The New CoffeeTea&Water

Sept. 9, 2014

The coffee, tea and water industry has been reinventing itself over the last decade with new trends, consumption methods and equipment offerings. NAMA is reflecting that reinvention by rebranding the look and feel of this year’s CoffeeTea&Water (CTW) show that will take place November 11 to 13 at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas, TX.

As the largest coffee, tea and water service show in the U.S., CTW gives operators, sales representatives, managers and additional staff the opportunity to network, learn industry trends and experience product launches firsthand. This year, CTW’s rebranding includes a centralized focus on education and how operators can use that information to grow their OCS business.

Focus on education

Earlier in 2014, NAMA conducted a needs assessment with members in order to identify key areas in which the organization could expand educational offerings. From that assessment, six tracks of consumer research, industry trends, workplace innovations, technology, workforce solutions and sales strategies were identified as key segments of which to base this year’s CTW educational sessions. “The fourteen educational sessions that we will be offering at CTW are positioned in one of the six tracks that were identified from the needs assessment sent to members earlier this year,” said Joann DeNardis, director of education and certification at NAMA.

With topics ranging from sustainability in the coffee supply chain to the new sales buzzword on Storytelling by Lisa Linke, actor, improviser and graduate of The Second City conservatory and Comedy Writing programs, educational sessions are offered across a diverse spectrum. Dan Cox, owner and president of Coffee Enterprises, will be giving the keynote address entitled “Heating Up Your Coffee Business” on November 11 at 3:30 p.m. Cox began his career in the coffee industry more than thirty years ago and has served as the president of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and chairman of the board of the Coffee Quality Institute.

One educational session includes a panel of four experts who will discuss selling fresh brewed coffee in a micro market while another includes the latest trends on coffee and tea consumption in the workplace.

Technology oriented

It’s no surprise that rebranding anything, be it a product or an event, uses current technology to do so. This year’s CTW will offer several opportunities for attendees to learn and interact with technology.

In addition to the newly created mobile app for Android and iPhone, NAMA will have attendees interacting through their smartphones via live polling during educational sessions. “We will be featuring panel discussions and more interaction-type workshops around technology,” said DeNardis. In one educational session, Kerri Goodman of Coffee Talk Magazine will be discussing social media in business and will provide attendees with ways in which social media can benefit the consumer and the company, while concurrently, Jamie Womack of CareerBuilder will be discussing how attendees can use “big data” from social media and the Internet to develop a strategic workforce plan.

And to add to the technology focus, for the first time NAMA will be offering CTW online registration at www.coffeeteaandwater.org/register and attendees registering before October 15, will receive early bird pricing.

The Quality Coffee Certificate Program returns

This year, NAMA is bringing back its Quality Coffee Certificate Program, November 10 to 11. Over 1,000 individuals have completed the Quality Coffee Certificate Program in its 14 years. The first day of the program consists of attendees learning about coffee fundamentals. Speaker Mike Tompkins, president of Coffee Products Associates, will present the development of coffee flavor qualities such as the history of coffee, its countries of origin and the ideals for processing, sorting, grading, blending and roasting. Attendees will also have the opportunity to experience different types of coffees through guided tasting exercises.

On the second and final day of the Quality Coffee Certificate Program, NAMA is introducing a new Single-Serve Evaluation Process to give attendees information on how to leverage the growing single-serve market segment. Operators, sales staff, sales managers and route drivers who are hoping to increase single-serve sales are encouraged to sign up for this session which will teach attendees how to evaluate single-serve systems and basic principles surrounding filtered coffee preparation.

Attendees can register for the NAMA’s Quality Coffee Certificate Program at https://www.coffeeteaandwater.org/register

The new CTW

Reinvention doesn’t mean “out with the old.” Instead, the newly rebranded CTW show will take great aspects of previous years and use modern trends to offer an even more diverse and informational expo. The live polling and mobile app will give attendees a more interactive experience that wasn’t available in the past, while education on ways to use technology will help attendees more collaboratively address problems specific with their business.

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NAMA logo new 571a488f9cc3e
NAMA logo new 571a488f9cc3e
NAMA logo new 571a488f9cc3e
NAMA logo new 571a488f9cc3e
NAMA logo new 571a488f9cc3e
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National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA)

May 7, 2009
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