National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) Convention, USA

In the vast landscape of the food industry, few sectors have seen the consistent growth and innovation quite like frozen and refrigerated foods. These categories are no longer just about convenience; they’re at the forefront of health, sustainability, global flavors, and cutting-edge culinary trends. From gourmet frozen meals and artisanal cheeses to innovative plant-based alternatives and functional dairy products, the chilled and frozen aisles of our supermarkets are a dynamic powerhouse. For manufacturers, retailers, logistics providers, and every professional deeply involved in bringing these essential products to consumers, staying connected, informed, and ahead of the curve is paramount. This is precisely why the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) Convention stands as the premier annual gathering, the very pulse of the frozen and refrigerated foods industry in the USA.

Imagine a highly focused environment where the most influential decision-makers from every segment of the frozen and refrigerated food supply chain gather with a singular purpose: to conduct business, foster partnerships, and drive innovation. This isn’t your typical sprawling trade show filled with elaborate booths; the NFRA Convention is a highly efficient, meeting-centric event designed for direct, impactful conversations. If you’re looking to solidify existing relationships, introduce new products to key buyers, explore logistics solutions, or gain critical market insights that will propel your business forward, attending the NFRA Convention offers an unrivaled opportunity to connect, strategize, and elevate your entire enterprise.

The Cold Chain Connection: Venue and Time

The NFRA Convention is renowned for its strategic selection of top-tier resort convention centers across the United States. These venues are chosen not just for their expansive meeting spaces but also for their ability to facilitate the high volume of one-on-one business meetings that are the hallmark of this event.

Where Business Thrives: The Venue For 2025, the NFRA Convention will be held at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida, USA. Located at 8701 World Center Dr, Orlando, FL 32821, this expansive resort boasts world-class meeting facilities, integrated accommodations, and a wide array of amenities. Its location in central Florida provides a highly accessible and convenient setting for attendees from across the nation to conduct their crucial business meetings efficiently.

Looking ahead, the NFRA Convention maintains a strategic rotation to provide diverse experiences and accessibility for its members:

October 17-20, 2026: Gaylord National, National Harbor, MD.
October 9-12, 2027: Marriott Marquis, San Diego, CA.

Optimizing for Opportunity: The Time The NFRA Convention is an annual event, a consistent fixture on the industry calendar, strategically timed in mid-October. This timing is ideal for companies to review performance from the past year, discuss strategies for the upcoming holiday season, and plan for the year ahead, making crucial buying and selling decisions.

For 2025, the NFRA Convention is scheduled to take place from October 18-21, 2025.

The event typically spans four days, with a laser-focused schedule designed to maximize business interactions:

Saturday, October 18, 2025: Often serves as an arrival day, with early registration and informal networking opportunities. Some preliminary committee meetings or sponsor events may also take place.
Sunday, October 19, 2025: A key day for opening general sessions, breakfast speakers, and the highly anticipated Taste of Excellence reception. This evening event allows participating manufacturers to showcase their latest product innovations to attendees in a more relaxed, sampling-focused environment.
Monday, October 20, 2025: The heart of the Convention, this day is packed with one-on-one business meetings. Attendees often have pre-scheduled appointments with key trading partners – retailers, manufacturers, sales agents, and logistics providers – maximizing their time and efficiency. Informal networking continues at Café NFRA.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025: Another full day dedicated to crucial one-on-one business meetings, allowing companies to finalize discussions, explore new partnerships, and solidify their plans before the Convention concludes in the afternoon.

This unique, meeting-centric structure distinguishes the NFRA Convention, making it an incredibly efficient and productive event for all participants.

