ANAHEIM, Calif. — With over 20,000 attendees hailing from over 60 countries, there’s a palpable buzz, an energy in the air, when you enter the Anaheim Convention Center. Including every step of the fresh produce supply chain and representing growing regions across the globe, the International Fresh Produce Association’s Global Produce & Floral Show seeks to connect and inspire a dynamic industry every October.
Boasting over 34 speakers on Thursday alone, IFPA delivered provocative general sessions and a lively education festival on Day 1 of the three-day conference and trade show.
“It’s the biggest moment of the year for the produce industry,” Sharese Roper, IFPA’s director of industry and partner engagement, told The Packer. “It’s the Super Bowl of fresh produce; we get to see it first here.”
Stepping outside the show and convention center, one could hear the delighted screams from a rollercoaster ride in downtown Disney.
Thursday’s welcome reception kicked off the conference and trade show with the showmanship and panache attendees have come to expect.
Laura Himes, the 2023 IFPA board chair and Walmart’s vice president of sourcing for fresh, opened Thursday’s first general session.
IFPA CEO Cathy Burns delivered her State of the Industry keynote to a packed hall.
In a departure from traditional workshops, the 2023 Global Produce and Floral Show brought together shorter education sessions in a lively morning education festival.
“Advocacy is a contact sport,” said Angela Tiwari, IFPA’s director of grassroots and political affairs. Each of IFPA’s government relations team took the stage donning a soccer jersey emblazoned with key statistics and numbers fresh produce industry advocates needed to know, such as how many years it’s been since congress has acted on immigration. (It’s 37.)
The key to fresh-produce wins in Washington?
“Overwhelming force of people and their stories is how you win the game,” Tiwari said.
