Susan Packard, co-founder of HGTV, was the keynote speaker during the pre-exhibition educational sessions.Having just wrapped up their combined conference in Chicago, representatives of the International Floriculture Expo (IFE) and the United Fresh Produce Association say their collaboration on this year’s event was a huge success.
“Exhibitors and visitors are truly excited and impressed with the value of combining produce and floral,” says Christine Salmon, event manager with IFE. “By the end, we were overwhelmed with the positive feedback and renewed 90 percent of space on-site for next year.”
The show brings together a targeted group of the industry’s highest-volume floral buyers. Hundreds of companies attended the event to see the latest product innovations, network with existing vendors, meet new suppliers and participate in educational programs.
Exhibiting vendors also expressed enthusiasm over the attendance, which was made up of more than 1,300 floral professionals. Carmen Garcia of Monterey Bay Heather Coastal Nursery, a longtime supporter of the show, says the nursery’s results were extremely positive. “We saw much more traffic than any recent year. We wrote over $700,000 in orders.”
Another highlight of the show was the educational programming prior to the exhibition, including a keynote speech by Susan Packard, co-founder of HGTV.
