IDDBA's Show and Sell center embraces the spirit of the Experience Economy.
To remain competitive and relevant in today’s challenging food landscape, food retailers must position their stores not just as places where consumers mundanely shop for themselves and their families, but as destinations where they can expand their knowledge of food and cooking, become acquainted with new tastes and flavors, sample products, participate in store programs like cooking classes and pairings, and select from a wide variety of personalized meal choices. Above all, shoppers are seeking an experience when they enter your stores.  And this experience can help stores stand out from the competition as new food channels continue to enter the retail food space. 

The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) has been an industry leader in inspiring professionals in the retail food sector for almost 55 years. In addition to education, training, and research, IDDBA also focuses on merchandising and marketing concepts for attracting and driving shopper traffic and sales to instore fresh departments, specifically bakery, deli, cheese, dairy, and prepared foods. This focus is on full display at our annual Show and Sell, an innovative and interactive marketplace of ideas and concepts located on the trade show floor of IDDBA’s annual conference, held this year June 10-12 in New Orleans. Trends and merchandising ideas are represented through displays and designs that attendees can replicate in their own stores. 

The Experience Economy—the theory that businesses must create memorable events for their customers, which in turn becomes the product itself—was a driving factor in the development of last year’s Show and Sell concepts and ideas. This year’s program also embraces the spirit of the Experience Economy. Show attendees will have the opportunity to witness merchandising and marketing concepts that can help stores elevate the shopping experience. Additionally, in developing the concepts for this year’s Show and Sell, our volunteer teams of industry professionals focused on the following overarching consumer trends impacting fresh food departments:  sustainability; small portions; health and wellness; convenience; customization/co-creation; and authenticity. 

Among the concepts attendees will experience at this year’s Show and Sell are:

Bakery 

  • A coffee bar, featuring kombucha tea and made-to-order fresh donuts. 
  • A focus on scratch baking, how to enhance frozen dough products, and how to utilize par-baked bread as part of a fresh program. 
  • A donut experience, featuring eye-catching and experimental new takes on the classic bakery item. 
  • A pretzel bar showcasing a variety of savory and sweet flavor combos. 
  • Innovative dessert ideas and creative merchandising options. 
  • A convenience-store concept featuring first and second breakfast ideas and made-to-order lunch, dinner, and snack creations. 

Cakes

  • Innovative wedding cake designs, such as small formats and brownie cakes. 
  • Flavor infusion ideas, such as Guinness-chocolate, bourbon-mocha, and spicy chocolate. 
  • Single-serve treats and merchandising ideas for attracting shoppers looking for smaller portions or exploring new flavors and tastes.
  • Cake deconstruction displays that illustrate how store associates can create amazing designs at store-level. 
  • Live cake kit and flight demos that show how shoppers can start their cake experience in the in-store bakery department and finish it at home. 
  • Learning stations where attendees can airbrush flowers and personalize fondant; these creations will then be used to build this year’s Cakescape, a multi-tiered, multi-level cake extravaganza. 

Cheese

  • Cheese pairing ideas.
  • A focus on convenience, including a grab-and-go cheese selection and story behind the products. 
  • Enhancement ideas for merchandising cheese and fermented foods. 
  • Ideas for incorporating cheese in made-to-order and prepared food options. 
  • Upselling ideas and new cheese formats, such as cut-to-order off of loaves and wheels. 
  • Snacking options for all dayparts.

This year's Show and Sell center will offer ideas for culinary solutions. 

Culinary Solutions

  • Ideas to show how retailers could execute customizable, convenient, meal kit options with varying levels of cooking required. 
  • Bowl concepts tapping into small portions, customer co-creation, and fun flavor trends. 
  • Internationally inspired hand-crafted sandwiches to elevate the usual deli offering.
  • Spanish tapas to illustrate how great, authentic cuisine can be delivered in small portions conveniently. 
  • Upscale pizza featuring specialty ingredients and unique bundling opportunities as a way to drive sales of high end ingredients. 
  • Innovative, sustainable, and diet-focused prepared food ideas.

Another experience visitors will encounter is the Show and Sell Workshop, where industry professionals will engage audiences in presentations and live demonstrations that promote learning, community, and networking. One focus this year is on charcuterie, with a series of workshops on production, countries of origin, and tactical ideas for delis of all scales and sizes. Among the presenters featured this year are Jim Donald, president and COO, Albertson Companies; Daymond John, CEO and founder, FUBU; and Andy Ellwood, co-founder and president, Basket.