It’s been a wild last 10 days as I traveled first across Canada to Ontario for the Canadian Celiac Association (CCA) Conference and then to Seattle this past weekend for the Gluten Intolerance Group’s (GIG) Annual Conference.
As much as travelling alone can be exhausting and not quite so glamorous as one might imagine (think eating meals alone – yuck!), both conferences had a lot to offer both the conference attendees and the businesses that attended. I always love having people come up to the booth who we’ve been shipping to for years as it’s wonderful to put a face to a name. I also love it when you come up to the booth and proclaim loudly how wonderful Nonuttin’ products are. You can travel with me any day!
I often learn a lot at these conferences. Sometimes I have an opportunity to listen to speakers but my most important listening comes from speaking to the people coming up to my booth, tasting products or even telling me why they can’t try Nonuttin’ products. It helps me learn about what ingredients people are avoiding that we might be able to consider changing or for those who do like our products, what would help them with new flavors, new stores to approach, and other products or ideas to try.
It’s always interesting to find out the regional differences for flavor preferences too. Apple cinnamon granola bars and Energy Explosion trail mix went over best in Ontario while chocolate chip and chunk granola bars and vanilla cinnamon clusters went over best in Seattle. Calgary loves their chocolate too and Victoria loves the apple cinnamon and caramel. I haven’t been able to guess right yet which is always fun when deciding what items to pack for display and/or sale.
Pure oats were getting more acceptance at the CCA Conference than last year but many were still cautious whereas gluten free oats in Seattle were very popular and pure oats or products made from them were represented in at least 6 different booths compared to only 2 in Ontario. It’s also great to see all of the other new products that are out there. Like our company, many companies are starting because the founders themselves or people they love have dietary issues that aren’t being offered solutions by large food companies.
So…
Feet? Sore
Eyes? Tired
Meeting great people? Priceless