BOLD Reception One of the Highlights of IFPA 2025
When IFPA is held in Anaheim, it somehow always feels more fun, engaging and homey.
This year was no different. This west coast edition of the show was packed with meetings, events, and innovations for the entire fresh fruit & vegetable industry. The largest crowd in IFPA/PMA history descended on Anaheim to showcase the vibrancy of our produce world and passed this test with flying colors.
When opening the IFPA app and dialing up “avocados” it had the highest number of companies representing that commodity in the show – 100 companies engaged in the sourcing, sales & marketing of our fruit. More than apples (67), more than citrus (92), more than grapes (73), strawberries (61), or blueberries (88). It’s good to be on top!
After Friday’s long day on the show floor, it was time to gather and celebrate with our avocado colleagues and share some food and drink with all of our avo-friends. But it wasn’t only the camaraderie of friends we were there to celebrate – it was the five-year anniversary of our BOLD program, and its amazing success in channeling new industry leaders onto the many boards that operate in our eco-system. We planned for a big party but were almost over-whelmed by the nearly 90 people who joined us to come out and celebrate our success together.
Out of our 50 BOLD graduates of the program, 20 are either now serving, or have been seated onto one of our boards. We have many more engaged in trying to get elected or selected onto boards right now, and we have 13 AMAZING young leaders in BOLD Class 5 who at some point, be taking their turn at board service moving into the future. Our collective future, with help from the BOLD program that our industry supports, is creating bright, engaged, and learning applicants who are prepared for volunteer service to our industry when that opportunity appears. Thanks to all of the avocado industry support that has grown this program into a one-of-a-kind learning opportunity, helping to guide our future leaders into becoming the most productive avocado industry advocates we can grow!
Learn more about the BOLD program here – application period for BOLD Class 6 opens January 1, 2026.
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