Show of Shows
IDDBA’s Show of Shows IDDBA’s Dairy-Deli-Bake 2013 proved to be “The Show of Shows,” with the 49th annual seminar and expo held June 2-4 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
The conference was attended by top-ranked retail buyers, merchandisers, executives, food manufacturers, brokers, distributors, and other top industry professionals. The original exhibit floor sold out early and three expansions were added to accommodate the demand for exhibit space, bringing the booth total to 1,740 booths and 705 exhibiting companies. The additional booth space sold out within days and IDDBA had to turn away companies who wanted to exhibit.
The powerful, thought-provoking seminars, led by innovative, creative, and nationally-known speakers set the tone for creating an aura of excitement and anticipation that was felt on the show floor, in the educational sessions, and at the evening events. This positive buzz permeated discussions, transactions and networking.
IDDBA's Dairy-Deli-Bake 2013 had 8,596 registered attendees with representatives from over 50 countries. The positive energy created a domino effect that buoyed attendees as they sought out new products, ideas, and business partners. The show floor was extremely crowded and busy as exhibitors and retailers cultivated new business, new marketing ideas, and new relationships. The exhibitors displayed their best products with many new item introductions.
The speaker line-up included Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly, NFL great Brett Favre, Food Network star Alton Brown and comedian Jim Gaffigan, among others.
The New Product Showcase was overflowing with exciting new creations and hundreds of new items. There were many more new products than there was room for in the display cases and show attendees eagerly sought out the exhibitors so they could find and buy the latest products to tempt consumers. New product booth signs and buttons alerted attendees to the exhibitors who featured items in the Showcase.
The Show & Sell Center was a highlight again this year. Retailers crowded the display area and took thousands of photos to capture the new ideas and innovative merchandising themes created be the retailers and volunteers on the committee. IDDBA promotes the Show & Sell Center as a way to teach, tell, show and “sell” the consumer. Whether it’s selling an idea or a product, the 10,000-square-foot model store is a magnet for retailers who are seeking new ways to reach customers. The merchandising teams were available each day to discuss the strategies used to design the various displays and to “teach” the concepts that were showcased.
IDDBA sponsored its 18th Annual Cake Decorating Challenge. This year’s winner is Rebecca Lougheed, Food City, Greeneville, Tenn. Second place went to Kelli Coleman, Dillon Stores, Lawrence, Kans. The third-place winner was Dawnette Costa, Giant Eagle, Erie, Pa.
Voni Woods, chairman of the board of IDDBA and senior director of deli at Giant Eagle Inc., presented the IDDBA President’s Award to Steve Dragoo, president of Solutions Consulting Inc., who was honored for his dedication to helping businesses improve their customers’ experience, his company and the industry. The Awards Banquet was held at the close of the show on Tuesday, June 4.
The Madison-Wis.-based International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association is a nonprofit membership organization serving the dairy, deli, bakery, cheese and supermarket foodservice industries.