NEPC expo to feature new site, new schedule, hockey star

Excitement is truly in the air for the New England Produce Council’s upcoming 22nd annual Produce, Floral & Food Service Expo, set for Aug. 24-25 in Boston. 

Even more so than for last year’s first in-person show since the COVID-19-based, widespread event cancellations seen in 2020, says Executive Director Laura Sullivan. 

“There’s a lot of excitement around this year’s event. I think people are excited to be in person,” she said, noting the trepidation many still felt last year around travel and in-person gatherings. “I think people just want to be together, and I think people feel more confident being in person.”

Of course, the chance for networking face to face isn’t the only aspect of the event to look forward to.

Organizers have some new attractions in store — one of the biggest ones being the location. This year’s expo will be held at the virtually brand-new Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport, a luxury hotel near downtown Boston and Boston Harbor, which celebrated its grand opening in September of last year.

With the bigger hotel, instead of attendees bouncing between the hotel and off-site event venues, “we’re able to host all of the events under one roof,” Sullivan said. 

The schedule of events has been updated, too. Previously held on the afternoon the first day of the event before things really get going that evening, the educational session has been moved up to the next morning as an educational breakfast panel session. The keynote, formerly held during breakfast, has been moved up to be a luncheon session. The expo portion of the show will be scheduled around these two events, “so everybody can be in attendance,” Sullivan said. 

That will turn the show into largely a one-day event, minus the VIP and cocktail receptions that kick off at 5 p.m. Aug. 24 and are the only agenda items scheduled for that day. 

“It’ll be a busy day,” Sullivan said, but worth it, as it was often tricky at past shows for retailers with booths at the event to attend the educational session held while they were setting up for the expo.  “We just decided, you know what? The feedback we’ve received is, ‘We really like the one-day event.’”

On deck for that educational breakfast is a panel session on “How to Minimize Your Produce Supply Chain Challenges.” Moderated by Ed Treacy, the International Fresh Produce Association’s vice president of supply chain and sustainability, the session will feature panelists Mark Donley, vice president of ADUSA Procurement; Jon Eisen, with American Trucking Associations; Dave Patnaude, sales manager at Coast to Coast Produce; and Joshua Noonan, director of delivered sales at Robinson Fresh. 

Sullivan said she expects the breakfasters to come away with more knowledge, and maybe a few more tools in their toolkit, of how to address such ongoing supply chain challenges as gas prices and transportation, among others. 

“The panel that we put together, it was very well thought out. We have a lot of years of experience in that part of the industry [on the panel], and I think they’re going to have the most up-to-date information about what’s going on,” she said. “So, it’ll really just kind of peel back the layers as to … how their companies are combatting these issues.”

The keynote luncheon will feature the barrier-breaking, “Jackie Robinson of women’s hockey” herself, Blake Bolden. Now an ESPN reporter and pro scout — and the first Black female scout in the National Hockey League, at that — Bolden was the first Black player to be a first-round draft pick in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. Her speech at the luncheon will touch on “Overcoming Adversity with a Healthy Mind and Body.”

“We were interested in her just based on what she’s accomplished, and then, as we got to know [more about] her, [we found out] she consumes a plant-based diet, and she does attribute a lot of her athletic success to her diet,” Sullivan said. “ So, I thought, ‘Wow, we loved her before, and now we love her even more.’ [She] fits what our mission is. So, we’re excited to have her come and address the group.”
The expo portion of the event will feature 126 produce and 14 floral booths, Sullivan said, and she anticipates the overall attendance to be in the 1,000 range, about the same as it has been in past years. 

And Sullivan knows of what she speaks when it comes to the NEPC Produce, Floral & Food Service Expo.

“I have just started my 27th year,” with NEPC, she said, noting she still has fond memories of the first expo NEPC organized more than two decades ago. “We had no idea what to expect. We probably had low expectations, [but] it was so exciting and it was so much fun … and just kind of laid the foundation and set the groundwork for us to create an even better show each year.”

Schedule of events

Aug. 24

5-6 p.m.: VIP reception, by invitation only
6-8 p.m.: Cocktail reception

Aug. 25

7:45-9 a.m.: Educational breakfast panel session on “How to Minimize Your Produce Supply Chain Challenges”
9:10 a.m.-noon: Expo open
Noon-1 p.m.: Keynote luncheon featuring Blake Bolden (show floor will be closed during this time)
1:10-4 p.m.: Expo open