Larger exhibition space planned for 2023 Seafood Expo North America

The 2023 edition of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America will feature over 25 percent more exhibit space than 2022, according to Diversified Communications, the event’s organizer.

The trade show, taking place 12 to 14 March, 2023 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., will see significant year-over-year growth, Diversified Event Director Wynter Courmont said. [Editor’s note: Diversified Communications also owns and operates SeafoodSource.]

“It is very exciting to see such significant growth of the event.  It is a testament to how much the industry values the opportunities the in-person expo provides for their business,” Courmont said. “While we still have about five more weeks in the commercial cycle, we have seen increased presence from countries like Canada, China, Ecuador, Iceland, India, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and the U.S.,”

New participating exhibiting countries at the 2023 Seafood Expo North America include Morocco, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and more; and new pavilions representing Australia, Denmark, Papua New Guinea, and Poland will also be present, according to Diversified. China will also have a presence at the show after a hiatus due to Covid-related travel restrictions.

Many of the biggest seafood companies in the world will attending the show, featuring fresh, frozen, canned, value-added, processed, and packaged seafood products. The processing, packaging, logistics and support services sectors will also have a large presence at the event, according to Diversified.

Among the companies slated to exhibit at the 2023 event are Acme Smoked Fish, Bakkafrost, Beaver Street Fisheries, Camanchaca, Cermaq US, Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods, Clearwater Seafoods, C.P. Food Products, Eastern Fish Co., Eastern Fisheries, Fortune International, Harbor Seafood, Hilo Fish Company, Mowi USA, Nissui Corporation, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Pescanova USA, Phillips Foods, Sea Port Products, Sea Watch International, Southstream Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, True North Seafood, and Westmorland Fisheries, among others.

This year’s Seafood Expo North America will also include New and Featured Product Showcases, the Seafood Excellence Awards, a new attendee empowerment lounge providing content to help attendees improve their social media presence and career development, chef demonstrations, and the an oyster-shucking competition, according to Diversified.

Suppliers at the event will have the opportunity to meet with buyers from North American restaurants, supermarkets, catering firms, seafood markets, hotels, airlines, and cruise lines, in addition to importers, wholesalers, and distributors, Diversified said. In 2022, 86 percent of show visitors surveyed were involved in or influenced purchasing decisions and 73 percent were looking for new products or innovations achieved their objectives, the Portland, Maine, U.S.A.-based trade show organizer said.

In addition, the 2023 edition of Seafood Expo North America will include an educational conference program with 30 sessions addressing topics of interest to the North American seafood industry. The keynote presentation will be presented by Megan Greene, a senior fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her address, “Economic Update for 2023 – Where are we headed?” will provide an outlook on international supply chain challenges, inflation, and the economic impacts of climate change. Other expert panelists will delve into shopper behavior data, retail trends, technological innovation, market opportunities, and business strategy creation.

Conference speakers include NOAA Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Rick Spinrad; Wegmans Food Markets Seafood Group Manager Steve Philips; Trident Seafoods EVP Public Affairs Stefanie Moreland; Luke’s Lobster Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer Ben Conniff; and Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co-Founder and CEO Becca Millstei