Yesterday, the CPMA trade show kicked off at the Vancouver Convention Centre in downtown Vancouver. The organization and participants couldn’t have asked for more: sunny weather with temperatures close to 80°F. Although exhibitors and attendees were excited for the show to start yesterday afternoon, many also enjoyed the beautiful surroundings of the venue, including breathtaking views of the harbor and the mountains.
Trade show exhibitors were very positive about the first day of the show. Suzanne Wolter with Evans Fruit saw good traffic at the booth. “It’s the first time we are exhibiting in a number of years and we received very positive response from retailers and wholesalers who haven’t seen us in a while,” she said. “They recognize our labels and we’ve had good conversations around the diversity of our apple products,” Wolter added.
Chris Cockle with the Wonderful Company was very happy the way the first day of the show turned out. “Right from the start we saw a large retail presence,” he said. “The venue has a good set up, resulting in a high level of interaction between exhibitors and retailers.”
Bryan Brown with MAF Industries mentioned that the Vancouver location attracts a higher share of West Coast attendees that are very interested in MAF’s offerings around blueberries, apples and onions. “It is definitely a niche audience.”
A full photo report from the CPMA trade show will be published on Monday.