MISSION, TX - After a successful debut of bringing innovative technology to the conference room, Viva Fresh Expo is looking to bump up the stakes with what it is calling “a glimpse into the future.”

Adding on to last year’s real-time virtual farm tours, Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) is now incorporating sky views with drone technology.

“When we launched the original virtual field tours during the inaugural expo in 2015, we received tremendous positive feedback,” Dante Galeazzi of Crescent Fruit & Vegetable and manager of the tours, commented in a release. “Buyers were able to see and speak to the grower in the field in real time. 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.”

This year’s virtual field tours will take attendees to Triple H Produce in Sonora, Mexico, and Tenaza Farms in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas without ever having to get into a vehicle.

As exciting as this might be, it is just one aspect of insights Viva Fresh looks to offer its attendees, according to TIPA President and CEO Bret Erickson.

“We’re really pleased with the comprehensive range of topics and expert speakers this year,” Erickson stated. “Education is a key component of the Viva Fresh Expo and the variety of topics is relevant to all attendees and relates to what is currently impacting the produce industry both today and in the future.”

Sessions kick off on Friday, April 1 at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, Texas, promising quite the educational lineup, including Mexico Mythbusters, a session moderated by Grow Farms Texas’ and former retailer Tommy Wilkins, which will review misconceptions about doing business in Mexico with a dialogue on food safety, quality control, and Mexico’s growth in importing.

Panelists include Will Steele, President of Frontera Farms, and Guillermo Martínez, General Manager, Kingdom Fresh Farms.

Melinda Goodman of FullTilt Marketing and Senior Vice President of the Nielsen Perishables Group, Sherry Frey, will turn the focus to the future with a combination of consumer trend data and research to offer insight into both consumer behavior its influence in future shopping experiences.

“We have an exciting and relevant lineup of topics and speakers,” Goodman, who also serves as the Education Committee Chair, said. “Our goal is push the boundaries of traditional lecture sessions with innovative topics and interactive presentations that engage the audience and create an ongoing dialogue that shares key learnings from examining what’s happening in Mexico, to the impact of global weather patterns and predicting the future of the grocery shopping experience with the growth of Technology.”

Frey added that the industry often thinks of products as commodities and fails to understand the power of the consumer experience, as well as how products and the environments in which they are offered impact paths to purchase and, ultimately, consumption.

Looking to water challenges and the weather, Joe Bastardi, Chief Forecaster at WeatherBELL Analytics will also be there to speak on how greater understanding of global and historical weather patterns and the science of forecasting the weather can help to provide important information for business growth and profitability.

For more information on what to expect at the end of this month in San Antionio, Texas, visit the expo website at www.VivaFreshExpo.com.

Viva Fresh Expo