The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) flagship event, IDDBA 2023 officially came to a close on 6 June after three very intense days marked by thousands of meetings between buyers and gourmet food producers. More than 10,000 attendees experienced products and trends gaining insight into gourmet food products and engaging face-to-face with more than 800 exhibiting companies, industry leaders, and influencers.
This year’s big IDDBA gathering at the Anaheim Convention Center, California, explored eight key themes rocking the grocery industry and featured speakers such as Padma Lakshmi, Tom Hanks, Alton Brown, Rick Stein, and IDDBA President and CEO David Haaf, who spoke about the evolution of three of the eight key topics impacting the industry now: employees, customers, and partners.
Joining Haaf on the stage also were Whitney Atkins, global marketing VP, and Heather Prach, VP of education, both of IDDBA. They gave the audience a deep look at the five guiding trends that grocers should be focused on now:
- whole health
- whole heart
- consumer defined convenience
- ESG
- value
- innovation and technology
All this without forgetting the need to keep up with new consumers’ shopping habits. In addition to quality and value, customers now expect an experience when they buy food.
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“There are so many positive ways to describe the last three days”, said Whitney Atkins. “Business connections began almost immediately after the show floor opened. During the event, attendees were introduced to the latest trends, products, and technologies available to the industry for business growth today and into the future.”
Atkins added that early numbers clearly indicate that IDDBA 2023 will go down in the history books as one of the most well-attended exhibitions in the association’s history. Overall attendance and retail attendance were both back to the record-setting pre-pandemic numbers.
