On Saturday, March 3 the Southeastern Produce Council (SEPC) organized its annual Southern Exposure trade show at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, FL. Exhibitors, attendees and buyers all tried to get the most out of the relatively short show time. This resulted in a packed show floor with a great vibe all afternoon.
“For us, this is the best show out of all of them,” said Andy Tudor and Aaron DeHerrera with Rainier Fruit. Tudor was very positive about the number of buyers that had stopped by Rainier’s booth during the 5.5 hours of show time. ”There is no other show that attracts as many buyers as this show does,” he continued.
Click here for the photo report.
“We love Southern Exposure,” said Harold Paivarinta with Red Sun Farms. “Personally, I’ve been involved in this show since its start in Lakeland, FL in 2004.” What makes this show so successful? Paivarinta believes it’s the multiple interactions between produce companies and retailers. “You see them several times. At the golf tournament, at dinner, at the trade show, but also in the hotel with their flip flops on.” Southern Exposure provides an opportunity to develop deeper relationships with potential customers.
“It’s a fabulous show,” Craig Slate with SunFed said. “The smaller size of this event makes it special. In addition, key people attend. A compact show in combination with high-level customers makes it very successful for us.” The number of exhibitors is capped at 270.
Every year, SEPC creates a theme around the show and this year’s theme was Produce is King. Check out the photo report to see how the produce industry rocked in Tampa.
For the first time this year, Southern Exposure had a Bright Ideas New Product showcase that gave produce companies an opportunity to feature their latest product innovations. Within the next week, FreshPlaza will publish a full report with photos of the latest product innovations and industry trends.