DALLAS — The inaugural Nexus of Baking event, powered by BEMA and the American Bakers Association (ABA) at the end of September, hosted more than 350 industry professionals for education, networking and collaboration. The event was billed as a place to make connections, and Emily Bowers, vice president, operations and education, BEMA, said initial feedback shows that goal was achieved. 

“We learned that there is a strong need for a central event in the industry that brings together multiple associations that provide value to various sectors of the baking industry,” Ms. Bowers said of the planning team’s first-year takeaways. “The industry collaboration aspect of the inaugural event set the stage for exponential growth.” 

Another key takeaway was the industry is looking for diverse education offerings that target multiple audiences within the baking industry. Ms. Bowers said an even broader selection of education should be offered in the future. 

“Nexus 2023 attendees reported that workforce, advanced manufacturing, technical baker training and general professional development are key subjects of interest,” she said. “The co-location of the NextGen Baker Leadership Forum was an impactful addition to the programming line-up that opened the door for applicable leadership discussions to be shared throughout a multitude of industry sectors.”

The partnership between BEMA and ABA was front-and-center throughout the event. 

“We’re all here collaborating on behalf of the industry. Why would we not partner with the other industry associations? I think it’s imperative to work together,” said Eric Dell, president and chief executive officer of ABA. “Working together with our industry partners is a focus for ABA. We’re collaborating with BEMA on this event and hosting the Bakers Fly-In with ASB and RBA in November.”

In partnering with BEMA, ABA co-located its NextGenBaker Leadership Forum with Nexus as a way to support the new event and add its networking strength. 

“NextGenBaker co-locating was an important part of why we’re here and an important value that we bring to our members,” Mr. Dell explained. “And it’s a smart way to build new events: co-locating new events with familiar ones like NextGen Baker and ATBI.” 

Ms. Bowers said all three pillars of Nexus — industry collaboration, education and Spark Sessions — were all well attended. Seventy-six Spark Sessions, team-to-team meetings between suppliers and baker companies, were held. Ms. Bowers said the team is hearing honest feedback about what worked, what didn’t and what could be valuable for Nexus 2024, but overall, she felt early feedback shows BEMA and ABA were on the right track developing the new event.

“We are hearing about connections that wouldn’t have happened without Spark Sessions,” she said. “We are hearing about breakthrough moments in education sessions. We are hearing about the significance of intentional and well-designed networking events. We are hearing an encouraging fervor from attendees regarding the excitement and positivity about a new, fresh industry event.”

Nexus 2024 will be held Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, 2024, in Washington, D.C.