Since 1915, generation after generation of dedicated individuals have contributed to Jordano’s determination to provide great service and savings to our community and customer base. Our recent Food and Equipment Show held at Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara on March 30 and 31, 2014, marked the beginning of a milestone as we kicked off a yearlong celebration leading up to Jordano’s 100th anniversary. Attendance levels shattered records as more than 3,000 guests visited over 250 vendor booths, mingled amongst their colleagues and friends and learned more about Jordano’s vast history through myriads of photos, collectibles and other unique memorabilia, including a timeline of our 100-year history and numerous vintage cars.
Due to the overwhelming enthusiasm from our manufacturers, for the first time in Jordano’s food show history, we added a third building highlighting our partnership with United Natural Foods, Inc. This valuable partnership allows us to offer the largest selection of natural, organic, gluten free, and other fast growing natural foods. Our customers can now access over 30,000 products with no minimums required, and all products are delivered with their regular orders. Without a doubt, this portion of our show was a huge hit… not to mention, their representatives all dressed to the nines in perfectly themed “throw back” attire.
More than 500 new items were shown for our customers to taste and see. Many existing items were also sampled and purchased during the show, generating huge success for our suppliers and super savings for our customers! These savings also included a truckload sale area where customers were able to purchase select items at blowout prices.
Throughout the show, our customers were exposed to our six niche categories – Gourmet and Specialties, Center of the Plate, Produce, Equipment and Supplies, Specialty Coffee, and Chemical. Our niche specialists along with our current sales staff of 45, including our five regional managers, worked hard not only to bring our customers to the show, but introduce them to some of the top names in the business.
In between all the “meeting and greeting,” our guests took a load off at our Jordano’s Marketplace where we served beverages and refreshments in a relaxed atmosphere. For added entertainment, we produced a fantastic video on our history, as well as the services we provide to the six key Central and Southern California counties we cover, that played in the Marketplace. If you haven’t seen the video, it’s definitely worth checking out and is currently available on the home page of our website and YouTube.
What food show is complete without prizes? Although all our customers walked away with great savings and full stomachs, numerous lucky attendees walked away with some fabulous prizes including a 46-inch HDTV, a 32 GB Apple iPad Air and a Samsung Galaxy 3 Tablet – all courtesy of our fabulous broker network. Jordano’s also got in the “prize spirit,” and gave away a 39-inch Samsung HDTV, a video camera, a Bose sound dock, an Apple iPad, and a pair of beach cruiser bikes.
Needless to say, this show was truly one for the record books. A huge thanks to our amazing vendors, brokers and employees for putting on one of the best food shows in our company’s history. And an even bigger thanks to our customers who attended; after all, this show would mean nothing without your continuous support! It’s because of our amazing customers and friends like you that we’ve been able to reach this milestone in our history – and again, we thank you for that.
Here’s to the next 100 years…and our 2016 Food Show!
