Fittingly, he was “fresh” off a great show at the Viva Fresh Expo held April 11-13 at the Marriott Marquis in Houston, and Texas International Produce Association President/CEO Dante Galeazzi said the organizing committee is already looking ahead to 2025’s expo planned for April, again in Houston.
Dante said the 2024 Viva Fresh was TIPA’s biggest expo to date, adding, “Attendance was record-breaking! Over 2,700 attendees participated this year, and as folks from the floor will report, it was packed for the entire day on Saturday. That 9 a.m. start didn’t deter anyone from coming out and staying until the very end.”
He also said the number of buyers coming to the show was also up. “Buyer attendance was also outstanding,” Dante said, noting that the attendee segment consisted of more than 400 buyers “covering the gambit of national grocery chains, independent retail, and food service providers.”
In addition, the floor show boasted nearly 200 booths. “This year’s Viva Fresh had more than 190 exhibitors, with nearly 90 percent of the floor being companies with a physical presence in Texas. That’s an important goal for Viva Fresh organizers – we want our regional show to be sure we continue to give our regional companies a place where we can all promote the Texas-Mexico produce corridor together.”
Dante continued, “Takeaways from this year’s event were that people really loved the addition of the Astros’ Reception on Thursday night at the Minute Maid stadium, as well as the growth of the In Bloom: Women of TIPA and the Y-TIPA (under 35-years-old industry members) receptions. Both were big hits again.”
Noting the overwhelmingly positive responses from attendees and exhibitors, Dante said that “while we appreciate the great feedback from all attendees, our Viva Fresh Steering Committee considers it a challenge every year to do more than rinse-and-repeat. We want to be better every year and give the industry more than they expect to get at the show.”
He admitted, “It’s absolutely a tough act to follow, which is why we’ll start working on planning the next Viva Fresh very soon. We want people to come back and join us again in Houston, Texas, in April 2025 for the next Viva Fresh. We’ll have more information in the fall for first-timers, and I’m sure to repeat attendees will start seeing more information in their inboxes well ahead of the New Year.”
Thank you to TIPA for providing highlight photos from the event. Click photos to enlarge and scroll.
