“This is a pivotal year for our McAllen location; we have now been there since September of 2023, so this is our first full, full January through December year and we’re looking for some big momentum out of there,” said Anthony Serafino, president of the North Bergen, NJ-based company. “We are making a big commitment to the Rio Grande Valley and I think Viva Fresh will showcase our commitment there.”
With that in mind, many of the company’s team members from Texas will be attending Viva Fresh this year.
“We have more products than ever that we have coming out of that location, so it’s been a really exciting time,” Serafino said. “We know Viva Fresh is the marquee show for the area and we’re always happy to participate.”
This is a busy time for shows and Serafino will be heading to Viva Fresh from the CPMA show, though the company won’t be exhibiting at the one.
“I will be flying with some of my team members from New York to Montreal and then to Houston and back home that week,” Serafino said. “Obviously, CPMA is celebrating 100 years so that will be a big show for them and then it’s all about Viva Fresh, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.”
Even though they may be seeing the same people at both shows — not to mention the SEPC show which is also within a few weeks of this one and which the company exhibited at for the first time ever — Serafino feels having all these shows in lineage actually enhances the strategy.
“You’re not losing any momentum,” he said. “A conversation you had with a familiar face at SEPC, it now makes following up so much easier and efficient because you will see them in person again. Coming out of COVID, we all got a strong sense of IRL, and understand the value that in-person connection can bring to your business. That’s why some of these connections are strengthened when we go to these shows.”
At the show, Exp Group will be at booth No. 911 and will highlight some of its most popular items available in Texas.
“We’re going to showcase the growth plans we have and hopefully showcase some of the plans we have for a new facility in Texas,” Serafino said. “We’ve been renting and now that we are committed to the valley, it’s time to have a place we can call our own.”
Product-wise, the booth will have some of Exp Group’s peppers line, as well as avocados, papayas, tomatoes and limes.
“There’s so many items we do from that location and the Mexican trade has become more and more pivotal to the produce industry,” Serafino said. “We are hearing about more and more companies that have some type of stop in the Valley, close to the border.”
With spring in the air, that means Exp Group is locked into mango season and Serafino noted things are looking great in the category so far.
“It’s our 20th year as a company in October, so we want it to be the most memorable yet,” Serafino said.
