Crystal Valley Foods' Katiana Valdes Discusses Global Produce & Floral Show
MIAMI, FL - Produce trade shows are a carefully choreographed dance—built with much anticipation and often performed on a global stage. Crystal Valley Foods will be pirouetting into the International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) Global Produce & Floral Show this year, bringing along a Crystal Valley-only booth for the first time. I spoke with Katiana Valdes, Director of Marketing and Business Development, who filled me in.
“We are looking forward to finally getting back to an in-person IFPA show after three long years. We are excited to be able to showcase our items at our first exclusive booth,” she told me. “This show is always a great opportunity to meet with our customers, potential customers, vendors, and growers all in one place and to catch up with our industry colleagues. It also takes place at the perfect time to review the current year and plan with current and new customers and vendors for the coming year.”
Crystal Valley will be showcasing its full line of products this year. There will be everything from bulk fruits and veggies—including asparagus, baby vegetables, berries, French beans, peas, tropicals, and ethnics—to the value-added line.
“Attendees will be able to learn about our broad line of specialty products and value-added items that sometimes is difficult to express over the phone or online. It is also important that we are able to interact face to face with our customers,” Katiana continued. “We have an incredible team at Crystal Valley and it is perfect that this show is in Orlando, Florida, so a good number of Crystal Valley employees will be attending this year since it is not a far ride from Miami. The Crystal Valley team is very passionate and enthusiastic, and nothing compares to in-person, human interaction to be able to express the quality and knowledge of our group.”
As Katiana expressed, there is no replacement for meeting customers, vendors, and colleagues in person and getting some much-lost facetime with everyone. Through its team members and the variety of items that will be showcased at its booth, Crystal Valley hopes to express the quality of service and products it provides.
“We have been a leading specialty produce company since we opened our doors in 1994, and we continue to look to the future and focus on innovation and growth to make sure we are here for the long run,” she noted. “Of course, we also hope to be able to hopefully get potential business from the event as well.”
On a final note, we touched on the significance of Crystal Valley exhibiting at its own booth for the first time.
“IFPA is the biggest produce event of the year and a show where almost all our grower partners and customers gather. We have been going to the show, and exhibiting a limited number of items at a shared booth, for many years. Over the last several years, however, we have been expanding in many areas of the company and it was important that this year we had a space to exhibit our extensive line. We had plans to debut our new booth in 2020, so this year’s show is a few years in the making,” Katiana concluded.
If you plan to attend, this is one company I highly recommend adding to your list of folks to visit. Crystal Valley Foods never disappoints!
