After hearing such great feedback about the first annual Viva Fresh Produce Expo last year, the DMA team knew we couldn’t miss the 2016 show. With the show so close to home, we were thrilled to have the entire Texas-based team in attendance for the first time (minus one – our fearless leader Dan’l is celebrating her birthday in paradise!). As a result, we had several tradeshow first-timers and a lot of “a-ha!” moments throughout our time in San Antonio. Here’s our list of what blew us away during Viva Fresh 2016!

Higher Education Shines

The next generation of fresh produce talent stood out on the tradeshow floor at Viva Fresh in a special way. We were captivated by what these universities and students are doing in the name of FRESH!

Aggies for Fresh Delight and BLEW US AWAY!

First and foremost, we were incredibly blown away by the warm welcome we received for the 6 students from Texas A&M who joined our team on behalf of Aggies for Fresh.  Each student walked away feeling impacted by the fresh produce professionals who mentored, interviewed and offered advice during their time at the show. A big Texas THANK YOU especially goes out to Bret Erickson and Lilly Garcia, Texas International Produce Association, Tommy Wilkins, Grow Farms Texas and Amy Gates, Frontera Produce, who each went out of their way to nurture and excite these students about the benefits of joining our industry. We’re delighted to say that Aggies for Fresh are planning to attend Viva Fresh again next year with a new crop of talent, so we’re already counting down the days until then!

Visit aggiesforfresh.com to learn more about the students and program, and feel free to reach out to Allison Autrey directly if you’re seeking interns or full-time employees and would like to learn more. If you connected with any of these students at the show, we’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below!

Graduate Student Presents Validating Thesis
During the Aggies for Fresh meet and greet reception on Friday, Brooke Prather presented her informative thesis, the goal of which was  to identify college students’ perceptions of paid, unpaid, and endorsed advertisements from active fresh produce promotion campaigns. If you had the pleasure of hearing Brooke’s presentation, we hope you were as blown away as we were. Her research used biometrics software from Texas A&M’s Human Behavioral lab (more on this below), along with focus groups, to gain an understanding of millennials’ perceptions of several fresh produce advertisements from groups like Team FNV, California Avocados and Avocados from Mexico. Her findings were very validating for the DMA team, and concluded that this generation responds best to produce ads or calls-to-action when showcased in a fresh, natural looking way with health-appeals vs. celebrity endorsements or heavily edited images. If you’re interested in getting a copy of Brooke’s research presentation, please reach out to Allison Autrey for an introduction.

Sam Houston State University
We were blown away by this Texas University’s great representation to inform attendees about their new, 100% online Master of Agriculture program.  As a company, we strongly value continued learning whether through formal post graduate programs or shorter term professional development curriculums. And being heavily involved in university recruitment into the industry, we often find that Texas-based schools do not emphasize the fresh produce industry even in their undergraduate ag programs. We truly appreciate Sam Houston’s effort to bring this extended learning opportunity to Viva Fresh and provide our Texas growers with information about a curriculum designed to  help them improve their sustainability, food safety and marketing efforts.

Texas A&M’s iMotions Software
The human behavioral lab from Texas A&M showcased an impressive technology on the show floor that utilizes biometrics to track eye movements and facial expressions against marketing content. This information reveals to brands what our eyes are immediately drawn to when it comes to packaging, branding, advertising, and even social media profiles. The camera can detect the slightest facial movement, allowing researchers to measure emotions from consumers while viewing different advertisements. This is extremely valuable for us as marketers, as we now have access to information that will help us maximize our marketing efforts (and dollars!), while also delivering the best possible experience for the consumer.  We are really excited to learn how fresh produce growers can work with Texas A&M to utilize this technology – we will follow up when we know more!

The Viva Fresh Experience

As inaugural attendees to this show in our own home state, it was refreshing to see the volume of growers and interest in expansion and growth in the lone star state.

An Intimate Feel
After speaking with several exhibitors and attendees at the show, we know we aren’t the only ones who felt Viva Fresh offered unrivaled intimacy for a fresh produce event. The size of the expo allowed for real conversations within the booths without feeling overwhelmed or rushed on the tradeshow floor.

Regional Benefits

Having attended numerous tradeshows and events over the last 15 years, several DMA team members were surprised at how many new faces were present at this show. We also want to also recognize the Viva Fresh team for hosting us at such an amazing venue.  From the hotel grounds to the rooms, restaurants, and expo rooms, the JW Marriot is a beautiful, comfortable space for spending a weekend at work. And last but not least, we have to say a big THANK YOU for the fantastic food and seating space on the show floor. What a differentiator!

