Chicago, Ill. With registration now open, the anticipation is mounting for the All Things Baking trade show. While thousands of baking and food service professionals are excited to get hands-on with the latest products, services and information that will help energize their businesses, there are still plenty of questions still surrounding the inaugural event. All Things Baking management and staff tackle a few of them here:
What is All Things Baking?
All Things Baking will be a high-energy, innovative trade event that will appeal to today’s forward-thinking bakers and food service professionals looking for ongoing opportunities to take their businesses to the next level. It will feature educational and full-scale exhibit offerings focused on keeping baking and food service professionals on the leading edge of consumer trends.
Who attends?
Professional bakers, caterers, restaurateurs, pastry chefs, cake decorators, chocolatiers, bakery directors and other culinary professionals all want to get ahead of consumer trends; explore the ever-changing art of pastries, desserts and breads; hone their skills; and get the information, answers and strategies they need to make their businesses more productive and profitable.
“Smaller, regionally-based baking and food service operations are being confronted with a huge opportunity created by consumer demand for clean-label products, organic and locally-sourced ingredients, eco-friendly packaging and a general desire to support community-based businesses,” commented Joe Turano, IBIE Committee member and director of operations at Turano Baking Company. “Plus, the increased use of electronic media is leveling the playing field for bakeries and restaurants that don’t have large advertising budgets to drive traffic to their stores. This is an exciting time to launch a show aimed at forward-thinkers who want to take their baking or food businesses to the next level.”
Who exhibits?
Suppliers of baking equipment, bakeware and molds, decorating supplies, ingredients, flavorings, merchandising supplies, packaging materials, preparation tools, technology, business services and more. Already leading companies such as Bakon USA Food Equipment, Bakery Crafts, Caravan Ingredients, Dawn Foods, Colborne Foodbotics, Danisco USA, DeoPac, Demarle Inc., King Arthur Flour, Rondo Inc., ToolBox Software North America Inc. are on board, with new exhibitors still signing up every day.
What inspired RBA, ABA and BEMA to create All Things Baking?
Capitalizing on the success of their collective partnership in managing and producing the triennial International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE), the three industry associations wanted to create a new, national trade show to serve as the industry’s annual marketplace, meeting place and educational forum during the 2-year gap in the IBIE rotation. “There are a lot of entrepreneurial type bakers out there who aren’t industrial and automated. Maybe they have a gourmet cupcake shop or bake artisan bread. What current show serves this market segment? I don’t think there is one. So, All Things Baking was created, and it was long overdue in my opinion,” said IBIE Committee member, Michael Cornelis.
According to Rick Boone, owner of Rick’s Bakery and RBA president, “More than ever, it’s imperative that our industry—both suppliers and bakers—is in tune with the changing tastes, trends and behaviors of the American public. By listening and responding to consumer demands, we can collectively meet the mandate for the new products, flavors,
presentations and experiences that will keep our industry profitable and thriving now and into the future.”
Is this a “smaller IBIE,” held in the off IBIE years?
All Things Baking will serve a more focused audience of independent, entrepreneurial bakeries, cafes and catering companies that may not have deep marketing or operational budgets, but are agile, flexible, technologically savvy and in tune with their customer base. It offers exhibitors an opportunity to reach a new market of buyers and gives bakers a chance to get what they need to stay current with today’s consumer trends during non-IBIE years.
Is All Things Baking replacing RBA’s American Retail Bakery Exposition?
Yes, All Things Baking will be held in lieu of RBA’s standalone annual event, the American Retail Bakery Exposition, and is being designed for a much wider audience than has frequented traditional “retail baking” events in the past.
To learn more about All Things Baking and to register, professionals are encouraged to visit www.AllThingsBaking.org. For exhibit sales, contact Nicole Boland at 312-673-5828 or e-mail sales@allthingsbaking.org.
All Things Baking is an exciting new trade show featuring focused education, hands-on demonstrations and all the latest products and services to keep baking and food service professionals competitive, profitable and ahead of consumer trends. Supported by the Retail Bakers of America, the American Bakers Association and BEMA, this completely reinvented marketplace represents all things the industry’s been asking for in a baking event, all in one convenient location.
Source: All Things Baking