S. Abraham & Sons' 2022 Foodservice Show Examines Emerging Trends
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — S. Abraham & Sons Inc. (SAS) will focus on the theme "Emerging Trends in Foodservice" during its annual Foodservice Show, to be held Aug. 11 at the Suburban Showplace in Novi, Mich.
On the trade show floor, the SAS Cstore will feature items such as Rich's Ready-to-Finish Donuts; Fresh Blends smoothies; Melting Moments cookie ice cream sandwiches; TruFru, "nature's fruit in chocolate"; Pillsbury breakfast on the go solutions; and an assortment of parfaits by General Mills.
Grab-and-go cooler items will also be on display and ready to sample.
Additional highlighted convenience offerings include the Beantown coffee program, Bunn Bean to Cup Fast Cup featuring Paramount Coffee, GoGo Grill, a Walking Taco station, Fruit Ridge Farms, InnovAsian Chinese Cuisine and a BBQ sandwich program.
The 2022 event will feature 52 manufacturer booths.
"With the fast-paced world around us, foodservice is growing and even more enticing than ever," the distributor said. "SAS is pleased to host this annual event with so many of our foodservice manufacturers being featured at the show."
Last year's S. Abraham & Sons Foodservice Show featured the launch of its rebranded roller grill program, GoGo Grill, as well as other top new menu items and pieces of equipment, as Convenience Store News reported.
Earlier this year, SAS hosted its 36th Annual Vendor Exhibit & Trade Show in a hybrid format to accommodate both in-person and online ordering. Retailers had a six-week buying opportunity, running from Jan. 24 to March 6, to place orders on the Marketing Arm Trade Show portal.
The show's theme, "Celebrating 95 years of Monopolizing Profits for the Convenience Store Retailer," reflected SAS's 95th anniversary, which occurred in February.
During the hybrid show, SAS showcased new and innovative opportunities to retailers, such as the "plant power" trend that is growing among consumers looking to take up a vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian lifestyle and consume fewer meat products. The company introduced several innovative plant-based frozen and shelf stable grocery selections at the show to help convenience retailers meet this demand.
SAS also recently concluded a second successful year of celebrating National Candy Month. The monthlong event, held in June and launched by the National Confectioners Association, bridges the gap between seasonal holiday candy sales and the sweet treats consumers love.
"Seeing the growth of this program for a second year encourages us to continue to invest in innovative promotions," said Alyssa Snyr, category manager — confection and snacks, SAS. "Candy is one of the most important categories in the convenience channel and SAS is fully committed to offering innovation not only in the products we offer, but the way we advertise and promote it. We are already exploring how we can grow the excitement again next year."
To boost sales in June, SAS launched an innovative internal sales contest that resulted in a 13.5 percent increase across the entire confection category over the previous year's successful campaign.
A subsidiary of Imperial Trading Co., Grand Rapids-based SAS provides marketing, distribution, and technology solutions to convenience retailers. Its service area stretches from the border between the United States and Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and it services more than 5,000 retail locations.
Headquartered in Elmwood, La., Imperial Trading has six distribution centers serving 20 states.