"I had very productive meetings and was able to meet some new manufacturers I was unaware of, and some that had really innovative products that I think will work well for us. I wouldn’t have found these without participating in the ECRM program this week. I will definitely be back and look forward to it."
Tara Anderson
Holiday Stationstores, Inc.
"This was my first ECRM experience, in-person or virtual and it was great! Super informative. I came into this with an open mind looking for fast and easy solutions that would help our department adapt to the many changes due to the pandemic. I found some great opportunities that I’ll be following up with right away."
Rochelle Drexler
Aspirus
"The virtual Foodservice Program was the perfect solution for networking during this pandemic. It connected me to close to 50 new suppliers in only 2 short days. I really appreciate everything that you and ECRM do!"
Brendan Siereveld
Gordon Food Service
"ECRM is an example of how great companies pivot. The virtual program(s) I've attended since the start of Covid-19 have been exceptional. It's a great platform to interact with potential buyers remotely, and then have samples sent for consideration. As a seller who has been focused on foodservice prior to Covid, ECRM gave us the ability to start building a retail portfolio to help diversify our offerings. Highly recommended!"
Eric Ciancaglini
Chank's Gourmet Egg Rolls
"This has been an amazing experience, innovative companies, above and beyond last year. Actionability of vendors is more immediate and this is hands down a great event for our specialty foods needs."
Robert Baek
Fast Fine Restaurant Group
"I love the ECRM format. Pretty much everyone I met with really understood my business and catered their approach. I plan to follow up with about 50% of the vendors I met, and hopefully we can do some business. The ECRM concept is great, and the team is organized, helpful and hospitable."
David Tooley
Dot Foods, Inc.
"We like coming to this show because it’s a casual atmosphere. You can actually sit and talk to people, unlike when you’re at a big trade show you can have 20 people at your booth and you’re trying to talk to everyone at once. At this show, you can sit and talk to them during your meetings, out in the hallways, when you’re sitting for lunch and when you’re going to dinner. You’re constantly able to meet with people in a casual atmosphere. We find that this is a very good show for us. We enjoy the companies that we have had meetings with because when we put a meeting together we know that they have a need for us and we have a need to show them our product. The type of people that we are seeing here are a lot of restaurants, convenience stores and universities."
Lynn Setlich
Sunkist Foodservice Equipment
"I’ve been exposed to a lot of new vendors. Some that I’ve seen before, but very few. This is a different type of show that attracts a different type of vendor. And the exposure that I have had to these people will allow me to take back some ideas to implement into our company."
Brian Keyes
Connor Concepts Inc.
"ECRM events are awesome. I’ve stopped attending large food shows because I get so much more out of the ECRM sessions and knowledge from regional vendors with their product innovations and quality with clean ingredients . The meetings are relevant and focused, and everything is scheduled in advance."
Cecil Palanna
SYSCO Canada
"ECRM helps small suppliers get the audience and tell their story. It’s been a great investment of our time and I definitely endorse the process. I was impressed with the level of coordination and the attention to detail from the ECRM team."
Steve Lenderman
Delta Air Lines
"Many of the shows we go to just let you loose without any help. ECRM was so helpful every step of the way! We were very impressed with the support and customer service provided by the ECRM team from initial planning, all the way to the time of the show. We also found the private meeting format and the quality of the attendees to be a great match. We look forward to our next ECRM show!"
Olympia Foods
"After you attend an ECRM session, you will never want to attend a regular tradeshow again! We had a productive and great experience at this event, primarily due to the intimate nature of the show. While 10-minute meetings may seem short, it was all the time we needed to obtain a clear and focused discussion, especially since there isn’t the noise and distraction of a traditional tradeshow. I also give kudos to the ECRM team for bringing in great buyers who we typically don’t get to meet at regular shows. Overall, the relaxed and professional vibe and the small scale of the event allows for super productive meetings and a fun environment for all attendees. Huge thanks to the ECRM team for making our experience great!"
Andy Aussie
Earnest Eats
"My first time at an ECRM show, and it exceeded my expectations! I’ve done many typical tradeshows and found ECRM to be much more efficient and effective. I had great meetings and accomplished in one week what would have taken 6 months of cold calling and traveling to meet buyers around the country. The execution of the show and the staff was very professional. I am very happy with my ECRM experience and will definitely be participating in future shows."