The Aisles of Innovation: Key Product and Service Categories

Unlike a traditional trade show with sprawling booths, the NFRA Convention’s focus is on facilitated one-on-one business meetings. While there isn’t an open “expo hall” in the conventional sense, the products and services discussed and showcased are those vital to the entire frozen and refrigerated food supply chain. The industry segments represented are comprehensive:

Manufacturers: Companies producing a vast array of frozen and refrigerated food products across all categories, including:
- Frozen Foods: Pizza, prepared meals, vegetables, fruits, seafood, meat, poultry, breakfast items, desserts, ice cream & novelties, appetizers, and baked goods.
- Refrigerated Foods: Dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese, butter), deli meats, prepared salads, fresh meals, dips, chilled beverages, eggs, and plant-based alternatives.
Retailers: Grocery chains, independent supermarkets, club stores, convenience stores, and e-commerce platforms looking to source new products, optimize category management, and enhance consumer offerings.
Wholesalers & Distributors: Companies involved in the storage, transportation, and distribution of frozen and refrigerated goods.
Sales Agents & Brokers: Representing manufacturers and connecting them with retail and foodservice buyers.
Logistics Providers: Specializing in cold chain management, warehousing, transportation (refrigerated trucks, cold storage), and supply chain optimization for temperature-controlled products.
Suppliers: Providing essential components and services to manufacturers, such as:
- Packaging materials (sustainable options, innovative designs)
- Ingredients and flavorings
- Processing equipment
- Food safety and quality control solutions
- Market research and consumer insights
- Technology solutions (inventory management, tracking, data analytics).

The Taste of Excellence reception is a specific opportunity for manufacturers to showcase new product innovations through sampling, offering a tangible experience of the latest offerings in the industry. Café NFRA also provides informal meeting space and highlights innovative products.

The Power of Connection: Visitor Count and Demographics

The NFRA Convention is a highly exclusive and focused event, designed to bring together the most impactful players in the frozen and refrigerated food sectors. This emphasis on quality over sheer quantity of attendees creates a highly productive environment.

Visitor Count: The Convention typically hosts over 1,700 to 2,000 anticipated attendees. This might seem smaller than some massive trade shows, but it’s crucial to understand that these are primarily high-level executives and decision-makers, making every connection highly valuable. The event facilitates more than 6,500 one-on-one business meetings over just three days, highlighting its efficiency.
Exhibitors/Participating Companies: While not a traditional “exhibit hall” in the sprawling sense, hundreds of companies (manufacturers, retailers, logistics, sales agents) are present to conduct business meetings. The Taste of Excellence reception typically spotlights more than 50 exhibiting brands and manufacturers showcasing new products.
Attendee Demographics: The audience at the NFRA Convention is exceptionally targeted and influential:
- Retail Buyers & Category Managers: From major grocery chains and independent stores, seeking new products, negotiating deals, and discussing category strategies.
- Manufacturers (CEOs, Sales VPs, Marketing Directors): Presenting their portfolios, discussing growth opportunities, and exploring distribution channels.
- Sales Agents & Brokers (Principals, Account Managers): Facilitating connections between manufacturers and retailers.
- Logistics & Supply Chain Executives: Discussing cold chain solutions, warehousing, and transportation efficiencies.
- Suppliers to the Industry: Providing critical services and materials to manufacturers and retailers.
- Senior Management: A significant portion of attendees hold leadership positions, making it an ideal place for high-level strategic discussions.

This concentrated gathering of key decision-makers fosters an environment where significant business is conducted, and lasting partnerships are formed.

The Deep Freeze of Opportunity: Benefits and Perks of Attending

Attending the NFRA Convention is a strategic imperative for any company operating in or serving the frozen and refrigerated foods industry. Its unique, meeting-driven format offers unparalleled advantages:

