ATLANTA — KeHE welcomed nearly 4,000 industry professionals to the 2018 Summer Selling Show in Atlanta on Feb. 6-7. The Georgia World Congress Center was buzzing with activity as retailers, vendors and brokers surveyed the best natural & organic, specialty and fresh summer products from approximately 700 exhibiting companies.
“We are thrilled by the growth of the Summer Selling Show,” said Brandon Barnholt, President and CEO, KeHE. “KeHE’s Summer Selling Show is a trusted resource for our customers, who can count on finding the hottest deals from new and established brands as well as exciting marketplaces of innovative new products.”
New for 2018 were the Health & Wellness Marketplace, where attendees explored the latest products encouraging healthy living, and the International Bazaar, featuring the hottest offerings from around the world.
The Fresh Pavilion was another hot spot for show attendees interested in the latest offerings for bulk/foodservice and retail deli, bakery, cheese and perimeter departments. They also explored items from more than 150 companies featured in the New Product Showcase. Retailers cast their votes for the top items in the showcase in seven categories. The 2018 winners are:
- Best of Show – Mad Dog & Merrill Brand
- Best Packaging – Maya Kaimal
- Best Mission Based Product – Kize Concepts Inc.
- Best Organic Food/Beverage Product – Nooma
- Best Center Store Product – Simple Mills
- Best Fresh/Frozen Product – Cali’flour Foods
- Best Healthy Living Product – Stoneworks by GrabGreen
KeHE also debuted the newest partners in its CAREtrade™ initiative, which supports businesses that advance a higher purpose. The five new partners for this year are Dignity Coconuts, Mavuno Harvest, Native American Natural Foods, The Real Co. and Tony’s Chocolonely.
Thanks in part to the traffic to the KeHE Cares™ booth, donations to several charitable organizations increased by 40 percent this year. Show attendees received a wooden token to drop into a jar for one of five organizations represented. For each token placed in its jar, the organization received a $5 donation from KeHE Cares™. This year, $12,075 will be donated to the selected charities.
KeHE and its supplier partners also donated more than 41,000 pounds of food products to Atlanta Community Food Bank following the show.
About KeHE
KeHE Distributors, LLC (KeHE) provides Natural & Organic, Specialty and Fresh products to natural food stores, chain grocery stores, independent grocery stores and other specialty product retailers throughout North America. KeHE is the trusted B Corp Certified and employee-owned company with more than 5,500 CareholdersTM in the U.S. and Canada. For more about KeHE, visit KeHE.com.