About PMA
The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is a global trade association. At around 2200 members, the PMA represents the full supply chain of the produce and mass-market floral industry, from seed producer to supermarket or food service outlet. Every year, PMA organizes a convention called the PMA Fresh Summit providing the opportunity to get the best ideas, the most innovative products and the widest selection of products available for buyers.
Why Go?
If you haven’t made the decision to go yet, do so – if booth space is sold out, you’ll more than likely be put on a waitlist for a potential spot. Nevertheless, the networking opportunity can’t be missed, and the numbers speak for themselves. There will be more than 19,500 attendees with 1,000+ exhibitors from over 60 countries, giving you a chance to make new contacts, grow your business, see the latest trends – or even make a name for yourself as a trendsetter. In fact, the 2016 Expo set a record as their largest show (at the time) with 20,889 attendees from 65 different countries. Even more inspiring, at this year’s July PMA Foodservice expo, 81% of attendees were found to directly influence the purchasing process, and 100% of the exhibitors agreed that the quantity of leads increased or remained steady. That’s huge.
The Benefits of Exhibiting at PMA Fresh
Exhibitors will have the chance to meet with experts, leaders and decision makers. If you’ve signed up to be a part of the Fresh Ideas Showcase, you’ll enjoy the opportunity to be situated in a high-traffic area before, during, and after listed expo hours.
If it’s your first time showing here (or maybe your first trade show ever), you don’t have to worry about a thing: PMA makes it easy (and read below to see how I can help, too!). First-time exhibitors will also be able to be guided by a veteran exhibitor from PMA’s Veteran Advisory Committee, who helps you through the twists and turns of the event. You’ll have extra exposure with special signage, and dedicated recognition on the PMA website. First-timers who wish to have a booth space in the Pavillion area will additionally be entered automatically into a drawing for a feature/interview on PMA TV.
In addition, all exhibitors will also have the opportunity to view the attendee list to help promote their products and services to those attending. How do you do that? Download the list by entering your user id and password at the top login bar of the PMA Fresh website. Select “attendee lookup” at the top, then select a meeting from the drop-down menu. Use the drop-down menus to filter the list, then click display results or – if you wish – export to Excel. Sort the list by business type, company name, job title or contact information. This is a fantastic preparatory tool which allows you to focus in on the visitors who really matter to you and your business through pre-show marketing.