Danny Grossfield
HotShot USA
"Overall, we loved ECRM! We were able to meet with critical decision makers from industry leading companies. We had insightful and impactful meetings in a very efficient manner. We look forward to seeing these connections drive our business forward. Also, the ECRM staff is incredible. They ensured we had a smooth, set-up process and a great time during our meetings."
Annie Finfrock
RxBar
"Terrific organization & logistics! The show runs like clockwork. Wonderful social environment and getting together enables development of relationships. Buyers are motivated, interested and clear about products that want need/ or don’t want/need so you can prioritize leads easily.
Many of these accounts are ones that would have been very hard for us to meet with outside of ECRM. Overall a great show, clearly a more relaxed, engaging and powerfully rewarding experience compared to most traditional tradeshows."
Phil Robbins
Homefree, LLC
"I’ve been to shows of all shapes and sizes and the biggest challenge is being able to wade through the overwhelming number of booths & products with any sort of true focus. The ECRM Sessions were different. I got pre-scheduled one-on-one time with each relevant supplier which really allowed me to better understand them & their products, and them to better understand us and our objectives. All of the details from travel, to my schedule and more were taken care of for me and everything ran very smoothly. I found more than one new supplier that we are now actively pursuing business with, and I requested samples from about 60% of my meeting list with some very promising opportunities. I accomplished all of this is just a couple days, and without feeling overwhelmed."
Saphia Merkus
Panago Pizza Inc.
"I go into my meetings at ECRM Sessions with an open mind. Not everything is a perfect fit, but you never know what may happen down the line. I’ve attended a couple of these sessions now, and I have to say that each year, the meetings get better and better."
Dave Hatcher
Sodexo USA
"We truly enjoyed our first ECRM EPPS. I loved how organized it was, and thought the villas were a great way to present our food/concepts. We were also impressed with the quality/participation of the folks in our appointments. We are already looking forward to come back next year!"
Pat Newsham
Arcobasso Foods Manufacturing Co
"ECRM is like Shark Tank: a place where small companies can become something big. I attend because it’s the perfect forum to find innovation, and I always walk away with at least 3-4 items I can incorporate into our menus."
Mike Turner
Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar
"I feel this was one of the best shows that I have worked. We met lots of interested key buyers. I am confident that we will gain new business from this show."
Al Salgado
Devanco Foods
"ECRM has a very unique system. It is like speed dating, but with suppliers. The format allows us time to see products that we would otherwise not find in other big shows. We also like the time we spend with the suppliers to talk about what works for us, and how we can work together on future opportunities. Big shows do not give us the time to really talk about how we can partner with them to board a product on our planes. United comes to the ECRM food shows and has found many items that have great promise to board on our planes. One of the most popular ones that we found that is currently flying is the stroopwafle."
Marisol Otero
United Airlines
"We recently attended the April 2014 Food Service ECRM event in Cape Coral Florida. We have attended several Retail Dry Grocery Events but this was our first Food Service Event.
All ECRM events are well managed and they attract a good selection of quality, key decision makers. While some of these events are more expensive than exhibiting at "traditional tradeshows", the quality of leads we obtain and the customers gained is worth the time and expense.
It is simply a much better use of my Sales staff time to have short quality meetings at ECRM, versus working a tradeshow for three 10 hour days hoping your buyers stop by your booth."
Steve Morris
Atlantic Natural Foods, LLC
"The ECRM event was extremely well organized with a numerous amount of things going on. The venue for the event was nice and well maintained. During the event ECRM did a wonderful job having several places to networks/connect with attendees such as lunch, dinner, cocktail hour and the offsite dinner. It was a great event to network at. The appointments were very productive. The staff was delightful and very accommodating, great team work. The other thing that is nice about the ECRM event is the Profile book you receive; it acts as a great reference guide! The Buyers were truly engaged in event and meetings, no wasted time. Every attendee, buyers and vendors were very involved and trying to make deals at the event. The iPad that was provided for us was very useful and an ideal reference tool! Overall from the event there has been very positive follow-up with buyer I met with, great networking source."
David Edelstein
Barney Butter
"This ECRM foodservice event has been very positive for our company. Because we are small manufacturer, it’s not always easy to get meetings with the big retailers. But, this format allows us to get the return on investment and spend casual networking time with our target customers that we might not usually obtain. The fee to attend is only a fraction of the travel fees it would cost to see every one of these customers at their office."
Gregg Raffensperger
Delizza Patisserie