"It was my first time experiencing an ECRM virtual show. I was impressed with the technical support throughout the whole process, and the comfort of fitting it in to my work schedule."
Jon Calligandes, Associated Grocers of New England
"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
"These are pioneering times in the industry we all play in. Your company’s role is setting new standards and it’s great to be both a participant and a partner in it’s development."
Jonas Rempel
Giant Tiger Stores Ltd.
"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
"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
"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
"ECRM shows are the best! I have attended for the last 3 years, and it keeps getting better. Speed dating for food service. I am working with companies that I have had meetings with that I never would have been introduced to if it weren’t for ECRM."
Greg Schuck
Chattanooga State Community College
"The EPPS sessions are valuable for both the buyer and seller attendees. As a buyer attendee, we get to talk many times with the owners and the people from the companies that make top level decisions for their companies. This is generally a two way street. The buyer will present what they offer, but many times want to know from us, if they are going in the right direction. So, not only do we see what they offer, we many times help steer them in the direction they need to go to meet our needs. ECRM is also developing events geared towards the university and college foodservice, and this makes the sessions even more relevant and valuable to our market."
Jim Selz
UW-Stout
"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
"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