On Wednesday, February 4, the Concept Show Floor opened with a great deal of excitement. This year’s “Show Floor” highlighted the largest number of products and services ever showcased. The show floor featured seven distinct concept areas: Center Store Sales, Specialty & Ethnic Foods featuring the NASFT Pavilion, Fresh and Prepared Foods, Store Design & Tomorrow’s Technology, Financial & Operational Services, Natural & Organic Products and Food Safety & Security.
In addition to the seven concept pavilions, the Concept Show Floor was also home to the Family Business & Industry Resources, the Farmer Goes to Market Pavilion and Live cooking demonstrations throughout the show floor.
A number of leading Universities who are part of the Food Industry University Coalition as well as key Trade Publications from around the country was on site to meet with N.G.A. attendees. Your source for timely and accurate information, research and trends.
The Farmer Goes to Market offered a rare opportunity for retailers to learn the latest in farm technology, animal welfare, sustainable farming and other management practices directly from farmers. Farmers were on site to showcase their knowledge of the products they produced and discuss farming techniques that are top of mind with consumers.
In addition to sampling and tasting stations available throughout the Concept Show Floor, all attendees were invited to attend live cooking demonstrations presented by Chef Philippe Parola, President & CEO of the Chef Philippe Institute and a host of other professional chefs during the Concept Show Floor hours. The chefs prepared a wide range of entrée and side dishes using special meat cuts, seasonal produce, spices and many other products throughout the show floor. Show Floor attendees were able to sample the different foods as well as pick up tips.