Fresno, California – The 2014 Fresno Food Expo, presented by Union Bank, was held on Thursday, July 24 featuring 126 food and beverage companies ranging from producers and growers to manufacturers and processors from the 8-county San Joaquin Valley who had the opportunity to meet with 700 pre-qualified regional, national and international foodservice and retail buyers, restaurant chefs and institutions, as well as more than 1,000 members of the public looking to support local business. These record breaking numbers reflect a 93% growth in number of participating exhibitors, 37% of which were new to the show, and a 250% growth in buyers since the Expo first began in 2011.
“We knew when we started this effort it would have a positive impact on local food-related companies bringing in new customers to help grow their businesses, but after a taking just a glimpse at the results from the 2014 Fresno Food Expo, we are overwhelmed by the impact it has had on our entire community,” said Mayor Ashley Swearengin, City of Fresno. “The Fresno Food Expo has put a spotlight on our region, highlighting the fact that we are truly the breadbasket of the world attracting buyers from all over the globe who are looking to find our own local products to purchase, as well as connecting these businesses to industry partners who can provide all the tools they need to grow.”
As an exclusively regional food show highlighting the undisputed food capital of the world, the Fresno Food Expo has drawn national and international attention within the food buying industry. This is evident in the wide array of buyers with high purchasing power who turned out to the Expo to not only walk the show floor and see the wide breadth of food producers in the region, but who came to the Fresno-area one day early to capitalize on the opportunity to go on grower and manufacturer facility tours of Fowler Packing, Gerawan Farming and Wawona Frozen Foods, as well as Enzo Olive Oil, Nichols Farms and Valley Lahvosh Baking Company – providing these buyers the experience to see these operations first hand. Additionally, the date change of the 2014 Fresno Food Expo from March to late-July has allowed for an expanded variety of fresh commodities from large to small growers, established cooperatives and ethnic produce grown in the San Joaquin Valley to be showcased.
“After attending the Fresno Food Expo as guests in 2011, we saw that it provided a valuable platform to tell our story and support positive economic growth for the Valley,” said Denver Schutz of Gerawan Farming. “Still, we never expected that it would turn into a regional food show of this size just four years later. As a large business with many distribution channels already in place, results from Fresno Food Expo surprise us each year – especially this year with the date shift to July. The Fresno Food Expo now provides an even more impactful event, highlighting the full breadth of food production in the San Joaquin Valley including everything from fresh to finished.”
The San Joaquin Valley is home to more than 2,500 fresh produce growers and packers, which accounted for an economic impact of $113.4 billion in 2012 and over 72% of California's agricultural value. As California continues to set the pace for the rest of the nation as the country’s largest agricultural producer and exporter, the San Joaquin Valley’s agricultural abundance includes more than 350 commodities alone – producing nearly half of nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables. On an international level, the San Joaquin Valley is known as one of the world’s most productive, diverse and distinct agricultural regions feeding over one-third of the world.
The date shift to late July in 2014 also opened up new categories of buyers attending the show – not just domestically but internationally. Buyers from some of the largest and most recognized domestic retail outlets including Costco, Food 4 Less, Grocery Outlet, Save Mart Supermarkets, Smart & Final, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods walked the floor looking to connect directly with Valley companies.
“As a returning exhibitor to the Fresno Food Expo for my fourth year, I definitely noticed the large volume of buyers with more purchasing power this year, which led to actually closing business deals today with both Vons and Save Mart Supermarkets,” said Debi Franklin of Deb’s Gourmet who will now have her gourmet jalapenos in these major retail supermarkets.
Complementing the domestic buyers walking the show floor, 16 qualified international buyers from China were brought in through a partnership with the California Center for International Trade Development covering produce and retail. Additionally, a buyer representing Wal-Mart’s online store in Japan and a contingency of buyers representing Loblaw Produce International, Canada's largest food retailer with more than 1,000 grocery stores, attended this year’s Expo for the first time.
