LOS ANGELES - Challenge accepted. These are the words spoken by the team at The Giumarra Companies as our traditional trade shows have gone from handshakes, cocktails, and sore feet to computer screens, home offices, and video meetings. You can’t get an innovative company down in this industry, and Giumarra always helps to elevate the bar as today demands our evolution. With PMA Foodservice Delivered just days away on July 20-24, I took a beat with some of Giumarra’s finest to talk shop and virtual prowess.

“For the inaugural PMA Foodservice: Delivered event, we are participating as a sponsor and are looking forward to the value PMA brings to the stage. PMA has taken a unique approach with this virtual experience and opted to group participating companies into five industry ‘challenges’ identified by buyers,” Megan Schulz, Director of Communications, tells me. “This is a great, solution-focused tactic and will connect the right buyers with the solutions they are seeking.”

Giumarra elected to participate in the Supply Chain Challenges portion. In a nutshell, think of Giumarra for quality produce delivered to customers in the most efficient way possible.

The Giumarra team created various tools and videos for the virtual experience to help members of the foodservice industry learn more about Giumarra and its product and service offerings.

“Beyond being purely informational, we are also including some fun elements designed to lift spirits and share fresh ideas around produce. If you spend time exploring our sponsor page and watching our Chef’s Table session, you’ll spot some familiar faces and even a well-known chef! Foodservice distributors will also find a way to help us support Brighter Bites and give back to local communities,” Megan shares.

For Chef’s Table, Giumarra focused on food as an element that brings people together and gives them an outlet to let those unique personalities shine. Keep an eye out for the session, which features a Cook at Home challenge with five “friends of Giumarra”– various people in the Giumarra network who all have professional and personal connections to food.

Giumarra Avocados from Nature’s Partner on Vimeo.

To say that Giumarra has kept busy would be an understatement.

Expanding on the vision for Giumarra’s foodservice platform, Gary Caloroso, Regional Business Development Director, tells me that the team’s hope is to interact with as many foodservice customers as it can and engage in meaningful discussions centered around important topics in the industry.

“This is a challenging time for foodservice. We want our customers to know that we are eager to support them with our comprehensive services program and 52-week availability on key foodservice items. Our popular foodservice items include avocados, berries, citrus, grapes, kiwifruit, squash, stone fruit, tomatoes, and watermelon,” Gary expresses. “While the current landscape may look different for foodservice, consumers are still seeking unique experiences when dining, albeit in a socially-distanced manner.”

By being solutions-oriented and sharing innovative ideas, Giumarra can help the foodservice industry meet the challenges to come, Megan adds.

“Giumarra has a robust foodservice produce offering, including being one of the largest suppliers of avocados in the U.S. Additionally, we offer comprehensive services to support our product line. These include trucking and logistics, consolidation, and packaging,” Gary says, echoing Megan’s deep passion for the company vision and road ahead.

As we look to the kick-off of the event, attendees can also plan on connecting with Giumarra’s marketing and business development team during Foodservice Delivered.

With their virtual boots on the ground, the Giumarra team is meeting today’s challenges with meaningful solutions. So, swing by and say hi!

The Giumarra Companies