The opportunity to offer samples to prospective volume buyers will be available again March 25-27, 2014, when International Pizza Expo brings back its Craft Beer Pavilion. The Pavilion was launched in March 2013 with craft brewers pouring samples and passing out information to 7,000 Pizza Expo attendees, who are owners and managers of pizza-concept independent and chain restaurants.
A larger Pavilion is planned for March 2014 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The pizza segment, like the craft beer segment, has continued to grow while other dining and beverage sectors have stagnated or gone backward. With annual sales of more than $40 billion, there are more than 65,000 U.S. pizzerias—and 30,000-plus serve beer.
Pizza and beer. The pairing is a natural, and as the craft movement in pizza grows, so is the market for craft beers at pizzerias. Four craft brewers—Arcadia, Black Diamond, Left Coast and New Belgium—have already secured space. Reservations with several others are pending.
Pizza Expo is a business-to-business trade show attended by pizza operators seeking ways to improve their businesses. Brewers in the Craft Beer Pavilion will have the chance to gain top-of-mind recognition with these owners and managers of leading independent and chain pizzerias.
Pizza Expo is offering discount-rate space in the Pavilion and a turnkey package that makes it easy for brewers to have a presence among these volume buyers (see pizzaexpo.com/craft_beer.cfm). In addition, exhibiting craft brews will be featured at the popular Beer & Bull Idea Exchange at the close of show hours on the two busiest show days—at no extra charge to the brewers. As another part of the focus on craft beer, the conference package at Expo will present two panel discussions on building profitable craft beer programs and a beer and pizza pairing demonstration.
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