OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — When Nexus made its debut last year, some industry professionals didn’t initially grasp the concept behind the event. 

“We heard many people say, ‘We already go to your convention,’ ” said Emily Bowers, vice president, education and operations, BEMA. “This isn’t a convention, We’re not in a convention resort. We’re in a business hotel. It’s really designed to open the door to do business and attract a much broader audience in the baking industry.”

Nexus 2024 will be held Oct. 1-3 at the Hyatt Regency Washington Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The networking, education and collaboration meeting a partnership with BEMA and the American Bakers Association (ABA), differentiates itself from conventions and other industry events with Spark sessions.

These 45-minute, team-on-team get-togethers enable bakers and suppliers to introduce themselves, discuss current projects or explore new initiatives in further detail.

Suppliers who are registered for Nexus can purchase the pre-arranged sessions and are then matched by BEMA with a baking company after both sides complete a confidential profile.

“The idea behind the 45-minute Spark session is that it is long enough for people to explore if an opportunity is there that’s a new match,” Bowers explained. “Spark sessions get beyond the gatekeeper and invite more of the decision makers and project managers to be part of the discussion.”

After feedback from last year’s event, Nexus is now offering five Spark Suites that suppliers can purchase and then arrange their own meetings to discuss bigger projects and go into deeper conversations.

“Some people need 45 minutes. Some people need two hours,” said Kerwin Brown, BEMA’s president and chief executive officer. “Some want to do project reviews and others want to discuss future plans, so our one-size-fits-all approach worked, but we wanted to make improvements to it.”

Bowers noted that Nexus also modified the matching process for the Spark sessions. This year’s profile asks for more information that bakers and suppliers can share with one another.

“We now have one year under our belt,” she said. “It was a challenge to explain to everyone how this would be different from BEMA’s and ABA’s conventions. It’s a lot easier now that we now have had one.”

Brown pointed out that holding Nexus in Washington, DC, will attract a greater number of bakers and suppliers from the region.

“We believe this Northeast location will be ideal because it’s such a strong hub for bakers and suppliers,” he said. “They can drive or take the train to DC. We were also looking for a location that has multiple airports and direct flights so attendees can get in and out as quickly as possible.”

Bowers added that their members have been searching for an event that focuses on conducting business, and the Spark sessions along with a wide array of education topics fills that need.

“What makes Nexus different from the industry’s other events is that we know when you bring people together, they’re going to do business,” she said. “They’re going to connect. Business does happen at other events, but it’s usually behind the scenes, and Spark makes it an intentional part of the program. We made it part of the meeting, and that makes it different from other events in the industry.”

Nexus also accommodates attendees’ busy schedules, Brown said.

“We went into Nexus saying, ‘How can we be super-efficient with people’s time,’ ” he explained. “We thought, ‘How can we make those key connections in the least amount of time and be very efficient?’ ”

Looking back, Bowers said the biggest surprise was the response to last year’s program.

“We heard from suppliers at the end of the week admit they were skeptical before the event, but afterward said, ‘Now I’m not,’ ” she recalled. “We had a baker say, ‘I would have never met with that supplier. I didn’t know who they were, and now we’re going to do business.’ That was the dream behind Nexus.”