The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) has revealed that it drew a record-breaking East Coast audience from the global fresh produce supply chain to this year's Fresh Summit International Convention and Exposition, with 18,284 attendees from 58 countries flocking to Orlando.
This year's Fresh Summit also attracted a record 3,938 buyers from retail, foodservice and wholesale/distribution, the PMA reported, although total attendance figures were still short of the all-time event record of the 19,060 visitors in Anaheim last year.
'We measure success not by attendance numbers, but by the quality of the experience our participants tell us they had,' said John Oxford, president and CEO of L&M Companies and vice-chairman of the Fresh Summit Committee. 'We are hearing that this year's Fresh Summit delivered real business value on many levels, from the networking opportunities connecting buyers and sellers to the educational sessions designed to help attendees to innovate and to build the new relationships they will need to grow their businesses for the future.'
PMA president and CEO Bryan Silbermann agreed with Mr Oxford, adding that the organisations's connection with the industry extended far beyond the Fresh Summit itself.
'While we are always proud of the value our members see in Fresh Summit, it is but one of the many ways that PMA offers year-round value to our global supply chain – from the experts we have from industry, to our expanded volunteer leadership opportunities, to out many other educational and networking events and our expanding website content,' he noted.
Highlights of this year's event included an educational programme to assist in critical business challenges and opportunities, a focus on delivering food safety solutions, Mr Silbermann's annual state of the industry address and PMA's annual impact award.
Next year's Fresh Summit Convention and Exposition will be held in Atlanta on 14-17 October, with the event more than 90 per cent booked already, PMA reported.
No comments yet