NCDA&CS hosts Food Business Conferences in February and March

Registration is open for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ fourth annual Food Business Conference.

The conference will be offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in two locations: Feb. 24 at the Alamance Cooperative Extension office, 209-C N. Graham-Hopedale Road in Burlington, and March 12 at Mayland Community College, 200 Mayland Dr. in Spruce Pine.

The theme for this year’s conference is “To Market, To Market.” At each location, the program will include presentations on product promotion, market selection, and building customer loyalty.

“Building a successful food business involves so much more than just creating great food products,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “This conference will focus on ways to improve your marketing efforts, with a goal of increasing sales and product awareness.”

Registration is open to existing food businesses. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Because of catering requirements, no day-of walk-in registrations will be accepted. Registration deadlines are Feb. 13 for Burlington and March 1 for Spruce Pine. The cost is $40.

The agenda and registration form are available online at www.ncagr.gov/markets/agribiz/. For more information, contact Annette Dunlap at 919-707-3117 or annette.dunlap@ncagr.gov.