On Wednesday December 7, the 7th annual New York Produce Trade Show was held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Jim Prevor, President of Produce Business, was very happy with the turnout. “Until the day before the show, more attendees had registered than last year and traditionally, about 30 percent registers at the door on the day of the event,” he said.
The day started off with lots of traffic and it didn’t seem to calm down much until the show ended at 5:00 pm. Exhibitors that are based on the east coast used the show to strengthen the relationships with their existing customers. “However, there is always a new opportunity that comes along,” mentioned Jim Provost with Pennsylvania-based I Love Produce.
Another east-coast based exhibitor mentioned that the smaller nature of the show provided time to talk with customers. “This show is not too overwhelming and I like the attendance we have received at the booth,” said Steven Ceccarelli with Farm Fresh. “It has been a productive show for us.”
West-coast based companies on the other hand use the New York Produce show as an opportunity to grow their business on the east coast. “We are looking to expand our east coast program,” mentioned Brian Gomez with GreenFruit Avocados. "This show offers great opportunities for that."
Several exhibitors were positive about the uniform-size booths. “It creates the same level playing field for all exhibitors,” they said. Without doubt, everyone was raving about the great lunch that was included.