One thing was clear during this year’s 2016 United Fresh Produce Show: marketing matters and has become a priority for fresh produce brands who want to be competitive, relevant, and successful AND who want to increase consumption of their products. During this year’s show we noticed that social media was embraced across the show floor and words like “reaching millennials” were repeated more times than we can count.
We were thrilled to see these and more marketing signals throughout the expo, and we were blown away by several of your new products and promotion efforts. Here’s what blew us away in Chicago:
Social Media Engagement Opportunities
Of the 7.2 billion people on Earth, 2.1 billion are active on social media and 1.7 billion use social networks from a mobile device. We were blown away by brands that integrated an aspect of social media to drive visitors to their booth or to engage with their brand on social media during the expo. Here are a few examples that stood out:
Ready Pac’s Instagram Contest – It was impossible to miss the beautiful field backdrop and inflatable Elevate salads as you entered the show floor. Ready Pac allowed attendees to tweet or Instagram a selfie in front of the backdrop to enter to win a contest. Entries appeared on a TV monitor next to the banner for everyone to see if you correctly tagged Ready Pac and #tasteoffreedom. This engaging activity was not only fun, but brought people to visit Ready Pac’s social networks.
FMI Instagram Photo – Over on the FMI side, the show organizers provided a clever Instagram hand-held frame (see photo to the left) for tradeshow attendees to take a photo and share. Our team members Lacey (left) and Beth (right) were more than happy to oblige.
Pinterest Banner for the Floral Pavilion – The Floral Pavilion was spot on having a banner declaring their authority on Pinterest. This area of the tradeshow displayed thought leadership and asserted their claim to fame by inviting attendees to follow their Pinterest page for inspiration beyond the show.
California Giant and Tour de Fresh’s Stationary Bike – Bringing a fun and engaging activity to your booth will definitely catch people’s eyes and create an opportunity for shareable photos and videos. California Giant Berry Farms brought in a stationary bike to their booth and encouraged attendees to take a ride to promote the Tour de Fresh, which spawned several funny Instagram videos like this one to the right featuring, our very own CEO, Dan’l Mackey Almy!
#UnitedFresh2016 Shares and Honorable Mentions – We were happy to see show attendees taking part in the conversation on social media about the show. During this year’s show, the hashtag #UnitedFresh2016 was used 267 times on Instagram with top posts from the likes of @FriedasProduce, @Tastilee and @AndNowUKnow. On Twitter, industry publications like @ProduceRetailer, @PGrocer and @TheCoreBlog were among the “Top Tweets” shared from the show. Brands like @MelissasProduce, @VeggiesMadeEasy and @SunsetGrown shared content that ranked them in the top spot as well.
New and Innovative Products
United Fresh prides itself on being the place to showcase innovation in the fresh produce industry, and this year delivered quite a few new and innovative products that got our marketing wheels turning.
Hollandia Produce showcased its Living Lettuce products, which they expect will take over in popularity amongst foodies who want the freshest product possible. Their Living Lettuces are packaged with the roots attached to preserve the freshness of the product – something that we agree will speak specifically to millennial and Gen Z consumers who want a farm-to-table experience.
Mann Packing unveiled their “Broccoli Clovers” with samples on the show floor. We loved this product because it not only communicates versatility on the package (try Broccoli Clovers in a salad, as a cracker with spread, or add to a pizza for crunch and flavor!) but also provides a significant solution to food waste. Broccoli stems that normally go unused now have a place on our plates and not the trash!
Two of our favorite new products included Crunchies and Kitchen 22. Both new to the fresh produce industry, these companies are capitalizing on fresh by offering new ways to enjoy the products that our industry grows.
Crunchies shared their freeze-dried fruits and vegetables, including their newest freeze-dried beets which we couldn’t get enough of.
Kitchen 22 took cold-pressed to a new level with their new-to-market soups, juices, and fruit cups. Not only was their booth and product line beautifully designed and on-trend, but the products were fresh and unique to the category. We expect big things for these two brands at future shows!
Millennial Targeted Products
During Wednesday’s session titled ‘Who’s Buying Your Products?’ Nielsen Perishables Group presented data that showed that by 2030, it is expected that millennials will be 75% of the US workforce and have $3.4 trillion spending power. As we walked the show floor we could not help but look for companies who are already effectively positioning their brand to appeal to this rapidly growing consumer base. Here are a few brands that stood out to us as having a product and/or packaging that turned our millennials’ heads and got a thumb’s up:
SUNSET’s Tomato of Yore – This was by far the most impressive display in the new product showcase from a design and “WOW” factor perspective. The packaging and subtle Game of Thrones reference is a brilliant marketing move to excite millennial using a pop culture reference.
