Direct connection brings Ceres to Viva Fresh

There’s a reason Ceres Certifications, International keeps coming back to the Viva Fresh Expo every year. “It’s a very tight group of people at this show and you can make direct contact with the actual customer involved instead of through a marketing person or someone who is part of a bigger organization where you’ve got several layers to go through,” says Karl Kolb of the Corpus Christi, Tex.-based office of the certification auditing firm. “At Viva Fresh, you actually talk to the farmer, the grower, the processor or the packer right there. That’s what we really like about it. It makes a huge difference and we see a real benefit in this convention.”

In fact, this year marks the fourth year Ceres has been exhibiting at the show, which means they know exactly what visitors to the convention want to see from Ceres. “Being a certifying body, we’re not like a packer or a processor who lays out a new product or something at the show. We pretty much have a standard verifying certifying body and we’re there for people to get to know us and we can talk to people about how we do our job and why they might want to go with us,” says Kolb. He even knows what trade show tchotchkes visitors prefer to take away from his booth. “They love the postcards with the Texas flag on it so we always bring those. And now we’ve put the magnet on the back because people suggested it to us,” he says.

Consistency is key
So while Ceres is handing out those postcards, they get to chat with the visitors about the fact that the company offers consistent auditing services. “They’re not getting a different auditor every time. They’re getting the same person each time and the price for expenses is very, very low compared to bringing someone in from California or Florida, which costs a couple of thousand bucks,” he says. “Our people, it costs a tank of gas basically.”

In fact, the tight knit show speaks to another element that Kolb likes about Viva Fresh. “There are just nice people to talk to at this show. They’re very friendly and down-home. Some conventions you go to, there’s a bit of distance between you and the person you’re trying to talk with,” he says. “But here, it’s nice and small and you can get around and talk to everybody in four hours. And you only see Texas there so you get a really good feel for the Texas produce community.”

Visit Ceres at booth #310 at the Viva Fresh Expo.

For more information:
Karl Kolb
Ceres Certifications, International
Tel: +1-702-523-2068
karl@highsierragroup.com
http://www.ceresci.com/