Next month’s Fresh Summit Convention & Expo will feature cutting-edge education topics, and attendees can tailor their entire convention experience based on their business interests when the event convenes Oct. 18-20 in New Orleans, La., USA.  And beyond that, the industry executives who helped Produce Marketing Association (PMA) to design this year’s convention stress that the learning, networking and business building doesn’t stop when Fresh Summit ends.

“Our objective this year is to increase global produce consumption by bringing our global supply chain community together according to their business interests,” said Jim Sarcletti, director of produce and floral for SUPERVALU, and chairman of the 2013 PMA Fresh Summit Committee. “To us, that means helping them connect with one another, making sure they are up on the latest trends and information, and providing forums for them to work together on business solutions.”

Explaining Fresh Summit’s Communities

This year’s Fresh Summit attendees can tailor their experience according to “communities” that best align with their particular business interests. The Global Connections community is designed to help build business connections across today’s global supply chain, while the Science & Technology community focuses on understanding of complex food safety, science issues and impact of technology on that supply chain. The Industry Talent community helps the fresh produce and floral industry attract, develop and retain human talent; the Floral community focuses specifically on the global floral supply chain.

For more information on these communities and related Fresh Summit events, visit www.freshsummit.com/mycommunity.  This is the second year that PMA has organized Fresh Summit content and networking functions by communities of interest.

Workshop Topics Announced

In addition to the popular daily general sessions, planned each day, this year’s Fresh Summit will feature 15 educational workshops. All workshops will be offered on a single day, Friday, Oct. 18, grouped into three series; this one-day format was pilot-tested in 2012 and was well received by attendees.

Attendees with All-Access pass or a Friday daily pass can select the workshops that are most relevant to their community(ies) of interest:

• Global Connections: Workshop topics include engaging the mobile shopper, expanding market opportunities in China, the rise of socially responsible foodservice, blogging and crisis communications in a social age.
• Science & Technology: Workshop topics include moving to a food safety culture, mining the food safety data and debunking myths surrounding the Food Safety Modernization Act.
• Industry Talent: Workshop topics include retaining key employees and the economic and financial market outlook for 2013 and beyond.
• Floral: Workshop topics include mobile marketing and retaining talent.

For a complete list of workshops, visit www.freshsummit.com/workshops.

The first workshop series will take place on Friday from 8:45 - 10:15 a.m., the second workshop series will be held 12:30 - 2:00 p.m., the third 2:20-3:50 p.m.

Continuing the Experience after Fresh Summit

PMA’s educational staff helped design this year’s Fresh Summit program, and stress that the Fresh Summit experience need not end when the event concludes.

“While some attendees may know us best for Fresh Summit, more and more people are learning that our work doesn’t begin or end with this one event,” said Tony Parassio, PMA Chief Operating Officer. “PMA and its Foundation deliver educational content and networking opportunities worldwide throughout the year, through regional events and online at www.PMA.com. Some content is also available in Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese.”

For More Information

 For complete 2013 Fresh Summit details, visit www.freshsummit.com. Register by Sept. 13 to take advantage of early registration discounts; advance registration closes on Oct. 4. On-site registration will be available at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.