Highlights From The Inaugural Viva Fresh Expo

Mission, Texas – The Viva Fresh Produce Expo, held this past weekend in Austin, Texas, was a major success that both exhibitors and retailers shared an overwhelmingly positive response to. The expo boasted sold-out attendance, high-level retail and foodservice attendance, cutting edge virtual field tours and chef-inspired menus, truly delivering on the promise that everything is bigger in Texas. The Viva Fresh Open golf tournament, also a success, raised $10,000 for the Just Keep Living Foundation allowing the Texas International Produce Association to be able to give back to the local community.

Additional expo highlights include:

* Over 800 attendees

* Expo hall, hotel and golf tournament all sold out

* Local chefs from the Texas International Produce Association’s home base in McAllen, Texas provided a foodie flair at the Welcome reception

* Tex-Mex luncheon featured the Hilton’s chef inspired dishes that featured fresh produce grown in the southwest, Texas and Mexico with a southwest cuisine flare

* Educational seminars were well received with standing room only in the majority of the sessions

* The Virtual Field Tours brought the farm into the conference room providing live real-time feed of J&D Produce’s onions and Frontera’s cabbage

* Produce on the show floor was donated to Feeding Texas (local-area food banks)

Viva Fresh 2016 will be held in San Antonio, Texas at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa, March 31-April 2. For more information, please visit www.VivaFreshExpo.com.

About the Texas International Produce Association

The Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) was created in 1942 to represent the interest of shippers of Texas-grown fruits and vegetables. In 1996, the scope of TIPA was expanded to address the problems and opportunities surrounding the importation and marketing of foreign grown produce. TIPA's member companies include: growers, domestic shippers, import shippers, specialty shippers, distributors, and material and service providers.

Source: Texas International Produce Association