Hey, produce enthusiasts! If you missed the buzz—or if you’re still recovering from the sensory overload—the 2025 IFPA Global Produce & Floral Show in Anaheim, California, was a riot of color, innovation, and deal-making. Held October 16-18 at the Anaheim Convention Center, this year’s event drew a record-breaking crowd of over 20,000 attendees from across the fresh produce and floral supply chains, including decision-makers from more than 70 countries. With 1,100+ exhibitors showcasing everything from vibrant garden roses to tech-driven sustainability solutions, it was a true global gathering that pulsed with energy and forward-thinking vibes.

Visual Delights, Networking Sessions and New Ideas

The floor was a feast for the eyes: rainbow-hued fruits and flowers with many beautiful varieties popping up throughout the floor.

Beyond the visuals, the show delivered on substance. Attendees raved about the high-impact networking sessions that covered the latest produce supply chain trends to labor shortages to climate-resilient farming to traceability tools that promise to slash food waste.

What made it extra special? The sense of unity. As Cathy Burns, IFPA’s CEO, put it during the opening, this was “a gathering for all in fresh,” blending next-gen tech demos with heartfelt conversations on industry challenges. If you were there, you likely found that Anaheim wasn’t just an event; it was a launchpad for 2026’s big ideas.

Spotlight: The Supply Chain of the Future Initiative Takes Center Stage

Amid the produce and floral fireworks, one of the threads that wove through many conversations: IFPA’s ambitious Supply Chain of the Future initiative. Launched as a multi-phase roadmap to revolutionize fresh produce logistics, this effort is all about ditching silos for collaboration, leveraging data insights, and deploying cutting-edge tech to build a more resilient, transparent industry.

Kicking off with the March 2025 white paper “Supply Chain of the Future: From Vision to Action”, the initiative emphasizes that “data doesn’t move food—collaboration does.” It’s already sparked partnerships with heavy-hitters like Del Monte. Companies like DeltaTrak have jumped on board, contributing to the IFPA steering group for the Supply Chain of the Future.

In the Panel Session: “Optimizing Quality from Source to Shelf,” DeltaTrak’s Karl McDermott was joined by others including Bloom IQ Technologies’ David Karwacki and Apeel Sciences’ Dave Giannini in discussion key issues and trends in building the produce supply chain of the future. In the session, McDermott discussed how one of the key things DeltaTrak is doing with remaining shelf life is bringing the temperature points together—looking at that shelf life loss and then giving customers an accurate prediction of remaining shelf life. McDermott described the DeltaTrak solution as “a fitness tracker for produce”—similar to an Apple watch where you can see the remaining shelf life days as you go through the key handling points from the Distribution Centers, to the stores and on to the restaurants etc…

Overall, the 2025 IFPA Show proved the produce world is thriving—vibrant, innovative, and laser-focused on a more efficient future.