A Passionate Speaker
Dr. Ramsey, who is also known for writing 50 Shades of Kale and his latest book, Eat Complete, reminded us of the importance of aligning influencers to the fresh produce industry. When influencers elevate a fresh fruit or vegetable, it creates a positive impact on the industry as a whole – awareness is heightened and kale has gone “viral” because of people like Dr. Ramsey and celebrations like National Kale Day.

Capitalizing on Your Investment
In contrast to several impressive booths and personalities seen on the tradeshow floor, we were shocked to see that some booths were left empty, with either no one showing up at all or just a few sales materials set out and no one present to answer questions. In addition, we also noticed folks sitting in their booths and ignoring the folks passing by in the aisles. With many years of collective tradeshow experience under our belts at DMA, we want to emphasize how important it is to capitalize on your investment to attend a tradeshow like Viva Fresh by representing your company as best you can. Always have a Plan B if something goes wrong and you can’t make the show. The last thing you want to do is have an empty booth and no one there to represent your brand.

Branding Makes an Impact

Despite the show’s small, intimate size, we were blown away by the wide variety of booth designs and approaches to elevate brands by the event sponsors and exhibitors.

Marathon Mangos
A shining example of show floor creativity was Marathon Mangos with a bright, vibrant booth that attracted show attendees like a moth to a flame (The mango margaritas probably helped, too – yum!). Not to mention their fantastic smoothie bar for the runners after the 5k!

WinterSweetz™
WinterSweetz™ also blew us away with their bright and inviting grapefruit samples on the show floor and their fresh parfait following the 5K. Any company with a booth full of smiling faces are likely to make a lasting impact on attendees!

U Gottabee Nutz
Their name says it all: you’d be nuts not to fall in love with these sweet and salty snacks! We sampled their amazing new line of flavored nuts including rosemary and Meyer lemon almonds, caramel and sea salt cashews and balsamic habanero pistachios. Not only do they have uniquely creative design elements, but their brand was designed to appeal to the millennial generation with their quick, easy on-the-go snack bursting with flavor and personality. Pierre Boucha’s helpfulness in the booth and eloquent responses to our questions added to our excitement for these products. We are very hopeful that this brand will thrive and we hope to see them in our local Texas-based retailers!

National Mango Board
After spending a few minutes talking with Rachel Munoz, the National Mango Board’s Director of Marketing, we were inspired and impressed by how the brand flawlessly integrates their marketing messages throughout all of their audience-specific communications.  Mango.org educates and excites several distinct audiences, including retail, foodservice, nutritionists/dieticians, and consumers, and examples of targeted marketing to each of these segments were on full display in San Antonio.  From retail education (taught by the esteemed Professor Mango) to a strategic partnership with the National Women’s Soccer League and regular outreach to nutrition professionals, we can only imagine how valuable this work is to mango growers/shippers around the world.

Summer Citrus from South Africa
We were proud to help Summer Citrus from South Africa unveil their new branding at Viva Fresh in preparation for their upcoming summer sales season.  From great colors and photography to a great story, this booth was a stand out for us on the show floor and we’re sure this brand will be stand out on shelves this summer.

Frontera Produce
Frontera Produce unveiled their new brand and logo designed specifically for their Texas-grown produce during the show. They wanted to present a local feel or “farmer’s market vibe,” and we believe they were successful in portraying this with their newly designed labels.

DMA Solutions

Okay, shameless self-promotion, but our very own DMA Solutions team decided to wear “colors that pop” to Viva Fresh and we’re so glad that we did based on the questions and feedback we received.  Wearing standout attire to tradeshows can make all of the difference when having a successful show.  For our team, it was important to use coordinating clothing to showcase our team’s personality, style and creative approach to tradeshow marketing.  We were also so proud to be involved with the 5K fundraiser as well as show escorts to and contributors of Aggies for Fresh. The show could not have been better for us and achieving our goals, and we weren’t’ alone…

Viva Fresh 2016 truly offered attendees and exhibitors a unique, intimate and valuable experience to connect and network with industry colleagues, customers and prospects. We certainly look forward to seeing you in 2017 but before we do, tell us in the comments below: what stood out to you from your experience at the show?