Fresh off the heels of the second Viva Fresh Produce Expo, all of us on the Full Tilt team headed home with tired feet, as well as new ideas and inspiration from everything that we saw, experienced, tried, tasted and learned while down in San Antonio.
One thing that was very apparent to us, was technology. Between the use of interactive presentations where audience members could join in on their phones and answer polls in real time, the use of drones to provide aerial video footage of fields and crops, live broadcasts with growers located in Mexico and Texas, virtual reality googles that brought you to a field, packing shed and growhouse, or the live broadcasts of the sessions on Facebook; the use of technology is here and is the future of not only how we communicate our brand messages, but also how consumers interact with us and purchase products.
Even though there were technology glitches that occurred during the expo, the power of what was being done was still able to show through. The live audio feed (even though the video portion was unable to work) from Triple H’s field in Mexico, over 1,200 miles away, and the live drone aerial footage of Tenaza’s organic fields in south Texas were still amazing to see. This use of technology has inspired us to start figuring out how we can incorporate more of it into our client’s marketing’s plans. Technology allows us to connect in ways we’ve never even considered.
And speaking of connecting, while it might not be the use of drones in fields, technology was also a prevalent message in the Imagining the Produce Department of the Future session by our very own Melinda Goodman and her co-presenter Sherry Frey from Nielsen Perishables Group. Together they discussed how consumers have been changing and how that impacts how they think about, consumer and buy food and the reality that technology is playing a huge role in this shift in purchasing. If you’d like to see this presentation, shoot Melinda an email and she’d be more than happy to discuss the presentation with you in greater detail.
We were also able to see ‘fresh’ come alive at this year’s expo with beautiful displays of fresh lettuce and microgreens, fresh ideas on packaging and branding, and fresh takes on flavor concepts. We’ll cover more about what we saw and what products we love in a future blog post, so stay tuned.
Another big reminder we walked away with, and not that you really need to tell us this twice, but that food is fun. Whether it’s discovering a new fresh item that becomes your new favorite or tasting a new flavor or food combination, being constantly exposed to new ideas and concepts with food and recipes will always be inspiring. For me personally it was the food sensory pop-up that featured the JW’s chef creating a grapefruit parfait with toasted granola, whip cream and grapefruit curd. Not only was watching and interacting with the chef an experience, the flavors, as simple as you might think grapefruit and yogurt are, were absolutely delicious and more enticing with every experiential layer.
Lastly, the focus on the health and nutrition continued to play an important role in the vision of the event. It seems odd that the fresh produce industry needs a reminder to focus on healthy living, but when our country as a whole is facing a health crisis, it’s even more important for fresh produce producers to make sure their messaging, brand and products are seen and heard, more so than ever. And anyone who attended the Keynote session by Dr. Drew Ramsey heard this message loud and clear through his discuss of brain health, gut health and overall health that can be achieved through healthy foods, particularly fresh produce. It was compelling to learn that the number one disability in the U.S. is depression. But even more compelling to know that we can impact how we feel simply by what we eat. That food is our prescription for good health – we just need to Eat Complete. {order Dr. Ramsey’s new book for more details}.
It’s clear that everything really is bigger in Texas, especially when everyone comes together to promote all things fresh.
Written by Alison Eiler
Marketing Coordinator
Alison@FullTiltMarketing.net