Unmatched Business Meeting Efficiency: The core benefit. Pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings with major retailers, manufacturers, logistics providers, and sales agents allow you to accomplish months’ worth of business development in just a few days. This saves immense time and travel costs.
Direct Access to Key Decision-Makers: Engage directly with the individuals who make the buying, selling, and strategic partnership decisions across the entire cold chain. This level of access is rare at other industry events.
Showcase & Discover Innovation: The Taste of Excellence reception and Café NFRA provide focused platforms to either sample your latest product innovations to a targeted audience of buyers or discover the “next big thing” in frozen and refrigerated foods.
Strengthen Existing Relationships: Beyond new business, the Convention is invaluable for nurturing and expanding relationships with current trading partners, ensuring seamless collaboration.
Gain Critical Industry Insights: While the focus is on meetings, the Convention often features thought-provoking breakfast speakers and informal discussions that provide high-level insights into market trends, consumer behavior, and industry challenges.
Expand Your Network: Connect with peers and leaders from all segments of the industry, fostering a robust professional network that can provide ongoing support and opportunities.
Market Intelligence: Understand what retailers are looking for, what manufacturers are developing, and what logistic providers are optimizing. This real-time market intelligence is crucial for strategic planning.
Solutions for Supply Chain Challenges: Find partners and solutions for complex issues related to cold chain management, distribution, packaging, and more.

Your Orlando Oasis: Nearby Hotels and Convenient Accommodation

For the 2025 NFRA Convention at the Orlando World Center Marriott, convenience is built into the event’s structure. The Orlando World Center Marriott is a self-contained resort with extensive meeting space, meaning many attendees will choose to stay directly on-site. This offers the ultimate in convenience, allowing easy access to all meetings, meal functions, and networking events without needing transportation.

The Orlando World Center Marriott offers:

Expansive guest rooms and suites.
Multiple dining options, from casual to upscale.
Resort amenities, including pools, golf, and a spa, for unwinding after a day of meetings.

Beyond the immediate Convention venue, Orlando offers a vast selection of hotels to suit various preferences and budgets. While staying off-site might require a short ride-share or taxi, options in the nearby areas of Lake Buena Vista, Kissimmee, or even further afield towards International Drive could be considered if the World Center Marriott is fully booked or if you prefer a different type of accommodation.

It is highly recommended to book your hotel well in advance, especially through any official NFRA housing links or recommended blocks, as the Convention draws a significant number of attendees.

The Investment in Your Cold Business: Understanding the Cost to Attend

Attending the NFRA Convention is an investment in direct business development and strategic partnerships. The registration fees reflect the unique value proposition of its meeting-centric format, designed to maximize ROI for participants.

While specific pricing for the 2025 Convention is available now, and future years’ pricing will be similar, here’s a breakdown:

NFRA Member Company Registration: For representatives of NFRA member companies (manufacturers, sales agents, logistics providers, suppliers), the cost is $825 per person.
NFRA Retailer Member Registration: For retailer and wholesaler members of NFRA, registration is complimentary. This is a significant benefit, driving strong retail buyer attendance.
Non-Member Company Registration: For non-members, the cost is significantly higher, typically $3,500 per person. This structure strongly encourages companies to become NFRA members, as the membership fee plus the member convention rate is often far less than the non-member convention rate alone, in addition to year-round benefits.
Spouse/Family Registration: Complimentary for accompanying individuals not conducting business, allowing participation in meal functions and receptions.

These fees cover access to all general sessions, business meeting opportunities, and designated meal functions and receptions. Given the ability to conduct thousands of targeted business meetings in just a few days, this investment is considered highly efficient for fostering growth within the frozen and refrigerated food industries. Remember to also budget for personal travel and any entertainment not explicitly included.

Chill Out and Connect: Your Future in Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Awaits!

The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) Convention is the indispensable annual event for anyone serious about the dynamic world of frozen and refrigerated foods. It’s where the critical conversations happen, where partnerships are forged, and where the future of convenient, innovative, and delicious chilled and frozen products is shaped. Whether you’re a manufacturer seeking to expand your retail presence, a retailer looking for the next best-selling item, or a logistics provider ensuring product integrity, attending this Convention is a strategic move that will empower your business, streamline your operations, and propel you towards unparalleled success. Don’t just observe the cold chain; become a vital link in it!

To learn more and register for the NFRA Convention, visit: nfraconvention.org