Restaurant and food service industry professionals from across the United States and around the globe descend on Chicago for four days in May for the annual National Restaurant Association Show. It is one of the largest trade shows in the country, with the May 2024 show including more than 2,240 exhibitors and an estimated 58,000 attendees, representing 124 countries. This year, the show floor spanned over 723,400 square feet—over 12 football fields—offering attendees the opportunity to explore products and services across more than 900 categories. The show also features keynote addresses on a wide variety of topics, demonstrations of the latest equipment and technology, and lots of food and beverages to sample.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) organizes a Minnesota Pavilion at trade shows to showcase some of the most innovative food and beverage businesses and supporting organizations from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The “Taste of the States Pavilion” at the National Restaurant Show is unique in that the Minnesota Pavilion is within the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), with several states represented.
The Amazing Chickpea, Captain Ken’s Compart Duroc, Grik, Nordic Waffles, Papa George, Tater Kegs, Stone Gate Foods, The Good Acre, Forever Green Initiative, Per SE, P&TY Granola, and the Humble Goat/Stickney Hill Dairy were the 2024 Minnesota Pavilion participants. Business leaders receive a cost-share from the MDA to exhibit and the chance to meet and connect with representatives from the food service industry. Foodservice attendees included restaurants, schools, government, health, wellness, hospitality, leisure, senior living facilities, the military, and more.
Brian Erickson is the marketing program manager at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. This year’s Minnesota Pavilion was a mix of brands that have attended the show for many years as well as first-time attendees. Next year, MDA will have a bigger footprint at the show due to demand, he says.
“There is such a wide variety of buyers at this event. You have everything from golf courses to national restaurant chains. Breaking into retail can be difficult for new brands so to have so many different channels represented at the show can open additional avenues of growth and revenue,” Erickson explains.
Hally Turner is the founder and CEO of Per Se, a craft, alcohol-free beverage company. She says the experience was overwhelmingly positive. In years past, she ran out of printed marketing materials after the first day. This year, she met with several high-value contacts that can help grow her business. She is interested in expanding her product into new markets through partnerships with casinos, cruise ships, caterers, and others in the hospitality industry. She says that one of the best parts of attending the National Restaurant Association Show is that the connections she made underscore that there are several different paths to scaling her business.
“Growth is really driven by the right partners. I am serious about trying to get more alcohol-free options into the hands of consumers. It does not have to be a large business with hundreds of retail stores. If a partnership leads to more nonalcoholic choices in the market, I will happily work with anyone,” Turner says.
Lolly Occhino, AURI’s senior scientist for food, also attended the show with the Minnesota group. AURI’s food team works with many clients looking to expand into the food service industry so being at the show was a natural fit, Occhino says.
“We have clients who are looking to expand their products into places like school lunch programs. Participating with the Minnesota contingent as a resource, networking, and talking to people about the services we provide was important,” she explains.
Erickson said the MDA valued AURI’s attendance and involvement at this year’s show.
“To have Lolly attend and to be able to connect with companies and entrepreneurs and introduce AURI and what it can do and where they can assist was just so helpful. Together, we offered a good representation of the entire ecosystem that the state of Minnesota has to support our food and beverage brands,” he says.
Brit Williams is the founder of P&TY Granola Co., a gluten-free and dairy-free granola bar brand. She says MDA representatives did a remarkable job preparing Minnesota businesses to attend the show and maximize the opportunity.
“It is a massive show, so it is easy to feel overwhelmed. But when we were walking through, you could tell that people knew who we were, and that gave us instant credibility. It was also very positive to be with the other Minnesota food and beverage businesses and make those connections with entrepreneurs dealing with some of the same opportunities and challenges that I am,” she explains.
Williams says she brought about 1,500 bars to hand out as samples over the four-day show and received a lot of positive feedback on her brand story and the taste of the products.
“We had about 200 leads at the end of the four days. We met with a lot of people and had a lot of very good conversations on places where my bars could fit right in,” she notes.
“The food service industry opportunities for food companies have been strong since coming out of COVID. Attending the tradeshow opens up new doors for emerging Minnesota food companies and represents another market channel for these entrepreneurs that are poised for new growth,” says Occhino.