“Today we met with six distributors from China of which three are interested in private labeling with our company since, according to the buyers, La Tapatia has reached every corner of the tortilla chip market in China. By private labeling our tortilla chips, our product can continue to be distributed without competing against other Chinese distributors that we are currently doing business with,” said Dan Soleno, Exporting Director, La Tapatia Tortelleria, Inc. “Private labeling is a big business growth opportunity for us and the Fresno Food Expo has helped us both domestically and internationally.”
This year, the Fresno Food Expo also garnered the attention of international export trading firms including CAS InterGlobal. These firms prove to be a valuable resource to companies interested in exporting as they purchase products to export directly overseas, thus alleviating the pressure on companies who are otherwise forced to become familiar with the logistics of international trade. With 95% of the world’s consumers outside the United States’ borders, exporting provides an opportunity for Valley businesses to potentially increase their annual sales by 30-50%, so international connections made at the Expo can potentially represent major growth for Valley businesses.
“Though the ultimate goal of the Fresno Food Expo is to create increased commerce for our Valley-based food producing companies through the business-to-business portion during the day, the public event also plays an invaluable role in growing our region’s economy,” said Amy Fuentes, Local Business Initiatives Manager, City of Fresno. “We’re building brand recognition and driving consumers to seek out local products on grocery store shelves, as well as creating a greater level of awareness of how much our region has to offer – from the variety of products to the innovative new concepts.”
The Fresno Food Expo New Product Awards presented by Baker Peterson Franklin CPA, LLP, returned in 2014 with the debut of 42 new products from 35 different San Joaquin Valley-based companies that were introduced to the marketplace between March 14, 2013 and July 24, 2014. Products entered ranged from fresh and frozen produce; to flavor-infused water, tea, wines and liquor; to specialty ethnic foods and value-add fruits and nuts; to specialty dips, sauces and seasonings; and everything in between – all highlighting the rich diversity of food and beverage products coming from the region. The awards program provided an opportunity for Fresno Food Expo exhibitors to enter their new food product, varietal or packaging concept for an opportunity to compete for the “Fresno Food Expo Buyer’s Choice Award” and the “Fresno Food Expo People’s Choice Award.”
After all entries were first reviewed, ranked and narrowed to ten finalists by a panel of marketing and food industry leaders, a Celebrity Judging Panel comprised of industry experts including world-renowned chef Erna Kubin-Clanin, owner of 5-star Erna’s Elderberry House and Chateau du Sureau; Whole Foods Local Sourcing Guru Harvinder Singh; and Amanda Sayers, an influential buyer from Kroger, judged the products first-hand on July 24 based upon creativity, presentation, packaging and marketability. During the business-to-business portion of the Expo, a tie was announced for the “Buyer’s Choice Award” crowning Casa De Tamales with their Peperoni Tamale and Chicken & Bacon Tamale and L.T. Sue Company with their San Joaquin Valley Tea as the winners.
“San Joaquin Valley food companies are mission-driven, community-focused organizations who value revitalizing the community,” said Harvinder Singh, Whole Foods Local Sourcing Guru and New Product Award Buyer’s Choice Celebrity Panel Judge. “Each year, the quality of those exhibiting at the Fresno Food Expo gets better and better and as the San Joaquin Valley continues to set the trend in healthy food products – the public positively responds.”
For the “People’s Choice Award” consumers decided the winner by logging 4,606 votes during a five-week period via Facebook and the Fresno Food Expo website. Baloian Farms was announced as the winner of the “People’s Choice” Award having received 1,042 total votes for their Squash Sauté Kits.
“This awards program not only introduced us to regional, national and international buyers, but served as a platform to connect with San Joaquin Valley consumers,” said Jeremy Lane, Sales Manager of Baloian Farms. “We’ve worked hard to make vegetables more appealing and this product definitely accomplishes that. That’s why we’ve been so excited to introduce our Squash Sauté Kits to the market. We are thrilled with the public’s response and are honored to have been selected as the 2014 People’s Choice Award winner.”
The Fresno Food Expo continues to be a strong economic development program for San Joaquin Valley companies as buyer numbers and purchasing power continues to grow as the show now looks forward to its fifth year. The 2015 Fresno Food Expo will be July 23, 2015, and companies and buyers are encouraged to register now.
Source: The Fresno Food Expo