08 Oct IBIE 2019 Insights – BEMA Members At The Show

Kelly Allen, Manager, Membership & Engagement

After an outstanding IBIE 2019, we caught up with Kelly to get her thoughts about the show, the exhibitors, and the educational opportunities offered throughout the week.

Q: It was so great to see all of the BEMA members at IBIE this year. How many BEMA members were exhibitors?

A: BEMA members showed up in full force at IBIE 2019! There were 206 member companies exhibiting, some with multiple booth locations. Our members occupied approximately 54% of the show floor!

Q: 2) The BEMA member booths were amazing, everything from huge booths with full production lines to smaller booths where attendees could get hands on or just have a conversation with the exhibitors. What has the feedback been regarding the variety of booth experiences from attendees?

A: The feedback has been really positive. The exhibitors really brought their A-Game when it came to booth experiences. Everything from interactive signs to virtual reality experiences to the introduction of new products. Attendees had opportunities to see production lines in action and even taste the products that were being developed.

Q: What was your favorite part of IBIE 2019?

A: IBIE is the one time that the entire industry comes together to share innovations, celebrate the success of the last three years, educate the community and conduct global business all under one roof. The opportunity to be in the mix of all of that is extremely exciting!

Walking the show floor, visiting with BEMA members and seeing first-hand what they do is my favorite part of IBIE.

Q: Kerwin mentioned that the cost of drayage was included in this year’s booth and it seems like the exhibitors were inspired to bring bigger and more complex exhibits because of this change. Do you see that continuing forward into the IBIE 2022 show?

A: Freeman, IBIE’s official freight handlers, managed nearly 7 million total pounds of freight at this year’s show! This is up 600,000 pounds beyond what was at the show in 2016. That’s equal to 31 Statue of Liberties!

Most of that increase was machinery items. Our members absolutely took advantage of the drayage being included in the cost of their booth and the show and its attendees benefited tremendously!

Q: Obviously, being a BEMA member has the advantage of the IBIE booth discount and quite a few members took advantage of that. For those who aren’t BEMA members already, what additional benefits would they gain access to by joining BEMA in 2020?

A: BEMA Members receive priority booth space selection before non-members and a discount off booth space at IBIE which saves some members thousands of dollars.

MEETINGS & NETWORKING

BEMA Members will find many one-on-one opportunities to meet customers and other suppliers at our Convention (location varies) and ASB Tech (Chicago). In addition, serving on BEMA’s committees connects you to the industry in a way very few can experience. Members receive a 50% discount on Convention registration.

SCHOLARSHIPS

BEMA offers scholarships to help educate the baking industry’s workforce. Member employees can receive up to 70% reimbursement for tuition and or registration fees.

EDUCATION

Educational opportunities like BEMA-U help make our members better at their own business. Customer panels including BIF to keep our members updated on the latest trends. Members receive a 40% discount on any BEMA-U educational offerings.

Interested in becoming a BEMA Member? Visit www.bema.org to learn how to join!