Seen + Heard: On the floor at IFPA's Global Show

ORLANDO, Fla. — The trade show was so huge and so elaborate, it was almost like a theme park at the Global Produce and Floral Show, hosted by International Fresh Produce Association.

"It's back to the spirit of what these shows had before COVID-19. These shows are the personal part of the industry," said Tom Stenzel, executive director of the CEA Alliance, which helps the controlled environment agriculture sector. Stenzel was head of United Fresh Produce Association when it merged with IFPA, when he shared leadership with Cathy Burns before taking this new path. 

The expo floor itself was quite the wow-worthy scene, besides the general sessions featuring leaders such as Burns and Chef-humanitarian José Andrés. The many educational micro-sessions divided into tracks of interest, and all sorts of receptions and ancillary events.

Some "booths" were larger than New York City apartments, with two or three floors and balcony-patio areas with tables and seating. There were joking robots, baristas making lattes and conveyor belts of delicious samples to try.

The trade show was divided into useful categories such as Florida, Netherlands, New York, Mexico, first-time exhibitors, retail solutions, floral, business services and ancillary products and services.

Avocado Queen

Natalia A. Merienne, sales and marketing director of Avocado Queen, held court at her booth at the show, handing out burlap tote bags with her company logo on them.

Avocado Queen is the label and avocado distributor of San Diego-based Anye Produce, of which Merienne is the founder. At least once a year, she checks on the avocados in Michoacán, the western part of Mexico, which is an avocado-growing hub.

Chiquita

Chiquita offered samples and banana-peel-yellow note pads to people who posed with the mascot model with a selfie ring light. People could get the photo printed on site, as well as emailed to them.

Jean Simon of Patterson Cos., Plant City, Fla., posed as his partner also took a photo with her cell phone. Patterson Cos. has provided transportation services to both the perishable and nonperishable markets for more than 30 years, including full and less-than truckloads.

IFPA created many social-media-friendly photo opportunities, including this grand tunnel made from flower and fresh produce. The fruits and vegetables included were bell peppers, mini cucumbers, apples and limes.

iFooDS and HarvestMark

iFoodDS, or information food decision sciences, is an app for food quality control, which helps companies meet the requirements set in Rule 204 of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Food Safety and Modernization Act, said Juan Pablo Avendaño, the company's South American representative for exporters.

"We're trying to help distribution centers be able to ensure their suppliers are compliant. You have to match physical products with electronic documents," said Joan Studley, senior product manager of iFooDS.

"If the FDA comes knocking on your door, you have 24 hours to get the information they want on a particular product. With our products, you can do that instantaneously and can sleep at night," she said.

Nature Fresh Farms

A cooking cucumber? Yes, it's a new product from Nature Fresh Farms, based in Leamington, Ontario. And it's called the Wokcue, because you can sauté it in a wok like other, more commonly stir-fried vegetables.

"It's the cucumber alternative to zucchini, designed to be eaten cooked or raw," said Krysta Markham of Nature Fresh. "It's got a drier seed cavity than English cucumbers."

Dole

Dole offered cheesecake berry parfaits at the IFPA show, which were enjoyed within moments of the expo floor opening to the attendees.

Emerson

Based in Boise, Idaho, Emerson is focused on food safety and sustainability, said Jeff Korb, Pacific Northwest regional sales manager. 

"We help companies reduce food waste and improve quality through temperature monitoring," Korb said. "We're basically a supply chain oversight company."

Emerson offers its data, analysis and other services through several platforms, including cell phone apps and websites.

He said 30% of food doesn't make it to the store. "It just gets thrown away. It's a big problem, especially when people go hungry," Korb said. "People basically give food a ride and then throw it away."

AirFlo

The newest, hottest product in refrigerated racks at supermarkets are roller shelves, said Troy White of AirFlo Merchandising Systems, Brooklyn Park, Minn., which is just outside Minneapolis. 

The shelves are filled with tiny rollers along the bottom, so that products such as bagged lettuce, juices and salad clamshells slide to the front without hands-on labor being necessary. Shelves also pull out easily for refilling and have clip-on options for price tags and point-of-sale messaging.

"Retailers are seeing a 1 to 1 1/2-hour a week labor reduction, which is tremendous, especially when you factor in the hours saved with 300 to 400 stores," White said.

The Elite Self Facer shelves light up underneath, which brightens the products below. The company is testing shelving for energy shots, which are often found in the produce department, yet don't have a practical display method yet. AirFlo is also testing ways to hang produce, such as leeks and bunched carrots with leaves attached, from rods as seen in a European produce show, White said.

"It looks like a cooking-friendly display for stews," he said.

Minkus Family Farms

New Hampton, N.Y.-based Minkus Family Farms has a new product, the Rosa Bella onion, said Dylan Dembeck, director of operations.

"It's a mild-tasting onion, like a shallot," he said. Minkus donates 2.5% of sales to breast cancer research. The onion was sold at ShopRite stores in September and will be in Stop and Shop locations soon.

The onions, like all of the company's onions, have earned the label, New York Grown and Certified.

Mexico section

A mariachi band played in the Mexico section of IFPA show, delighting the crowd, who took photos and video during the performances.

USA Pears

Some networking involved actual computer networks, such as this robot named Perry at the USA Pears booth.

This robot greeted passersby and had a photo option, plus a slew of pear pun jokes. One involved "pear pressure."