FRESH FOOD: IDDBA Show Preview: Showtime!

'Tis the season for trade shows, including one of the best respected and most consistently attended events on the industry events calendar: the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association's (IDDBA) annual Dairy-Deli-Bake 2007 expo. The event, which will be held in Anaheim, Calif. on June 3 through June 5, will be host to a pilgrimage of some 8,000 retail buyers, merchandisers, and decision-makers in the allied dairy, deli, and bakery industries.

Dairy-Deli-Bake 2007 is expected to feature over 1,600 booths, with exhibitors from 625 companies and representatives from more than 30 countries. The Show & Sell Center Merchandising Pavilion will continue the IDDBA tradition of showcasing innovative merchandising and new products in a 10,000-square-foot model of supermarket departments on the expo floor.

"A very important reason the Show & Sell Merchandising Pavilion is such a strong draw for retail buyers and merchandisers is that it offers immediate access to actionable ideas," notes IDDBA executive director Carol Christison. "The combination of strong visuals from the hundreds of creative merchandising displays, the planned themes, and the take-home Resource Guide and handouts deliver a visual blueprint for retailers to create strong, customer-oriented displays when they get home."

New photo CD

In fact, adds Christison: "Some retailers can't wait until they get home, so they take pictures with their phones and e-mail them back. We've had so many requests for photos after the show that this year, for the first time, we're going to create a photo CD and send it out to anyone who stops by the Show & Sell Center and signs up for it."

The CD will feature the work of IDDBA's professional show photographer, and will also include a PowerPoint display on visual merchandising created by the Hubert Co., says Christison.

Creativity on display

Another highlight of the event is the Cake Decorating Challenge, which pits three store-level cake decorators in a three-part "Iron Chef"-type cake-decorating showdown. Seventy-four decorators from 27 supermarket operators entered the 12th annual cake face-off, including winners Sunnie Guraedy of Arrowhead Miracle Mart in Minot, N.D.; Danny Lane of Harp's Marketplace in Fort Smith, Ark.; and Ben Raffle of Fry's & Fry's Marketplace in Phoenix.

"The depth and breadth of creative talent in supermarket cake decorating is wonderful," says Christison. "The excitement and enthusiasm generated by the decorators is shown in the unique style, variety, and volume of cakes shown."

Further, a dedicated new product display will offer a preview of the latest items debuting at the show. The display features photos, packaging, and information about the new products featured by exhibitors.

No IDDBA show would be complete without a first-rate contingent of keynote speakers, which will include Ted Koppel ("Untold Stories: Frontline to Nightline"); Madeleine Albright ("Inside Looking Out: A Global Perspective"); Tom Peters ("Building an Innovation Machine in a Disruptive Age"); The Food Network's Alton Brown ("I'm Only Here for the Food: Innovation, Gadgets & Science to Change the Way We Cook"); Emmitt Smith ("A Championship Vision"); Harry Balzer ("Eating Patterns in America"); Michael Treacy ("Double Digit Growth: How Great Companies Achieve it -- No Matter What"); Seth Godin ("All Marketers are Liars, Purple Cows, and Free Prize Inside"); Terry Bradshaw ("Go Deep and Keep Your Eye on the Ball)"; Harold Lloyd ("Liars and Tyrants and Bores, Oh My!"); and Dave Peterson ("It's Not Easy Being Green").
X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds