Mar 9, 2016

Viva Fresh Expo announces interactive education sessions

Drones and the science of weather forecasting are just two key items that will be included in Viva Fresh Produce Expo‘s interactive education sessions, Viva Fresh announced. The sessions begin on Friday, April 1 at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, Texas.

Viva Fresh will feature virtual field tours from Triple H in Sonora, Mexico and Tenaza Farms in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Dante Galeazzi, of Crescent Fruit & Vegetable, manages the tours.

“This year, we’ll be expanding the virtual tours using drone technology during our tour with Tenaza Farms providing additional aerial views and a unique perspective that cannot be seen from the ground level,” Galeazzi said.

The session on Mexico Mythbusters will review misconceptions about doing business in Mexico with a dialogue on food safety, quality control and the growing importance of imports from Mexico. Tommy Wilkins of Grow Farms Texas will moderate the session providing his perspective as a former retailer. Panelists include Will Steele, president of Frontera Farms and Guillermo Martínez, general manager of Kingdom Fresh Farms.

Melinda Goodman, of FullTilt Marketing, and Sherry Frey, senior vice president of the Nielsen Perishables Group will utilize a combination of consumer trend data and research to offer insight into consumer behavior and how that will influence the future shopping experience.

In a session on Water Woes and the Weather, Joe Bastardi, chief forecaster at WeatherBELL Analytics will share how the science of weather forecasting and a greater understanding of global and historical weather patterns can provide important information relevant to financial and trend indicators for business growth and profitability.

For more information, visit the Viva Fresh Expo website.