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Las Vegas Chosen as Site of 2008 FMI Show, United Fresh Marketplace
Washington, D.C. - The United Fresh Produce Association announced today that its Board of Directors has elected to continue its partnership with the FMI Show, first launched with the co-location of its trade shows in 2004.
"The partnership between our associations, serving our members in both the produce and retail industries, has created a unique strategic opportunity for building business alliances across the total produce supply chain," said United Fresh Co-Chairman Maureen Marshall, Torrey Farms, Elba, NY. "We're pleased that this partnership will continue on with our joint trade shows in Las Vegas in May 2008, and strong cooperative efforts in educational programs in 2009," she said.
With this decision, the FMI Show and United Fresh Marketplace will transition from their home in Chicago in May 2007 to Las Vegas, Nev. in May 2008. FMI will then host a Leadership Education Forum in May 2009 in Dallas, Texas.
"Chicago has been a wonderful city for the produce industry, and we're looking forward to another great trip to the windy city this coming May," said United Fresh President Tom Stenzel. "But, produce people seem to enjoy different venues and there's no greater convention city today than Las Vegas," he said. United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association's last convention in Las Vegas was held in 1985.
"We're also pleased with the ongoing commitment between our association and FMI to enhancing produce-retail relationships and increasing mutual knowledge and understanding across our memberships. Whether it's the recent food safety challenges we're confronting together, or the need to better anticipate consumer needs and opportunities, the strategic partnerships that we build between produce suppliers and retail customers are critical to driving win-win solutions for our member companies," Stenzel said.
United Fresh Marketplace 2007 will be held together with FMI, the Midwest Fancy Foods Show, All Things Organic, and the U.S. Foods Export Showcase in Chicago, May 5-8. New this year, visitors can participate in three produce short courses on May 5 before the show opening, including sessions on retail marketing, foodservice marketing, and Food Safety 101, a hands-on training session for non-technical professionals throughout the supply chain. In addition, the Fresh Marketplace Welcome Reception will now be followed by a gala Retail Awards Banquet, featuring a celebration of front-line retail produce marketing with the annual Retail Managers Award presentation.
United FreshTech 2007 will be held in Palm Springs, CA, April 25-28. FreshTech builds on its history as the successor to the former International Fresh-cut Produce Association's Fresh-Cut Expo, and features the industry's only concentrated venue where management personnel and other decision makers can spend undivided attention on the tools, technology, equipment, goods and services to improve the efficiency and profitability of their operations.
For more information about the shows or other United Fresh programs and services, please visit www.unitedfresh.org.
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