2027 Local Food Trade Show

Wednesday, January 27th, 2027

Snow Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2027

11am to 3pm

Russell’s Garden Center

397 Boston Post Rd, Wayland MA 01778

Attendees:

Are you a wholesale buyer? Maybe you make a product, or source for a CSA-style home delivery program. Maybe you identify local partners for your town or city’s school meals or your college or university, hospital or care facility. Maybe you are scouting the next trend for your grocery or retail store. Maybe you are a distributor, for local buyers or larger markets. Or maybe you are a chef for a caterer, a restaurant, a food truck, a cafe… Buyers that have found great partnerships at the Local Food Trade Show come from all sorts of industries and across the range of scales. The food producers in New England keep it fresh, innovative, and delicious, and those values cross many barriers.

We also welcome industry experts and other industry professionals. Do you have something to add to the trade show and/or workshops?

Workshops:

The mission of SBN’s Local Food Program is to support the local food system through connections, education, networking, and opportunities. Over the years since SBN first started the Local Food Trade Show, we have developed four virtual wrap-around workshops that make the trade show more successful, productive, and profitable for attendees and exhibitors alike.

One-on-One Consulting: Wednesday, January 6th, 2027, 9am to 11am

Every new business needs advice, and often know where they need it most. For two hours, each consultant and each consultee can have up to four 30-minute conversations over Zoom in Branding & Marketing, Sales, Finance, Legal, Food Safety, Working with Distributors, and/or Waste & Energy Reduction. If you are willing and able to provide your expertise during this workshop, you will have four conversations with food businesses interested in your services, and free admission to the trade show.

Preview Matchmaking: Wednesday, January 13th, 2027, 9am to 11am

With 90+ exhibitors, it is impossible to meet every exhibitor at the trade show in one day. To make sure you get a chance to connect with up to eight of the best matches of the trade show, we are connecting buyers and exhibitors for 15-minute meet-and-greets. We base these matches on your purchasing priorities, logistics, and other information we ask for in the registration process.

Perfect Your Pitch: Friday, January 15th, 2027, 9:30am to 11am

For emerging wholesale brands, we provide this workshop to help them develop their elevator pitch, presentation, packaging, and trade show best practices.

Wholesale 101: Pre-Contract Checklist: Wednesday, January 20th, 12noon to 1:30pm

For brands new to wholesale, we make sure the conversations and contracts are productive and realistic by walking them through the most important numbers and logistics for them to understand and know. From production capacity to shipping and delivery, we aim to make sure every exhibitor is ready for the wholesale agreements they make.

Process:

The process starts with registration. If you have no balance due (only Early Bird registration), when the form takes you to PayPal, you can close the window. You should receive an automated confirmation email of your registration.

If you signed up for the One-on-One Consultations Workshop, you will receive an email with final logistics, links, and consultees about a week before the workshop. You will also receive an email for the Preview Matchmaking event with logistics, links, and matched exhibitors, unless you opt out of the workshop.

Costs:

Early Bird Special through Sunday, November 5th!

Free Admission

Members: Early Bird Special: $0, Full Price: $50 (11/6-1/20), Last Minute Price: $70 (1/21 - at the door)

Non-Members: Early Bird Special: $0, Full Price: $75 (11/6-1/20), Last Minute Price: $80 (1/21 - at the door)

Additional guests (over first two): Half of current registration fee

Boxed Lunch, per lunch (optional): *$25

Members of SBN and the Wholesale Readiness Program of FCCDC/WMFPC qualify for the membership discount, contingent on confirmation.

* We anticipate the lunches to cost $25 based on previous years. If this changes, we will notify you and you can change your order at that time.

Dates:

Registration Open: From October 6th to Day of Trade Show at the door

Early Bird Special for Attendees: From October 6th to November 5th

Full Price for Attendees: From November 6th to January 20th

Last Minute Attendees: From January 21st to Day of Trade Show at the door

Deadline for Final Payment: Day of Trade Show

Workshops:

  • One-on-One Consultations: Wed, January 6th, 9-11am

  • Preview Matchmaking: Wed, January 13th, 9-11am

  • Perfect Your Presentation: Fri, January 15th, 9:30-11am

  • Wholesale 101: Pre-Contract Checklist: Wed, January 20th, 12-1:30pm

Day-of-Logistics:

You will receive an email about a week before the festival with all of the logistics information, and maps/layout of load in, etc. Here is the day-of schedule:

2027 AGENDA: Wednesday, January 27th (snow date 2/3)

  • 10:00 am: Attendee Check-In

  • 10:00 am: Trading Floor Opens

  • 11:00 am: Opening Remarks

  • 12:00 noon: Lunch Arrives

  • 3:00 pm: Trading Floor Closes

If you still have questions or concerns, please contact us: kerry@sbnmass.org.