After a two-year hiatus, the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is thrilled to announce they will bring 20+ influential retail dietitians and foodservice leaders to its 2022 Retail & Foodservice Immersion Event, held alongside the International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) Global Produce & Floral Show, taking place October 26-29, 2022 in Orlando, Florida.
For more than a decade, PBH has remained committed to bridging the gap among retail dietitians, the produce industry, and most importantly the consumer. New in 2022, PBH will bring a group of foodservice leaders, to further support the industry’s need to meet consumers where they are prompted to choose fruits and vegetables at the point-of-purchase. This signature PBH event provides these influential retail and foodservice leaders with access to the latest produce innovations, new consumer research and insights as well as tools to inspire new fruit and vegetable consumption habits online, in-store and in foodservice establishments across America.
“PBH is thrilled to be back in person supporting one of the industry’s largest tradeshows, as well as connecting produce companies directly with consumers through the various points of influence – including at the point-of-sale (retail) and at the point-of-flavor (culinary & foodservice),” says Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, PBH President & CEO. “The goal of this signature PBH event is to provide retail and foodservice leaders with actionable education and intimate networking experiences that inspire them to get creative with fruits and vegetables and take back ideas and solutions that help drive produce consumption and purchases in their stores, in e-commerce, and in dining establishments nationwide.”
The PBH Retail & Foodservice Immersion Event offers an array of educational and experiential programs throughout four days. Education sessions offer timely topics like NEW PBH research and consumer insights; experiences like Powerful Produce Pairing tastings; private chef-led vegetable immersion culinary experience and dinner; and focus groups centered around retail and foodservice promotion, activation and collaboration ideas for future success.
The program will culminate with prescheduled booth visits on the IFPA show floor for produce leaders to share new products, sustainable packaging innovations and other consumer-centric initiatives with these retail and foodservice VIPs. PBH will “cover” the show floor and amplify the experience on social media for consumers to get a taste of what’s new and what’s next in produce.
“This year’s event is particularly exciting because it immerses a new group of retail dietitians and foodservice leaders into the world of produce. Uniting these groups drives collaboration – and profits – with meaningful promotions that inspire life-changing habits and behavior change among today’s consumers,” says Sharese Roper, PBH Industry & Partner Engagement Senior Director. “This is a powerful opportunity for industry leaders to tell their story, unveil new products and share key insights that will directly influence shopper and diner decisions across the nation – efficiently and effectively from the show floor. This is a win-win for ALL, and most importantly, the common consumer like me striving to be happier and healthier each day.”
“At PBH, we are focused on elevating fruit and vegetable consumption as a national priority. We know eating more fruits and vegetables is the single most important action Americans’ can take to live happier, healthier lives,” says Kapsak. “We can’t do this alone. We’re proud to partner with our sponsors on this event where we can connect influencers with the produce industry in order to make an impact. Together, through the Have A Plant® Movement, we can truly inspire life-long fruit and vegetable consumption habits at every eating occasion, every day.”
2022 Retail & Foodservice Immersion Event Participating Retailers:
- Big Y Foods, Inc.
- Coborn’s Inc.
- Fresh Thyme
- The GIANT Company
- Harmons Grocery Stores
- H-E-B
- The Kroger Company
- Loblaws
- Natural Grocers
- Rouses Supermarkets
- ShopRite – Inserra Supermarkets, Inc.
- Stop & Shop Companies, Inc.
- The United Family
- Wegman’s Food Markets, Inc.
- Weis Markets, Inc.
2022 Retail & Foodservice Immersion Event Foodservice Leaders From:
- Bloomin’ Brands
- Chartwells, the Education Division of Compass Group, North America
- Compass Group, North America
- Little Ceasar’s
- Sodexo
- UMass Dining
- Yale Hospitality
2022 Retail & Foodservice Immersion Event Sponsors as of 8/15 include:
- Chelan Fresh
- Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Inc.
- Michigan Apple Committee
- Pear Bureau Northwest
- Seneca Foods
- Stemilt Growers LLC
- The Wonderful Company
PBH staff will also be onsite at the (IFPA) Global Produce & Floral Show to discuss strategic partnerships and PBH sponsorships with those interested in engaging for 2023 business success. For more information about PBH’s events and programming, contact Sharese Roper, Industry & Partner Engagement Senior Director at sroper@pbhfoundation.org.
About the Produce for Better Health Foundation
Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is the only national organization dedicated to helping consumers live happier, healthy lives by eating more fruits and vegetables, including fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice, every single day.
Since 1991, PBH has invested decades into developing trended insights on attitudes toward all forms of fruit and vegetable consumption, in addition to campaigns and partnerships with government, food industry stakeholders, health professionals and other thought leaders to collaborate, facilitate and advocate for increased intake. Campaigns included first, the 5-A-Day program, and then, the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters public health initiative. While five fruits and vegetables each day is great advice, and more will always matter, PBH’s new behavior-based call-to-action is Have A Plant®. Rooted in behavioral science, PBH’s transformative Have A Plant® Movement is an invitation that will inspire people with compelling reasons to believe in the powerful role fruits and vegetables can play to create happy, healthy and active lives.
Be sure to join the Have A Plant® Movement and get new recipes, snack hacks, meal ideas and other tips from chefs, registered dietitians, as well as food and wellness experts by visiting www.fruitsandveggies.org. Follow us on Facebook @fruitsandveggies; on Twitter @fruits_veggies; on Instagram @fruitsandveggies; on Pinterest @fruits_veggies; and on LinkedIn at Produce for Better Health Foundation. And remember to #haveaplant.
PBH is also responsible for the Lead The Change Collaborative Consumption Campaign– a multi-sector, multi-year initiative designed to maximize the power of PBH’s unique thought leadership position, widespread influencer network, credible scientific and market research, and, most importantly, its innovative members and partners, to lead a call-to-action for addressing the global fruit and vegetable consumption crisis. The initiative includes research, thought leadership and communication platforms to ensure the campaign speaks with One Purpose, One Voice and One Call-to-Action. For more information visit: www.fruitsandveggies.org/leadthechange.
