Fresno Food Expo sets record for buyers

The Fresno Food Expo, the largest regional food show in the nation, set a record this year by attracting more than 900 buyers to the one-day showcase of the San Joaquin Valley’s food industry.

Since the event began five years ago, the number of buyers has increased more than 400% as interest in what the Valley produces continues to grow. A public event held Thursday evening drew about 1,000 people to the Fresno Convention Center’s New Exhibit Hall.

During the daytime business-to-business event, buyers included major grocery chains such as Walmart, school districts and regional grocery stores seeking to expand in the area.

Representing one of those grocery store chains was Charina V. Carrera, marketing manager for Island Pacific Supermarkets. Carrera was shopping for vendors to supply Asian vegetables. Island Pacific Supermarkets is a chain of 14 stores with locations in Southern and Northern California. Its newest store opens in Elk Grove on Aug. 7.

“We came here because we want to connect with the producers,” Carrera said. “And create a stronger farm-to-fork program.”

Buyers like Carerra value the Fresno Food Expo because it’s held in the heart of the state’s leading agricultural region and home to innovative food producers.

Suki Sugiura of Ventura County-based Global Food Service was meeting with farmers looking for fruit and vegetables to import to Japan. People worldwide care about what they put in their bodies, he said.

“The image of California is very clean, very transparent, how they grow,” he said. “Seeing is believing, so that’s why we came here instead of going through a middleman.”

The “Japanese very much like Italian to Greek food,” he said.

Foods like artichokes are hard to find in Japan, and he hoped to find a seller of them and other vegetables at the expo.

The expo drew 122 exhibitors, ranging from established companies like Producers Dairy to start-ups like Molucca Chocolate, makers of artisan dark chocolate bars. Molucca Chocolate won the People’s Choice Award.

“This is an amazing experience,” said Radinal Latuconsina, who along with business partner Yohanes Makmur are the founders of the chocolate company. “We’ve met with a buyer from Taiwan and a venture capitalist.”

Other exhibitors were showcasing a hot trend in retail, the “grab and go” and single-serve concept. Longtime Fresno County produce grower Baloian Farms was launching its “Mini Pepper Dipper Cups.” The product includes bite-size sweet bell peppers and a serving of fat-free ranch dressing. The entire product is packaged in a plastic cup for convenience.

“We are seeing a lot of interest from schools, hospitals and convenience stores,” said Richard Cowden, account manager for Baloian Farms. “People are looking for snacking options, and we think this is a good one.”

Cowden said the company is also in talks with a local retailer who is developing a healthy snack section inside its store.

“Customers want convenience, but they also want something that is healthy,” Cowden said.

Stockton-based Farmington Fresh introduced a snack pack of sliced fruit, including oranges, red apples, Granny Smith apples, grapes and pears. The product, called Bites of Fresh Fruit, appeals not just to parents with children, but to anyone needing a serving of fruit.

“Truck drivers have come up to us and said this is exactly what they have been looking for,” said Garrison Rajkovich, marketing manager for Farmington Fresh. “It’s not easy trying to slice a pear when you are on the road.”

Fresno-based Busseto Foods, a leader in gourmet dry cured meats, brought its snack cups with slices of salami. And Brandt Farms of Reedley was promoting “Grape Jammers” a clamshell container with the Thomcord grape, a cross between a Thompson Seedless grape and the flavorful Concord grape.

One company that has benefited from the expo’s exposure is Enzo Olive Oil of Clovis. Made at its mill in Madera, the extra virgin olive oil has racked up numerous awards and is sold nationwide.

Vincent Ricchiuti, director of operations for P-R Farms, the parent company of Enzo, said the olive oil is sold in more than 3,000 stores, including a recent deal to be in 1,100 Publix grocery stores. Not bad for a company that began production just three years ago.

“This is the moment we have been waiting for,” Ricchiuti said. “And the expo has helped us get there.”

About 1,000 people attended the public portion of the expo in the evening, where vendors handed out Harris Ranch beef kebabs, mini glasses of beer and bottles of sundried tomato ketchup.

So many people were interested in the event that organizers limited the number of tickets so visitors could interact with the vendors.

Sylvia Lopez of Fresno has come to the food expo for several years and noticed how much it’s grown.

“I like to sample all the new things,” she said. “It’s fun when you see a product here and six months later you see it in the stores.”

Many said they came because it’s important to them to buy local. Susan Hemb, owner of the Hemb Law Group, bought eight tickets for her entire staff.

“Finding things that are made here is just amazing,” she said. “It makes sure we spend our dollars here.”

This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Fresno Food Expo sets record for buyers."