HOUSTON — The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA), the largest industry-only show for the dairy, deli, bakery and foodservice sectors, tallied record-breaking numbers for its 60th anniversary. The show, which was held from June 9 – 11 at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, welcomed to its expo floor over 850 companies and exhibitors from more than 36 countries. There were a total of 2,200 exhibitor booths and 10,000 qualified attendees.
Exhibitors included top retail chains, wholesale chains, and major independents as the show focused on networking and business opportunities with names like General Mills, Premiere Foods, Sabra, Wisconsin Cheese and many more. The show welcomed 185 new exhibitors to the show and saw increased participation in its International Pavilion, according to Jeremy Johnson, Vice President of Events at IDDBA.
“The biggest change from last year was our show floor setup,” Johnson said. “We had great demand for exhibitor space and had to get creative with the layout to optimize our net square footage. The result was we were able to accommodate more exhibitors, and create a dense, high-energy show floor.”
Programming featured top names including José Andrés of World Central Kitchen, “Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro, and Chip & Joanna Gaines of “Fixer Upper” fame.
Highlights of the show included the association’s What’s In Store Live experience where the latest trends from product to packaging were demonstrated, as well as a presentation from the 2024 Chair Honoree, Pat Reser, Chair of the Board, Reser’s Fine Foods.
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Sessions included everything from The Amish Flavor Connection, focusing on sustainable agriculture and ingredient innovation, to How Generational Trends Shape the U.S. Food Landscape, looking at different food and ingredient preferences,
Another highlight this year was the second annual Cake’d competition, which featured two rounds of challenges. During the first, decorators were tasked with creating a 3-tier cake celebrating the IDDBA’s 60th anniversary. The second was a seasonal challenge, where decorators were asked to create three distinct seasonal or special occasion cakes.
IDDBA is a nonprofit membership organization serving the dairy, deli, bakery, cheese and supermarket foodservice industries. At the conclusion of the show, food donations went to the Houston Foodbank and Second Servings of Houston. In total, IDDBA members donated over 183,000 pounds of food to local food banks.
“When we originally worked with IDDBA to bring their show to Houston, we knew it was going to be a perfect pairing. This year, we were pleased to welcome the group back for the third time,” said Houston First Corporation President and CEO Michael Heckman. “Hosting the premier industry show for dairy, deli, bakery, and foodservice in a city known for its expansive and diverse culinary scene just makes sense. Add to that the group’s latest attendance numbers and it’s evident this is a great match.”
IDDBA 2025 will be held on June 1-3, 2025, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.
Reach Jeremy Johnson at JJohnson@iddba.org
