By Maggie Gioia | Marketing Coordinator
This past Thursday, National Convenience Distributors hosted their football-themed 2022 fall trade show at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. With nearly 200 vendor booths to choose from, attending retailers scored on exclusive deals on innovation items and bestsellers.
While the event featured a star-studded lineup of vendors, NCD’s proprietary foodservice brands clinched the MVP title. From 10:00am to 5:00pm, NCD’s foodservice booths were cooking – literally!
The center of the trade show floor showcased NCD’s foodservice team at work. Behind a fully merchandised counterspace was NCD’s food service team. Leading the charge was senior culinary chef and trainer, Roger Foley. As the food genius behind Mighty Chicken and My Pie Pizza’s signature dishes, Foley was busy serving up the two brands’ popular items, including chicken sandwiches and plain slices. Attendees could also find Foley and the team preparing several new offerings, like dumplings and tossed wings.
“NCD’s trade shows attract customers who want to see innovation and ways to upgrade their stores. The c-store and NCD’s quick service restaurant was rocking from beginning to end and generated a lot of interest,” said Marty Glick, NCD’s executive vice president of divisional sales.
The increasing demand for fresh, quality, handcrafted items have put foodservice at the forefront of industry trends. Accordingly, the NCD event highlighted the foodservice category’s growth. Both Mighty Chicken and My Pie Pizza maintained a steady crowd throughout the show, with some customers even traveling to the show specifically to see these programs in action and sign up for the full package. Similarly, bean-to-cup sales have skyrocketed. As a result, interest in NCD’s Island Coffee and Beantown Coffee bean-to-cup offerings has continued to expand.
“The amount of interest from the customers that wanted to learn about the programs was amazing,” said Michael Lagana, NCD Tri-State Division’s foodservice director. “The foodservice department did great with bean-to-cup sales and new Mighty Chicken placements.”
In addition to the emphasis on foodservice, the trade show presented yet another opportunity for team NCD to strengthen their relationship with colleagues from other divisions.
“I loved the collaboration between all the divisions. I felt great energy working together,” said Lagana.
This energy was felt by all, and truly created a memorable experience for attendees and hosts alike.
“The passion of NCD was contagious and the attendees fed off it! Every NCD event feels like a family reunion, it’s very special,” said Glick.
Jeff Allen, NCD’s chief executive officer shared in this sentiment.
“As always, it was an outstanding event. NCD is really becoming a family.”
