The Canadian Produce Marketing Show has tallied the final numbers for its 2023 Convention and Trade Show in Toronto. It was the biggest ever with more than 4,200 attending the event.

-  637 exhibitors from more than 300 companies accounted for 63,700 square feet of booth space on the Trade Show floor.

-  Among those were 158 international exhibitors from 11 countries, 159 Canadian exhibitors, and 50 first-time exhibitors, who donated 49,473 lbs of their leftover produce to Second Harvest and Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank.

-  The 2023 New Product Showcase included 69 products from 49 different companies.

“We were thrilled to welcome both Canadian and international produce industry members back to Toronto after six years,” said Ron Lemaire, CPMA president. “This year’s event was a huge success attracting the highest number of registrants and attendees exceeding all our past shows. This turnout illustrates the important role our show plays providing the industry with exceptional opportunities for education, networking, socializing, innovation and business development, as members showcase produce from across the world.”

CPMA congratulates the winners of this year’s awards. The following individuals and companies earned honours at this year’s event:

-  Fresh Health Award – Mucci Farms

-  Young Professional Award – Greg Palmer, Loblaws Companies Ltd.

-  Lifetime Achievement Award – Sam Silvestro

-  The Packer’s Produce Person of the Year Award – Mario Masellis, Catania Worldwide

Best Booth Awards

-  Best Island Booth Award –EarthFresh (booth 820)

-  Best Inline Booth Award – Highline Mushrooms (booth 310)

-  Best First-Time Exhibitor Booth Award– Lucid Corp (booth 1923)

New Product Showcase Awards

-  Best New Product Award – Yoom Tomatoes by Nature Fresh Farms

-  Best Snackable Product Award – Boost Bento and Bliss Bento by Naturipe Farms

-  Packaging Innovation Award – Closed Baskets for fresh produce by Cascades

-  Organics Award – Queen of Greens by Mastronardi Produce

CPMA looks forward to welcoming everyone April 23-25, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Source:  Canadian Produce Marketing Association May 2, 2023 news release