DALLAS, Texas, Sept. 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The world’s largest culinary competition will be featuring a lot more than hundreds of cooks in the kitchen this October when it debuts in Dallas.
Thanks to a new entrepreneurial angle, The World Food Championships (WFC) will be giving new food and beverage products and food-based entrepreneurs a chance to take their ideas to retail distribution through a “pitch program” called Innovation Station. Almost 40 companies will be allowed to set up in the Innovation Station, where buyers and product scouts from some of the largest retail stores in the world will be inviting businesses to sit down for private “pitch” sessions.
Companies represented will include Walmart, Sam’s Club and strategic investment firms with a focus on consumer products and natural food and beverage brands.
“This is a huge opportunity for small to medium-sized businesses, or new entrepreneurs looking for a potential big break,” commented Mike McCloud, president and CEO of WFC. “Our event brings together some of the most innovative and creative ideas in the food space. Connecting them with investors and big retail buyers is simply a natural extension of our enterprise.”
Several businesses from last year’s WFC — which was started in 2012 to elevate and celebrate award-winning chefs and cooks — were able to network and land retail deals with Walmart and Sam’s Club as a result of participating as an exhibitor. This year’s WFC will be designed in a way to give exhibitors some targeted and organized meeting time for these types of opportunities.
“We’re always looking for new ways to interact with and meet creative business owners, whether it’s in the food and beverage, technology or any other space,” commented Abe Minkara, Managing Director of Mark Cuban Companies. “To have so many entrepreneurs gathered together in October, in our hometown of Dallas, is a super way for us to focus our time and energy on some possible new opportunities.”
To learn more about the biggest event in Food Sport, click here.
WFC’s 8th Annual Main Event is scheduled for October 16 – 20, 2019, at Reunion Tower Lawn in Dallas, Texas.
To keep up with all WFC news, follow World Food Championships on Twitter (@WorldFoodChamp), and Facebook or Instagram (@WorldFoodChampionships).
About the World Food Championships
The World Food Championships (WFC) is the highest stakes food competition in the world, having awarded more than $2 million in cash and prizes over the past seven years. This multi-day, live-event culinary competition showcases some of the world's best cooking masters competing for food, fame and fortune in ten categories: Bacon, Barbecue, Burger, Chef, Chili, Dessert, Recipe, Sandwich, Seafood and Steak. In 2018, over 1,500 contestants on nearly 500 official teams from 42 American states and 12 countries competed. More than 20 million people have attended WFC or have seen it on national TV over the past seven years. This year's 2019 Main Event will be held in Dallas, Texas at Reunion Tower Lawn, Oct. 16-20.
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