CLEVELAND — ECRM hosted a record number of attendees and participants at its 2021 Global Market: Fall Experience in October, including more than 3,700 buyers and sellers representing 68 countries. The five-day virtual event connected suppliers and retailers to discuss new products and trends and explore partnership opportunities.

"ECRM's 2021 Global Market platform continues to grow in reach and scope," said Greg Farrar, chief executive officer of ECRM. "The Fall Experience spanned categories and geographical borders, and has been embraced by retail, foodservice and CPG buyers and sellers around the world."

The event was facilitated by RangeMe, a digital product discovery platform, and ECRM Connect, the company’s virtual meeting platform. Product categories included food and beverage, pet products, foodservice, household products, school and office, beauty, health and personal care, among several others.

According to ECRM, more than 2,200 meetings were held between buyers and suppliers during the weeklong virtual event.

Keynotes were presented by leaders at Ahold-Delhaise USA, CVS, Petco, Sam’s Club, Walgreens, Walmart and WSL Strategic Retail. A number of interactive workshops were also led by industry leaders.

Next year, ECRM plans to continue its Global Market program with virtual events in the spring, summer and fall of 2022.

“My team and I have been using RangeMe and ECRM for years to find new, innovative and emerging brands. Being able to choose which suppliers you want to meet with really allowed us to customize our approach and gain the contacts we were looking for,” said Emma Padden, supplier development manager at Community Marketpalce, UNFI. “With our new Community Marketplace by UNFI, we are expanding our category offerings and were able to meet with suppliers that may not have approached UNFI in the past. The ECRM Connect platform is very user friendly and intuitive, making the whole process seamless. We look forward to the next Global Market.”

Learn more about ECRM and its future events.

Read more about pet food and treat industry events.