows.
Toner recalled that it was in 2003 that United began working with other associations co-locating its event over the years. From 2004 to 2007, United held its convention in Chicago in conjunction with the Food Marketing Institute, as well as Specialty Food Association, All Things Organic and National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. The group dubbed its convention the Power of 5.
In 2008, Las Vegas was the venue with the newly merged International Fresh Processors Association and United launching the United Fresh Show. From 2012 to 2019, United Fresh continued its co-location strategy with several conventions joining the party periodically including the Food Marketing Institute, American Meat Institute, the International Floriculture Expo, the Global Cold Chain Expo and the Smart Food Expo
Toner said co-locating the show with other associations allowed the produce organization to introduce new and different customers to its members. “It’s always better to include new trading partners,” he said.
For example, co-locating with FMI brough many CPG companies to the produce show. It also brought top retail executives on to the produce floor to interact with United members. In fact, each group brought in different food industry executives, exposing the fresh produce industry to leaders up and down the supply chain.
Toner mentioned several relatively recent United convention highlights that stick out for him. One was the San Diego convention in 2013 featuring the opening reception on the U.S.S. Midway Aircraft Carrier in the San Diego Harbor. He believes that was the most well-attended opening event in United’s history. He also said the late-night party launched in 2019 still has convention-goers talking.
Over the years, Toner said the association has been very innovative as it launched many new events and activities including its Future Tech show and its New Product showcase as well as its Washington Conference. He said the association’s team members never shined brighter than they did during the pandemic. He called the virtual show it held in 2020 a model for the future as it brought buyers and suppliers together in new ways.
While Toner enjoyed walking down memory lane, he is very much focused on the future. “I love history, but it’s all about looking forward,” he said, as he personally opined about the future of the industry under the merged association, noting he is not a member of the senior leadership making those decisions. “I am a firm believer of ‘better together.’”
He believes the goal of trade associations should be enlarging the pie not gaining market share. “Twenty percent of a 17-inch pie is better than 23 percent of a 13-inch pie,” he quipped, arguing that one combined association is better for the industry than two battling for market share.
Toner has no inside knowledge of exactly what the event makeup will be in 2022 and beyond as the merged association evolves, but he is sure it will have a robust event lineup. He believes “event strategy is critically important to any association. The question is how do we use our industry events to drive consumers to our products.”
Toward the future, Toner would like to see more connection with consumers in relation to the industry’s largest events. He recalled when United co-located with FMI in 2004, The Today Show had a live segment from the convention floor.
He also is extremely happy that live events can be held again. “There is nothing like a face-to-face meeting when doing business,” he said. Toner ultimately thinks that the PMA-United merger will bring about positive change as the two organizations will bring what they do best to one table.
United, he said, has a great presence in Washington DC, and has developed an excellent digital platform over the past 15 months. PMA is great at holding events and brings a robust international program to that table. “Better together” is the mantra, but Toner also knows change is coming. He noted the large number of regional events around the country and believes the industry may have reached its saturation point. Change is inevitable, he said, adding that the traveling Ringling Bros. lost its edge in the circus world because Cirque du Soleil came up with a better idea.
“To achieve what’s attainable, we need one voice and one strong message,” he noted.
Photo: Convention committee officials for the 1967 United Fresh convention in San Francisco.