Value of Viva Fresh touted
The Mission-based Texas International Produce Association’s Viva Fresh Expo plays an important role in promoting the Lone Star State’s produce industry, say those who play a part in staging the event. And they give lots of reasons to visit the expo.
“We have more greenhouses coming in throughout the state, we have a great domestic production program that grows more than $1 billion of fresh produce, and we have international produce entering this state to the tune of $9 billion with tons of commodities,” said Dante Galeazzi, TIPA’s president and CEO.
“Texas is where you come to fill your grocery shopping list,” he said. “We want people to know that, and that’s why you come to Viva Fresh.”
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As a longtime produce professional, Melinda Goodman, managing partner at FullTilt Marketing, Roswell, Ga., and a member of the Viva Fresh education committee, said she has attended events all over the U.S.
“Viva Fresh offers its own brand of Texas hospitality, amazing food, conversation-starting education and, most importantly, easy-going networking that doesn’t aim to do anything but create opportunities to connect,” she said.
“Since the inception of the Viva Fresh Expo, one of our pillars has been to provide exponential value to our membership, attendees, exhibitors and sponsors alike, while promoting the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy lifestyle,” said Ed Bertaud, director of retail sales for IFCO Systems North America Inc., McAllen, Texas, and a member of the Viva Fresh Expo steering committee.
“When you approach a mission with a recipe like this, coupled with a passion for the industry and its people, I’m not sure you can fail,” he said.
On a personal level, he said the opportunities created by Viva Fresh have changed his life for the better — most notably his participation in the inaugural Clean Eating Challenge, which, he said, was “an endeavor that continues to pay dividends.”
Tommy Wilkins, director of sales and business development for Pharr-based Grow Farms Texas LLC, TIPA vice chairman and a member of the Viva Fresh steering committee, the expo was born out of a simple thought: “If we can increase consumption of what we grow, it would be good medicine.”
“The healthy benefit has been the foundation,” he said.
With an efficient schedule, he added, attendees can visit numerous suppliers of limes, mangoes, avocados, tomatoes, onions, melons, bananas, berries, grapes and other commodities in two days.
Wilkins pointed out that the association and supporters of the show cover travel, airfare and attendance registration costs for qualified retail and foodservice attendees.
Viva Fresh should be on retail buyers’ must-see lists, Galeazzi said.
“For retailers, you’ve got to be looking at how you address some of these supply chain challenges you have, how you keep fresh produce on your shelf with longer shelf life, and how you get better-tasting items,” he said.
Related: Viva Fresh Expo introduces live podcast broadcast on-site
By using a strategic sourcing partner such as the Tex-Mex corridor to fill their stores, retailers can cut down on their footprint, reduce delivery costs and keep shoppers coming back for more, Galeazzi said.
“From day one, Viva Fresh has set out to highlight experiences different than the industry norm, from the Clean Eating Challenge to the newly introduced wine-tasting tour for the non-golfers to the Y-TIPA event for young business professionals,” Goodman said.
Bertaud said he considers the Viva Fresh volunteer leadership and staff to be “some of the best in the business.”
“The level of accountability to each other and pursuit of protecting the best interests of all involved, I think, is one of the most impressive dynamics of the group,” he said. “We have been cooped up for quite some time, and now we can come celebrate the next chapter in the fruit and vegetable world.”
