The organizers of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America announced a larger 41st edition, with an exhibit hall currently featuring over 25 percent more exhibit space than last year, and still growing. The event, which is produced by Diversified Communications, will take place March 12–14, 2023 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
“It is very exciting to see such significant growth of the event. It is a testament to how much the industry values the opportunities the in-person expo provides for their business,” said Wynter Courmont, Event Director at Diversified Communications.
“While we still have about five more weeks in the commercial cycle, we have seen increased presence from countries like Canada, China, Ecuador, Iceland, India, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the US,” added Courmont. To date, new participating exhibiting countries include Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea among others; and new pavilions represent Australia, Denmark, Papua New Guinea and Poland. China is also back with a notable presence, after a hiatus brought on by pandemic travel restrictions.
The exhibit hall will be packed with seafood and processing companies offering a variety of fresh, frozen, canned, value-added, processed and packaged seafood products as well as processing and packaging equipment, logistics and other service providers. Companies such as Acme Smoked Fish, Bakkafrost, Beaver Street Fisheries, Camanchaca, Cermaq US, Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods, Clearwater Seafoods, C.P. Food Products, Eastern Fish Co., Eastern Fisheries, Fortune International, Harbor Seafood, Hilo Fish Company, Mowi USA, Nissui Corporation, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Pescanova USA, Phillips Foods, Sea Port Products, Sea Watch International, Southstream Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, True North Seafood and Westmorland Fisheries, among others, will be present at the 2023 edition.
The Expo offers three days of unique opportunity for suppliers to meet in person, network and conduct business with North American buyers from restaurants, supermarkets, catering firms, seafood markets, hotels, airlines and cruise lines as well as importers, wholesalers and distributors.
In 2022, 86 percent of visitors surveyed were involved in or influenced purchasing decisions and 73 percent of visitors who were looking for new products or innovations achieved their objectives.
In addition to an expanded exhibit hall, the 2023 edition will highlight an educational conference program covering more than 30 sessions addressing the most relevant topics and trends in the industry. Global economist and keynote speaker, Megan Greene, will return to present an “Economic Update for 2023 – Where are we headed?” and provide predictions on where the global recovery is heading, including an outlook for international supply chain challenges, inflation and climate change. In the annual “Power of Seafood 2023” report update, speakers will share shopper behavior data that provides insightful information for retailers interested in growing seafood sales. During “The Evolution and Future of Seafood Processing” discussion, an expert panel will address how processing has changed, what the current market demand looks like and where there are future opportunities. The “Seafood Trends in Foodservice” presentation will draw from Datassential’s extensive resources to offer attendees information to give them a better understanding of seafood trends in the U.S. and to provide suggestions on how companies can build more targeted strategies.
Led by industry experts and thought leaders, such as Rick Spinrad, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at NOAA; Steve Philips, Group Manager, Seafood at Wegmans Food Markets; Stefanie Moreland, EVP Public Affairs at Trident Seafoods; Ben Conniff, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Luke’s Lobster; and Becca Millstein, Cofounder/CEO of Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co., the conference program will provide attendees with engaging and practical information to bring back to their business.
The exhibit hall will also present special features to enhance attendees’ experience and product knowledge such as the New and Featured Product showcases, the Seafood Excellence Awards, a new Attendee Empowerment Lounge providing content to help attendees with social media presence and career development, chef demonstrations and the popular annual oyster shucking competition.