Grupo Bimbo’s Jorge Zarate explains the ROI from attending IBIE

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Grupo Bimbo’s Jorge Zarate explains the ROI from attending IBIE

11 Apr 2022

Joanie Spencer

Since 2008, Joanie Spencer has covered the retail and wholesale sides of the baking industry.
Serving associations such as the American Society of Baking (ASB) and BEMA, Joanie is also in demand as an industry presenter on bakery operations and trends. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rockhurst University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

When she’s not running or playing soccer, Joanie spends her time with her husband and 11-year-old son.

PALM SPRINGS, CA — Every three years, the commercial baking community gathers for the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE), the Western Hemisphere’s largest grain-based foods trade event.

With the level of disruption in the industry — from COVID-19, to a labor crisis and supply chain challenges, to the war in Ukraine potentially halting grain supply — 2022 is the most important IBIE year on record.

During the American Bakers Association (ABA)’s annual convention, held March 27-30, Jorge Zarate, SVP of global operations for Grupo Bimbo and vice chair for the 2022 IBIE planning committee, shared an update with association members on the benefits of attending the show.

“Baking Expo brings the industry together to promote economic growth, to educate and to advance the future of baking together,” Zarate said, adding that planning for the show, scheduled for Sept. 17-21 in Las Vegas, is well underway.

Bakery professionals have a lot to worry about these days, and, Zarate explained, the IBIE planning committee — made up of five commercial bakers and five suppliers — has kept those concerns at the forefront of its planning.

“Expo will showcase some of the most important topics on bakers’ minds right now,” he said. “You will find everything you need to run a successful operation, all under one roof. Every facet of the industry will be there, making it easy and efficient to identify problems and solutions for your business.”

Bakers will find resources to address labor shortages through automated equipment displayed on the tradeshow floor.

“Over the past decade, IBIE has invested more than $7 million back into the industry. This helps us fund a number of meaningful initiatives for industry growth and success, including scholarships, advocacy, consumer education, food safety and more.” —Jorge Zarate | SVP of global operations for Grupo Bimbo | vice chair for the 2022 IBIE planning committee

“If any of these pain points sound familiar, then IBIE is exactly the place you need to be,” Zarate said. “In just a few days you’ll be able to create substantial and lasting impacts.”

He also pointed out how important it is to bring the whole team, and that includes the range of job functions needed for making decisions, from researching technical or engineering details, to management, and even the CFO.

“Having the right team members attend allows you to effect change,” Zarate said. “With buy-in from various job roles, you can come to closing decisions on big investments because the team is there for due diligence.”

IBIE will also showcase highly engaging show features to that focus on hot topics so attendees can learn about emerging trends to know what’s coming … and how to stay ahead of it. Some of the most popular returning show features include the Artisan Marketplace, Cake Decorating Competition, International Trade Center and Quick BITES (formerly known as Fresh Take Talks), just to name a few. New features include the Cannabis Pavilion, Sanitation Pavilion, World Bread Awards USA and more.

Baking Expo will also bring back the renowned IBIEducate program, the world’ largest bakery education curriculum with more than 100 sessions to choose from. Broken down into specific tracks and job functions, it’s easy for each attendee to dial into the right courses for their individual needs, ranging from plant management and engineering, to HR, to marketing and more.

“Bring the whole team for training and to upskill, reskill and retain your talent,” Zarate suggested. “This is an investment in their growth.”

IBIEducate will dedicate Sept. 17 solely to education, a day before the tradeshow floor opens.

IBIE 2022, which is co-owned by ABA and BEMA, is a nonprofit with all proceeds reinvested back into the industry. Attendees who invest in this show will not only gain returns for their own companies and individual development, but they will also reap rewards for the industry as a whole.

“Over the past decade, IBIE has invested more than $18 million back into the industry,” Zarate said. “This helps us fund a number of meaningful initiatives for industry growth and success, including scholarships, advocacy, consumer education, food safety and more. I am very proud of the value IBIE provides to the industry.”

This year’s Expo will represent the first international baking tradeshow to take place in person since the beginning of the pandemic.

“This comprehensive program provides value to all segments of the grain-based foods industry, whether you’re specializing in wholesale production, snack food manufacturing, artisan bread, cake decorating or even pet food production,” Zarate said. “We cannot wait to welcome bakers and suppliers back to this reunion of epic proportions.”

This article was updated on 5/16/2022 with recalculated industry investment data from IBIE.

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