UNITED'S 100TH PRODUCE EXPO & CONFERENCE AIMS FOR THE TOP

ROBERT VOSBURGH

CHICAGO -- The centennial convention of the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association, Washington, marks a new phase in the organization's ongoing mission to foster tighter relations between produce grower/shippers, retailers and the government agencies that oversee them.

Tom Stenzel, United's president and chief executive officer, told SN that joining forces with the Food Marketing Institute's annual convention will expose the produce industry to the kind of high-level retail executive who hasn't always been present at earlier United Produce Expo & Conferences.

"The category is willing to invest in helping retailers succeed," Stenzel said. "Part of what we've been competing against is years and years of senior-level partnerships between supermarkets and the cereal industry, or the snack foods industry, or the beverage makers, and we've never had it in the produce industry."

Stenzel said combining the shows, separated only by a corridor in McCormick Place here, will increase the chances that CEOs of produce shippers and the CEOs of supermarket companies will physically meet and "get to know each other the same as the CEO of Coca-Cola knows the CEO of Kroger."

The centennial show, to be held in the same city where the organization was founded in 1904, provides the ideal canvas on which United can sketch out its priorities as the group enters its second century of service.

"The new partnership with FMI establishes a much stronger relationship between the retail supermarket industry and the produce industry," Stenzel continued. "It's important in terms of working together to raise the profile of produce [and] to understand the importance produce brings to the retail industry. It's a cornerstone of [our] show moving forward, rather than an afterthought."

Indeed, there is plenty of retail focus in this year's program and on the show floor. Attendees will be greeted near the front entrance by a full-scale, in-store produce "section" designed by the Produce for Better Health Foundation. The exhibit will merchandise fresh fruits and vegetables by color, in keeping with the group's "Eat 5 to 9 A Day for Better Health" campaign.

Buyers and store managers may be familiar with such programs, but CEOs may not. Stenzel is the first to say that, although United is a supplier-driven organization, "it doesn't mean we're distant from the customer." The PBH display and the presence of more than a dozen produce companies on the exhibition floor should demonstrate the dynamics of today's fresh produce industry, from the farm to the packing shed to the store.

"The show will better reflect what is truly happening out there in the industry -- that produce is one of the very most important departments in terms of profitability," Stenzel said. "Everyone talks about that's how consumers select their store."

The show also serves as a yardstick of sorts, by which the industry can measure the results, to date, of retailer and supplier consolidation and the subsequent development of supply chain efficiencies. Changes in the business climate have compelled all links in the distribution channel to modernize and streamline processes for the benefit of the product -- and the consumer. Gone are the days when retailers didn't have any say in how produce was packed and shipped, and grower/shippers had virtually no investment in how product was received, merchandised and promoted in-store.

"Retailers want a category captain and supply chain management from their suppliers, as opposed to the old days, when you had all these retail field buyers out there who were more produce men than retail guys," Stenzel said. "These days, retailers aren't doing all that themselves; they're relying on their produce suppliers using new practices like year-round contracts."

The centennial United show comprises more than 250 exhibitors, and takes up 60% of North Hall in McCormick Place. The booths include the major produce companies like Dole Food, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Chiquita Fresh N.A., Melissa's, Ready Pac, Coastal Berry, Sunkist, Earthbound Farms and Tanimura & Antle, to name a few (see exhibitor list on Page 58 for full listings). Likewise, there are 26 packaging companies registered, representing the flexible, corrugated cardboard, returnable plastic container and bulk segments.

"The show this year is about 2 1/2 times larger than it was in last year in Long Beach [Calif.]," Stenzel noted. "This will drive attendance with more executive-level and key produce decision makers. On the buyer side, you're going to see more CEOs [and] vice presidents of merchandising who maybe hadn't been as engaged with the show in past years because there wasn't a lot new."

Technology, allied services and new products also are integral to the show, all geared toward convincing retail decision makers that fresh fruits and vegetables can play an even larger role in their supermarket strategies, with the after-sale support to back up store-level merchandising and promotions.

"United is a produce supplier-driven organization, and we intend to stay that course," Stenzel noted. "But it doesn't mean we're distant from customers. The best thing we could do on behalf of suppliers is build stronger partnerships with the retail segment."

The goal is not just to promote the industry's sophistication these three days, he added. "We're going to try and grow produce participation at the FMI Mid-Winter Conference and with year-round interaction, in general, with the retail industry."