Food Fête Summer 2011 Recap

Our 2011 summer Food Fête event wrapped up last week — the seventh year we’ve brought together a select group of food, beverage and kitchenware companies to show off their newest products to the national food and lifestyle media.

I was extremely happy to see the strong media turnout, particularly the high quality of media outlets represented.  This was the first year Food Fête has not been held immediately after the summer Fancy Food Show, which I must say turned out to be an advantage, since the media seemed more energetic and enthusiastic, having not spent a full day on their feet at the Javits Center.

In attendance were 120 food writers and bloggers representing media outlets including All You, Allergic Girl, Bon Appetit, Brides, CBS Sunday Morning, Cool Hunting, Epicurious.com, Family circle, Fast Company, Fine Cooking, FIRST for Women, Food Network, FoodNetwork.com, Food Network Magazine, Food & Wine, Men’s Health, O, The Oprah Magazine, Oprah.com, Prevention, Real Simple, SELF, Weight Watchers Magazine, Woman’s Day and Woman’s World, among others.

For the complete list of exhibitors, visit our media page at www.foodfetepress.wordpress.com.  I also have begun a photo album on the Food Fête fan page at http://on.fb.me/l3CH6V.

Some early online coverage has started to emerge, which is posted below.  This list will be updated as I come across articles and posts, so check back for updates:

• Bite of the Best (Graeter’s Ice Cream) http://bit.ly/rknnjA
• CoolHunting.com (SNAP Infusion Supercandy) http://bit.ly/qu3Xip 
• CoolHunting.com (Yasso Frozen Yogurt) http://bit.ly/n4n6az
• Bite of the Best (Columbus Foods) http://bit.ly/rs9B77 
• Embrace G-Free (Victoria Gourmet) http://bit.ly/qhVw9D 
• Embrace G-Free (general event coverage) http://bit.ly/pTsv82 
• The Aspiring RD (multiple products) http://bit.ly/roKiVx 
• Gluten-Free Fun (multiple products) http://bit.ly/qXpxn6
• Embrace Gluten-Free (Mary’s Gone Crackers) http://bit.ly/pLy2O9
• Embrace Gluten-Free (Angie’s Kettle Corn) http://bit.ly/mUPdlI

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Food Fete NYC ’10 Recap

It’s hard not to be just a little proud when food writer after food writer goes out of their way to tell me this was the best Food Fête yet.

Especially when I happen to agree.

Despite a little rain around the time Food Fête opened its doors Monday night, nearly 140 food journalists and food bloggers attended our sixth annual Food Fête event in New York on Monday to meet with our 55 exhibitors — record numbers on both fronts.  Particularly rewarding was when some of the most prominent names in food journalism walked through the door.

On hand were writers/producers from Food & Wine, O the Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, Food Network, CNN Eatocracy (CNN’s new food blog), Martha Stewart Living, Ladies’ Home Journal, Better Homes & Gardens, CBS Sunday Morning, Huffington Post, CoolHunting.com, Epicurious.com, AOL/Slashfood, Family Circle, Real Simple, Parade, Parents, Woman’s Day, Woman’s World, Dessert Professional and TheNibble.com, to name a few.

Metrics aside, I believe the vibe and energy of the room made this particular Food Fête memorable. Among the comments from editors were how friendly, energetic and professional the exhibitors were; how we assembled a really strong mix of companies; and how Food Fete continues to be their favorite food event of the year (okay, I never get tired of hearing that.)

Some very early coverage has started to pop up, and I will update this listing in the coming days and weeks:

• Endless Simmer blog (round-up)
• Parents.com (Calif. Table Grape Commission)
• Supermarket News (round-up)
• Allergic Girl blog
• “Bite of the Best” (Chobani Greek Yogurt)
• The Stir blog (Jones Soda, Chocri)
• My Life On and Off the Guest List blog (Unwind)
• Healthcastle.com
• Bite of the Best (Christopher Ranch Green Garlic)
• IAteAPie.net (popchips)
• TheNibble.com (Fresh Express)
• Bite of the Best (Suncups)
• Fat City Blog (Jones Soda)
• The Courtesan Cooks (Duncan Hines, Scharffen Berger)

You can also read what some of our media attendees and exhibitors had to say by following the #FoodFete Twitter stream.

2011 will be a year of significant expansion for Food Fête, but I can’t reveal those details just yet.

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5 Reasons To Launch At Food Fête

Food companies and their PR agencies who have exhibited at previous Food Fête media events don’t need a lot of convincing, but for those who’ve been weighing the pros and cons of joining us, here are five reasons why Food Fête is a terrific platform for launching new products.

