The Midwest Pantry Local Food & Gift Trade Show is the largest trade show in the nation dedicated solely to local produced food & gift products. Locally sourced products continue to be a fast growing sector in both gift and grocery, yet finding store ready products available in wholesale quantities can be time consuming and frustrating to buyers. It is also very time consuming and sometimes frustrating process for producers to meet and present their products to buyers. The Local Food & Gift Trade Show is a one day event designed to solve this problem for both buyers and producers. We are looking for licensed and insured producer that make quality local products, and want their business to grow, to stay in front of local buyers, and connect with other local businesses who learning and growing their businesses as well. In 2016, in response to buyers demand, we are especially interested in finding 1) locally produced frozen products, and 2) locally produced products that are available in commercial sizes to meet the growing demand from restaurants, delis and food trucks. Established in 2010, Midwest Pantry has worked with over 350 local food and gift producing companies to increase sales through educational, wholesale, and retail opportunities. Founded by local food producers, Zoie Glass and Chad Gillard, Midwest Pantry helps Midwestern-based food and gift entrepreneurs grow their companies from start-up through the point of scale-up by providing education, experience, and mentorship with a series of local public retail and private wholesale events. Most notably, the Local Food & Gift Trade Show which attracts hundreds of wholesale buyers from across the region. Midwest Pantry was a recipient of the 2015 EUREKA! Award for Innovation. After 6 years of working with local food producers, Midwest Pantry is reorganizing to be a membership driven organization. This new organizational model will includes food creators from across Minnesota's entire food ecosystem. We subscribe to the idea that the work that benefits Minnesota's food creator community needs to be led by the food creator community. Plug into the MN food creator community network by becoming a Midwest Pantry member at https://goo.gl/TGwMzQ!

1. Hello, we’re Midwest Pantry!

2. We organize and offer…
• networking events
• educational seminars
• sales events (wholesale & retail)
• sales opportunities
• mentorship & consultation

3. We are MN food entrepreneurs.
We help MN food entrepreneurs.
Making MN #1 for food startups.

4. We created the
Local Food & Gift Trade Show

5. Which showcases juried locally made
products to be sold to wholesale
buyers from across the region.

6. The Local Food & Gift Show is a little
different than the average tradeshow.
(my business partner)
(my Mom)

7. It’s an intimate experience…

8. Crafted to connect quality producers
and motivated wholesale buyers

9. To establish business relationships
that benefit both businesses.

10. We know wholesale buyers are busy.

11. Even as we are growing, we know we
must make it worth the buyers time

12. So, we vet producers at our Shows:
1) They must be licensed & insured

13. 2) They must be unique;
we minimize dupes to maximize variety

14. 3) They must be shelf-ready,
with great packaging & a UPC Code

15. We’ve been doing this for a while.
established in
MMX
(2010)
We’ve organized dozens of events…

16. Starting by organizing groups at the
Food & Wine Show here in Mpls...

17. It worked…
We saved $$ and proved a group of
producers can attract attention!
(that’s me)

18. So we grew, creating a “pop-up” show
with 18 producers & 50 buyers.

19. It worked!
So, we grew again…

20. Filling up the 8000 ft Grain Belt
Bottling House with 35 local producers,
and attracting over 100 buyers…
twice in 2014!
2

21. It worked!
Buyers put a lot of local products on
their shelves, making a great story!

22. We grew again in 2015,
maxing out the Bottling House with 50
producers & over 200 buyers!

23. We’ve attracted more media and
great strategic partners...

24. We’ve grown to be the largest local
food trades how in the nation!
(and at a fraction of the cost)

25. It’s working.
Business relationships are forging...

26. We’ve got buyers…
Screen Shot 2014-10-07 at 12.14.18 AM

27. …meeting local producers.

28. It’s working for new producers...
“Including new accounts landed at the recent Fall Show, a full 60% of Cool
Jerk’s wholesale accounts have been acquired from Midwest Pantry’s Show”
-- Owner Mali Kouanchao, Cool Jerk

29. It’s working for experienced producers
“The costs of most wholesale shows run in the thousands of dollars,
making it difficult for smaller producers to attend and get access to
large groups of buyers. We need a show like this in Minneapolis.”
-- Owner Michael Sedlacek, WorkerB

30. It’s working for buyers from start ups
“I really didn't think show was that big of a deal and almost didn't go! Boy was I wrong!
Coming to the show completed my business plan of having locally produced retail
products for my coffee shop. I wanted a retail area with all these types of products and
would've had to spend a lot of time tracking each one if these businesses down and
getting samples and pricing.
I am so glad I didn't pass up the opportunity to come and see all these awesome
businesses I am now going to have in my coffee shop. ”
-- Owner Jeremy Voss, Fish House Coffee Shop

31. It’s working for experienced buyers
“Midwest Pantry provides easy, local access to a bevy of local food
producers. To be able to go booth to booth under one roof, meet the
manufacturers and have an opportunity to possibly support them … is
what we’re looking for. It’s nice to have something locally focused.”
-- Buyer Joe Moore, Kowalski’s

32. …and it’s working for our partners
“We are a small business disrupting a
entrenched industry with similar values [to
Midwest Pantry]. As Johnson-Turner works
to make the practice of law more accessible
to businesses and people in our region, we
are finding tremendous value by placing our
brand at Midwest Pantry’s shows.”
-- Owner Erin Turner,
Johnson-Turner Law

33. We aim to help food creators with
networking, mentoring, education,
and sales events & opportunities.

34. As a member based organization,
we continuously seek to increase the
value of our events and maintain
prices attainable for startup budgets.

35. Showcase your products…
Local Food & Gift Trade Show
Monday, March 14th, 2016
Minneapolis, MN

36. https://goo.gl/lhR8Kl

37. Join us at
https://goo.gl/TGwMzQ
Plug into the food community &
enjoy member event discounts!

38. We’re Midwest Pantry!