This week, between April 23 to 25 April, The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) held their annual conference and trade fair. This was the first time since 2018 it was held in Vancouver. Over 300 businesses exhibited at the event, which was the biggest Vancouver ever event. “It was a great exhibition for us” stated Dan Davis with Washington Fruit Growers. “Traffic was excellent and the first day, in particular, we enjoyed a great deal of contact with the Canadian clientele,” he added. “All overall it was a great experience and the city treated us very well.” A lot of exhibitors said their experiences with Canada makes up a large portion of sales overall and that it is crucial to interact with Canadian clients face-to-face.

The show took place on the afternoons of April 24 and 25. The opening day was extremely packed as it is the time when buyers visit across the show floor. Although the second day was quieter, the exhibitors were extremely happy about the connections they had formed. “It’s wonderful to be here. It’s amazing how many businesses are all in one place. Every day we come back energized by new connections and fresh strategies and methods to look at the things we’re working on,” commented Jenn Pfenning using the Pfenning’s Organic Vegetables.

Visit this link to view the photos from the event.

Numerous West Coast exhibitors

One in three CPMA trade shows will be staged in Vancouver and, since it is the only time in the past six years that this event had been able to come back to the region of Canada this year, the event saw the largest number of West Coast exhibitors. Many British Columbia based exhibitors took this Vancouver show as an opportunity to arrange group tours and corporate tours that showed customers their business. Canadawide is a frequent CPMA East Coast exhibitor, displayed in the West Coast this year. “It was the first time we had exhibited in Vancouver and we’re glad that we could do and we’re glad that we did,” said George Pitsikoulis president of the company as well as CPMA Chair of the Board. “We believed it would be an excellent gathering point for our national customers as well as our suppliers. The event was busy.”

Of 300plus exhibitors, 168 of them were from Canada and 147 were international. A majority of international exhibitors were directly from United States. Furthermore, Mexico had its Mexico Pavilion along with a couple of other nations were represented by one or two exhibits in the event. Some examples were Chile, Ecuador, Greece as well as Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, and Turkey.

Trends

An impressive 60 products included during this New Product Showcase. The use of sustainable packaging remains one of the major trends and paper-based packaging solutions are increasingly moving into Europe. Mucci Farms won the Packaging Innovation Award for their innovative fabric made from bamboo and paper, while Windset Farms won the award for their best organic product using the use of their Eco Paper. A variety of new products for greenhouses were launched, including tomatoes growing on vines, strawberries as well as (seedless) sweet peppers. Easy-to-use products like snacks and salad kits have also been gaining ground. It was the Award for Best Snackable Product came to Taylor Farms for their Snack Packs as well as EarthFresh was awarded the Best New Produce Award with their steam-cooked vegetables. Both are aimed at the person who is looking to eat healthier.

These are the four products that won the New Product Showcase.

Go here to view the photos from the event.

The coming year is going to be one to remember as CPMA will be celebrating the 100th year anniversary of its founding. In 2025, the Convention and Trade Show will occur from April 8 – 10, 2025, in Montreal, Quebec.