Top leaders in the vending, micro market and office coffee service segment came together to exhibit their latest and greatest at the CoffeeTea&Water show in Grapevine, TX. Having taken place Nov. 6 to 8, 2017, the 3-day event drew in over 800 attendees, an increase from the year before and significant jump the the initial event 9 years go. The focus on CTW has always been education and networking. The 2017 show delivered on just that with over a dozen educational sessions and collocating with the suppliers to the International Bottled Water Association trade show.
The following is a sample of some of the events at the show.
The CEO of NAMA, Carla Balakgie and NAMA Chair for 2018, Heidi Chico, also president of The Wittern Group, spoke to attendees about the industry, it's role of NAMA and convenience services. It's a topic both women feel passionately about. In a conversation with Automatic Merchandiser Editor Emily Refermat, they shared their vision for NAMA and the changes currently happening as well as what is ahead. Read about NAMA's 2018 vision for the industry on page X. Balakgie and Chico also congratulated the winners of the Coffee Lengend award and...
Michael Kasavana MSU/NAMA Endowed Professor Emeritus moderated a session protecting your business from a Cyber Threat, a timely topic given to the breach experienced by micro market supplier Avanti Markets. In fact, John Reilly, president of Avanti Markets share his experience and what processes the company will be keeping and changing in the aftermath of the breach. Other presenters includes John Hickey, Co-Founder, Tech2Success; Chris Bucolo, MBA, PCIP Director, Market Strategy, ControlScan, Inc.; and Jon Harris, VP, Cybersecurity, Compass Group North America. Hickey covered....
One of the most well-attended sessions centered on workplace cafes, what they need to include and what makes them appealing to companies. The panel included Greg McCall, Senior VP of Sales & Marketing, Five Star Food Service, as the moderator; John Healy, Co-Founder, The Vending Marketer; Heather Bailey, Attorney, SmithAmundsen and Steve Orlando, Co-Founder, Fixturelite. McCall opened with....
Eric Dell, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs of NAMA released the NAMA Census data to eager CTW attendees on the final day of the event. It included the top-line outcome of research into the vending, micro market, coffee service and new pantry service segment. SOme of the interesting finds were....
Tom Steuber, President/Owner, Associated Services brought in his director of sales development, Kimberly Lenz, and a pantry service customer, Marnell Mullarkey, Director, Operations of Popsugar, to really dig deep into what pantry service is and means to a location. Mullarkey talked about how Popsugar decided to provide the well-stocked kitchen as it competes with California tech companies that are also providing refreshments. She works closely with Lenz who....
Emily Refermat | Editor
Emily has been living and breathing the vending industry since 2006 and became Editor in 2012. Usually Emily tries the new salted snack in the vending machine, unless she’s on deadline – then it’s a Snickers.
Feel free to reach Emily via email here or follow her on Twitter @VMW_Refermat.
