This year was going to be my first time going to PMA Foodservice. I know, sounds weird, right? I’ve been covering the fresh produce industry for the past 15 years but had never gone to this show.
I’ve been more of a retail trade journalist, though, so it makes sense. (More on this later!)
To that end, PMA BB #:153708 reached out to me to see if I’d like a tour of the new Foodservice Delivered platform, and you know I’m all about tours, virtual or in-person.
With conferences going virtual this year, those of us who are pros at in-person shows have a few things to learn. I’m not going to spend too much time making direct comparisons with United Fresh’s Live platform, but it’s hard not to with it being my only other experience.
Foodservice Delivered is less of a virtual expo and more of a virtual conference format, so we’re not here looking for elaborate virtual booths.
Here are a few key things you should do to set yourself up for a productive Day 1:
- Register ahead of time. This seems like a no-brainer, but I was a slacker last time and didn’t register for United Fresh Live until I was ready to start the show, and I missed some of the first things that happened. Registering ahead of time gets you a link to go in and start the next step before next week.
- Fill out your Networking profile (under the Networking menu). Upload a photo, input your contact info, and choose your preferences on how much visibility you want to be available to other attendees.
- Look through the schedule and add the sessions you’d like to attend to your calendar. Don’t forget to add mine on Friday, when I’ll be talking about retail innovations, and how they can translate to foodservice.
Once you’re in, here’s my insider’s guide to my favorite features:
- The main page will look different every day, highlighting the main workshops for the day.
- When a live event is about to start, you’ll see the red “Live” box up at the top. Click that, and it will take you directly to the session.
- In the PMA Place tab, you’ll find help, and some fun things to do like scavenger hunts, for example.
- In the Networking tab you’ll find probably my favorite feature of this platform: visuals of who’s currently logged in, where you can chat them directly. You can also set up a group chat with several other people.
That’s it for my quick tour. Go ahead and register so you can get started as soon as they make the platform live.
