United Fresh’ tradeshow and conference took place at McCormick Place in Chicago from June 20-22 this week. About 260 companies were showcasing the latest innovations in fresh produce and value-added processing. The show had a good turnout, but because it was not extremely busy, exhibitors had the opportunity to spend quality time with their customers. Some booths had meeting spaces attached and the meeting rooms at the back of the show floor were also utilized by many.
The theme “Produce innovation starts here” was a great fit as many companies had new products on display. The fresh produce category as a whole saw many new products, but innovation was particularly evident in the tomato category. There were also 49 new products who made it into the finals for the Produce Innovation Awards. Click here to see who the winners of the awards are.
United Fresh was co-located with the Food Marketing Institute, the International Floriculture Expo and for the first time this year, the Global Cold Chain Expo. Next year, the show will be held in Chicago again, but will move to San Diego for its 2018 edition.