Last week, the annual Organic Produce Summit was held at the Monterey Conference Center, downtown Monterey, California. With more than 1,800 people in attendance, it was the largest OPS event to date. It kicked off with Field Tours and an opening reception on Wednesday. Educational sessions filled the program on Thursday morning and the event was closed with an afternoon trade show. About 180 companies exhibited on a busy and sold-out trade show floor that was visited by more than 300 retailers and buyers.
Once again, exhibitors were making nothing but positive remarks about the event for the same reasons they've been praising the event since it started back in 2016. "We love this show," says Luciano Fiszman with Gourmet Trading Company. "It is a fantastic location at a great time of year, and the vibe is excellent."
Click here for the photo report from the show.
In addition to the location, the size and the duration of the event are also big advantages. Being able to visit with many customers, friends, and colleagues during a short period of time saves on individual trips and makes OPS very efficient. For many growers and shippers it is peak season and they prefer not to be away from their offices for too long this time of year.
"The conference size gives us the perfect opportunity to have meaningful conversations with current and potential customers," says Becky Wilson with Tom Lange/Seven Seas. "The uniform booth size puts all exhibitors on a level playing field and the overall expo size gives attendees the time to visit all exhibitors in one afternoon."
"We feel OPS continues to raise the bar for industry events and we were truly impressed with the quality of attendees and content presented," shared Kyla Oberman with California Giant. "It was an outstanding show of retailers, offering fantastic opportunities to connect with business contacts, industry colleagues, and see both old and new friends. All in all, it was once again a great experience."