Sep 25, 2017
NewPoint Purdue Food Conference Open for General Registration!
Pre-registration for this food conference ended last week and we are at 50% capacity for sample tables and 70% full for classes. We have a very large room for the lunch-time buyer’s roundtable panel so I don’t see that selling out—but I would love to be surprised! Here is our homepage link to learn more about the event.
We wanted to give a few weeks of pre-registration advantage to Indiana Grown to get the word out to their members since they are partners…and boy did they step up!
That means full registration is open with 6 weeks to go! So if you know any food companies wanting to compete with the “big guys” and:
- Scale their operations
- Tighten up their marketing
- Hear direct from retail buyers what they are looking for in a food vendor or partner
Send them here to sign up. And if they ask about the event…
A first-of-its-kind event, the Emerging Indiana Food Brands Forum Fall 2017 will pull together food scientists, marketing experts and retail procurement professionals from around the state to support local and regional food companies who are looking to scale up their business.
The one-day conference, presented by NewPoint Marketing in partnership with Indiana Grown and Purdue University, will be held in Stewart Hall at Purdue University on Monday, November 6, 2017.
The food conference itinerary lists different events for the morning, mid-day and afternoon (see details below). Morning will feature development classes related to food safety and the commercialization process, marketing your brand, and selling to foodservice. Midday will see a “Retail Lunch ‘N Learn” Hour. The afternoon will be devoted to a Sampling/Tasting Event where vendors can showcase their product and meet potential buyers.
MORNING: DEVELOPMENT CLASSES
- “The Pathway to Commercialization” presented by Purdue Food Science Extension“Intro to Food Safety and Shelf-Life Testing,” led by Dr. Amanda Deering
- “Creating a Pilot Manufacturing Process for Contract Manufacturing” led by Erik Kurdelak
- “Scaling Production: Converting Your Recipe to a Formula” led by Dr. Jen-Hi Huang
- “Growing Your Business through Marketing” presented by NewPoint Marketing with special guests from retail and manufacturing“Strategies to Build Your Brand and Compete for Shelf-Space Against National Competitors” led by Patrick Nycz, author of Moving Your Brand Up the Food Chain™ (w/ special guest)
- “Support Sales and Turns on Shelf: Traditional, Digital and Grassroots Components of a Marketing Plan” led by Stephanie Bossung (w/ special guest)
- “Greater Sales through Online Trends and Connecting with Social Media” led by Regan Vordran, Fresh Thyme Regional Marketing Coordinator (w/ Patrick Nycz and Stephanie Bossung)
MIDDAY: RETAIL LUNCH ‘N LEARN HOUR
A buyers’ roundtable featuring representatives from retailers and distributors such as…
- Fresh Thyme – John Hostetter, Grocery Specialist
- Ideal – Mike Stohry, Business Development (formerly of Krogers)
- Martin’s Supermarkets – Ed Osowski, Director Produce & Local
- Tiny Footprint – John Freeland Vice President
- Winkler’s Wholesale Grocers – Josh Winkler, President & CEO
AFTERNOON: SAMPLING/TASTING EVENT
Indiana food vendors can showcase their products and meet with buyers from local and regional retailers and distributors like the ones mentioned above, Purdue retail (30+ locations) plus Purdue Dining Catering, and more!