1. Intimate & 100% Media-Focused: Trying to wrangle media at huge trade shows for a new product launch is tough and not getting easier.  It becomes a game of scanning name badges for “Press,” then getting their attention long enough to hear your micro-pitch.  Few editors will set appointments, and if they happen to stop by your booth when you’re speaking with a prospective customer, it’s a lost opportunity.  They’ve moved on. Food Fête is the opposite.  It’s 100% media-focused, so there are no distractions. We keep thing intimate so editors and bloggers have time to experience everything.  Our cocktail party setting also helps!

2. Relationship-building: I’ve read a lot lately questioning the future of face-to-face media interactions in the context of a changing media landscape and surge in social media. Regardless of how many Twitter media followers you have, real people are still hard at work creating content (traditional or otherwise), and having the opportunity to meet them in person to tell your (or your client’s) story can make all the difference in the world.

3. Economies of Scale: Food Fête typically attracts anywhere from 60 to 130 food media attendees, depending on location.  While media tours and desk sides are still a staple in the PR toolbox, they are becoming more difficult to book and more costly to execute. For a fraction of the cost of a media tour, Food Fête puts you in front of many of the editors you’d typically meet anyway, plus others (especially bloggers) who might never take a traditional meeting.

4. Product Sampling: The importance of getting food writers and bloggers to actually sample your products is a no-brainer. They can’t (or shouldn’t) review a product without trying it, and Food Fête accomplishes that and more. In addition to tabletop sampling, our Food Fête media sample bag puts your products directly into the media’s hands for potential review, saving you the time and expense of shipping individual review samples.

5. Credibility: As Food Fête enters its sixth year, it has earned a strong reputation for delivering quality new products at a well-produced event. A prolific food blogger for one of the country’s top food blogs calls Food Fête her “favorite food event of the year.”  Food writers get excited about attending each year, which adds to Food Fête’s event “personality,” creating added value for our exhibitors.

If you still need convincing, contact Jeff Davis at 503-719-4961 or jeff at foodfete dot com to discuss.

Our next Food Fête event is Jan. 18, 2010 in San Francisco, and we’re currently accepting exhibitor applications. Download the event brochure and application at www.foodfete.wordpress.com/forms.

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Now Accepting Exhibitor Apps for January ’10 Event

It’s hard to believe that when our Winter 2010 Food Fete event rolls around on Jan. 18, it will mark our sixth year.  Lots of fun has been had and lessons learned in that timeframe.

We’re now accepting exhibitor applications for the Jan. 18 event in San Francisco.  Unlike our New York event, which draws many of the consumer food and lifestyle magazines based in NYC, the San Francisco event is more regional and attracts more bloggers and online media.

And for those who’ve attended both, the SF event has a different vibe.  It’s a smaller event, so things are more intimate.  And if last year is any indication, the media bave a great time (the wine and cocktails help in that regard) meeting with food companies and each other.

Download the event brochure and exhibitor applications at www.foodfete.com/forms.html or from the “Forms” section on this blog.

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Food Fete Winter 2010 Brochure Now Available

The event brochure for our annual Food Fete event in San Francisco is now available for download.  Visit the “Forms” page on this blog to download the brochure and exhibitor application.

Food Fete San Francisco will be held Monday, Jan. 18, 2010.  Event fees for the Jan. 2010 event will remain the same as 2009.

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Thank You

I’ve been truly humbled by the response to this summer’s upcoming Food Fete media event.

I have to admit that four month ago, when nothing but economic gloom and doom dominated the headlines and I was beginning the marketing for our flagship summer media event, I braced myself for fewer exhibitors and lower revenues than last year.  I knew budgets were cut and companies were scaling back the marketing and PR spending.  And sadly, some small food producers hadn’t survived the downturn.

Fast forward to this week when I wrapped up the exhibitor sales and media invitations, to see we have a record 50 companies involved and a media RSVP list approaching 165. The buzz is building to new levels, and chances are I may have to turn away some media, due to venue capacity limits.

Never before have I seen this strong level of interest in our event, and for that I am extremely grateful.  I thank the companies, PR agencies and members of the food media who continue to put their trust in Food Fete to deliver value.

One new addition to this year’s event is on-the-fly Twittering from Food Fete.  We’re having someone with one of those new HP Netbooks roaming the event floor, inviting exhibitors and media to tweet live from the event.  If you want to follow the activities, search for #foodfete on Twitter beginning June 29.

You can follow me on Twitter @foodfete.

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