On June 26 and 27, the United Fresh Show was held at McCormick Place in Chicago. In addition to the trade show, many educational sessions as well as networking events were organized.
The trade show seemed to be a bit smaller than previous years. “It did allow for more personal conversations and quality time with the people who stopped by our booth,” said Erika Anguiano with Colimex. “Despite not getting the traffic we anticipated, we still got a few very good leads,” commented Karen Murphy with NatureSeal.
CarrieAnn Arias with Naturipe Farms mentioned that the Smart Food Expo really added value to the show. “It was great to have them here, but I feel the Smart Food companies need to be intermixed with the other fresh produce exhibitors,” she said.
Educational sessions
Everyone was positive about the level and quality of the educational sessions. They were very well received by the audience. “United Fresh does a great job in attracting engaging and high-quality speakers,” many attendees said.
Traditionally, exhibitors are able to enter their new products in the innovation showcase. At the end of the trade show, seven companies received an Innovation Award. Click here to see who the award winners are.
The lower number of attendees and exhibitors may have been caused by the fact that the show was held the week before 4th of July. “It’s a very busy week for produce companies as well as retailers and a difficult week to be away from the office,” said Harold Paivarinta with Red Sun Farms. Next year, the show will be organized earlier in June, from June 10 to 12.