Good Foods Group Products – Millennials are a busy age group, and we loved how this company has embraced FRESH meal-time solutions for folks who are always on-the-go. The branding, company values and messaging are all millennial-centric and focused on offering value-added solutions to this demographic. We also couldn’t wait to taste their on-the-go quinoa. Yes please!
Frieda’s new Kumquat packaging – Frieda’s recent rebrand was geared toward millennials, and their new kumquat packaging creates a bright and appealing product that will excite this demographic to try this product (which they may never have seen before!).
Crunch Pak Protein Packz – A great offering for millennial moms, Crunch Pak displayed a prototype product under development in their booth that we have to look forward to! We are sure these fun snack solutions will have a nostalgic appeal to moms who enjoyed eating Lunchables® growing up, but want to offer their kids a fresh and healthy alternative.
Nature’s Greens Ready-to-Bake Kale Chip Kit – We’ve heard that millennials don’t particularly like to cook, BUT they also want to make economical decisions at the grocery store. Pre-made kale chips (which we LOVE!) are much pricier than making your own, so WP Rawl has created a solution that provides consumers with step by step instructions and everything they need to make their own delicious kale chips at a lower price.
Booth Messaging for the Customer
Booth messages positioning the customer first was a sight for sore eyes on both the United Fresh and FMI show floors. We were delighted to see brands like Avocados from Mexico, Pepsico and Coca-Cola positioning their branded products as an avenue to reach consumers, increase sales and improve category sales for each of their brands. These booths stood out because their messaging was all about how they can help the buyers walking the show floor, instead of completely touting their company messaging. It is no wonder that these particular booths hosted an even flow of booth visitors throughout the show. This was a refreshing approach and one that seems to be missing from a majority of fresh produce tradeshow booths. If you’re considering a new booth for an upcoming tradeshow, consider positioning your booth messaging in a way that showcases the “why” so the benefits are clear, easy to read and attracting folks to step inside for a business discussion.
Food for Thought in 2017 and Beyond
It’s hard not to be blown away year after year by our industry tradeshows, but we also walk away from these events with ideas to consider for the future. United Fresh was no different this year, and we came home with a few thoughts we’d like to pose to fresh produce marketers for the year ahead.
Our Millennial Focus is Great, But What about Gen Z?
While it’s fantastic that our industry has begun to embrace marketing to the millennial consumer with new branding and innovative products and packaging, the truth is we’re about 5 (or more) years behind on this collective excitement. It’s certainly important to focus on millennials based on their buying power, but are we putting ourselves at risk of getting behind the curve when it comes to reaching Gen Z? By 2020, these consumers will make up more than 40% of the population, which means that we should be talking about this generation with as much effort and focus NOW as we are with millennials.
With All the Product Innovation, Where is the Recipe Innovation?
There were several stand-out brands at this year’s show that offered killer recipes and tasting experiences within their booths – but they were few and far between. Overall there was a lack of variety and exciting recipe innovations across the show floor in terms of sampling. Avocados from Mexico and Sunkist both did an outstanding job of offering on-trend recipes that changed every 2 hours, which kept foot traffic coming back to their booths for repeat visits. Avocados are clearly a popular product with guacamole featured throughout the show floor, but there was a stunning lack of variety beyond this trend, and this was apparent to the foodies in us.
What are We Doing to Ensure the Success of the United Fresh Show?
Throughout the show our team frequently addressed exhibitors on both show floors to find out if they felt they had received a healthy volume of booth traffic and if they were able to meet with customers during the show. Truth be told, we received a mixed bag of feedback.
Some folks said they received low foot traffic but were happy with the number of meetings they had with existing and prospective customers. Others were disappointed all around feeling as though they received neither healthy foot traffic nor meeting opportunities.
We were not surprised with the feedback as it was obvious to our team that both United Fresh and FMI seemingly had lower foot traffic than in past years. Why is this? Are we doing a stellar job marketing our show and our presence as exhibitors to would-be buyers? Are we positioning our show in a way that is customer-first and brands-second? Are we still in a position to host a national show or are we to the point where a smaller, more intimate regional event is a viable solution for United Fresh?
No matter which direction we go, one thing is clear: it is going to take a joint effort between industry association and exhibitors to ensure the success and sustainability of the shows that we rely upon to unveil new products, network with industry colleagues and learn about upcoming trends. How will we do it? Smarter marketing. Our team here at The Core blog and DMA Solutions will continue to push the industry and our fellow marketers to hold ourselves to a higher standard, and we hope you will help us do the same. See you in Chicago next June!
