Close to 300 companies exhibited at this year’s CPMA show, held in Toronto on May 10 and 11. Traditionally, this show sees several new products being launched. Without being exhaustive, this year's new product introductions included a Veggie to Go snack product for kids, several organic tomato products, the refresh of the Jazz apple, the introduction of a low glycemic response potato and the introduction of bagged spaghetti squash.
Good feeling about exhibiting
The number of retailers present at the show seemed to be lower compared to some other North American produce shows. “That’s because the nature of the Canadian business is very different from the US,” says Chris Horrell with Love Beets. “The US retail market is very fragmented whereas in Canada there are a few large players. When you see them walking the floor, you have to speak to them and need to be aggressive,” Horrell commented. “We spoke with five traditional retailers. Between them, they have about 6,000 stores. So yes, overall we feel very good about exhibiting at this show.”
Mike Preacher with Domex Superfesh Growers was also happy about the fact that all the main retailers had visited the Superfresh booth. “What I like about CPMA in Toronto is that it is a convenient location; once you are in the city. You can walk to the trade show, walk to restaurants and you have the lakefront to jog.” Brent Scattini with Mission Produce added that the show allowed him to solidify relationships and identify new business opportunities.
Need more people
A few exhibitors mentioned that the turnout was lower than expected. They didn’t understand why. “The show is held during a beautiful time of the year. Furthermore, the CPMA does a great job with nice show hours and a convenient location downtown. We just need more people,” the exhibitors commented.