PMA announces details for 2016 Fresh Summit Convention and Expo

NEWARK, DEL. - Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) 2016 Fresh Summit Convention and Expo will deliver the fresh produce and floral industry’s best innovations, networking and professional education—plus the largest Fresh Summit expo ever—when it convenes October 14-16, in Orlando, Fla.

Attendees will find fresh product and business ideas at every turn, from education to the expo. To help convention goers get the most business-growing value from this year’s event, PMA has again organized the event’s content into “communities of interest” designed to help attendees connect to others who share common goals. This year’s communities include science and technology, industry talent, floral, issues leadership and global connections.

This year’s educational programming offers on-trend, up-to-the-minute general session and workshop topics designed to help attendees and their companies get to the next level. Expert speakers from around the world will draw from their professional knowledge and experiences to help attendees capitalize on current trends that are shaping the industry’s future. General session topics include innovation, personal branding and PMA’s annual State of the Industry presentation. 16 workshops will help attendees find solutions to industry challenges including talent, developing effective marketing strategies to increase consumption, demonstrating best food safety practices, using technology to increase transparency and more.

Floral attendees can again look forward to offerings dedicated to their sector this year, including floral-specific workshops, floral buyer roundtables, an industry networking reception and the largest Floral Pavilion ever on the expo floor.

“Fresh Summit delivers a powerful global experience with a magnitude of resources available under one roof. -At the same time, it can also have a community atmosphere that invites people to connect, whatever their interests are," says PMA Fresh Summit Committee Chair Scot Olson, vice president of produce and floral at Grocery Outlet, Inc.

In addition to community-organized education events, numerous community networking receptions events are also planned. Attendees can find innovation inspiration from beginning to end of this year’s Fresh Summit—across the expo hall, woven throughout educational sessions, and in discussions with their fellow attendees.

Attendees seeking innovative ideas will want to visit the Innovation@work area outside of the expo hall, where a broad range of creative products and services will be displayed. Showcases here will feature products that fall into the following four categories: Just 4 Kids, On-The-Go, Certified Organic and Floral. Two of the categories - Certified Organic and Floral - are brand new this year. Also on display will be Sensory Experience Contest winners and packaging innovations from finalist companies in PMA’s 2016 Impact Award for Excellence in Packaging.

The 2016 Fresh Summit exposition will be the largest exposition to date, with more than 1,100 exhibitors over 300,000 square feet.

“The Fresh Summit expo is a great way to see what’s new and exciting in the industry, and one of the key places where buyers and sellers come together at this event,” says PMA Exhibitor Advisory Committee Chair Kevin Steiner, director of business development, Sage Fruit Company. “It’s a powerful way for attendees to gain inspiration for their businesses to stand out in this ever-changing industry.”

Learn more and register for PMA’s 2016 Fresh Summit Convention & Expo at www.pma.com/events/freshsummit.

Please note, the Fresh Summit Convention & Expo event days will change in 2017. PMA listened to its members, and starting next year the event will take place Thursday-Saturday (with the expo on Friday-Saturday) so attendees can be back in the office on Monday; a critical day for the produce industry.

Related: PMA, United Fresh partner to promote accountable farm labor policies