NPA 2022 Annual Meeting Held March 6-8

23 April 2022 Off By Pastaria

The National Pasta Association held its 2022 Annual Meeting at the LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort in Naples, Florida on March 6-8. The meeting featured important discussions on the current state of the industry, geopolitical events and trends to look for in the future. In all, nearly 90 industry leaders attended the Annual Meeting, coming together from all over the US, Italy, and Brazil. “We are so thrilled to be able to get together to talk about important issues, current challenges, and how we can continue to build up the industry,” said Carl Zuanelli, Chair of the NPA Board of Directors and President and CEO of Nuovo Pasta Productions, Ltd. “Today we are gathered to celebrate not only the industry of a product, but it’s culture. That culture is indeed PASTA. Even with these uncertain times affecting our businesses, with unprecedented inflationary price pressures and geopolitical issues that have not been experienced since World War II, pasta remains a bastion of comfort, certainty and calming goodness. Indeed the demand for this world’s cherished product remains strong here in the United States and we must continue to guide this pasta culture into the future. The NPA Annual Meeting allows for critical conversations to be had and relationships to be built that lead to a better and bigger pasta industry.”

The stellar program included presentations on a variety of timely topics, including:

“Welcome and State of the Industry Report” by Carl Zuanelli, NPA Board of Directors Chair, Nuovo Pasta Productions, Ltd
“The Three P’s: Pandemic, Pasta and Partnering on Food Insecurity” by Erika Thiem, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Feeding America
“2022 Economy – Light at the End of the Tunnel?” by Chris Kuehl, Managing Director, Armada Corporate Intelligence,
“U.S. Post COVID-19 Pasta Trends and Outlook” by Todd Hale, Principal, Todd Hale, LLC
“2022 World & U.S. Durum Situation” by Jim Peterson, Policy and Marketing Director, North Dakota Wheat Commission
“Legislative & Regulatory Update” by Gary Kushner, NPA Legal Counsel, Hogan Lovells US LLP

For the first time, NPA also included a Town Hall on the value of membership as part of the program, providing members with the opportunity to share thoughts and feedback on membership to continue making NPA a better organization for everyone involved. “We look forward to incorporating feedback from members that we heard during the Town Hall,” said Delia Murphy, NPA’s Executive Director. “The association thrives because of the strong experience, ideas and input of its members and our goal is to build a better future together.”

Rounding out the comprehensive educational experience were numerous networking events where attendees had a chance to connect and form new relationships, including the popular Executive One-on-One event, golf tournament, and the always thrilling and competitive bocce tournament.

The meeting could not have happened without dedicated sponsors, including:

Platinum Sponsors: Italgrani USA and Nuovo Pasta Productions, Ltd.
Diamond Sponsors: Barilla, Bühler Group, GEA Pavan, FAVA S.p.A, North Dakota Mill, and Miller Milling Company
Gold Sponsors: Conte’s Pasta Company, Corbion Caravan, Heartland Harvest Inc., Niccolai Trafile S.r.l., North Dakota Wheat Commission, Panhandle Milling, Pasta Montana, ProvisionGard Technology, and US Durum Growers Association
Silver Sponsors: AFC Packaging and TECALIT
Additional Sponsors: MULTIPOND

Thank you to all the attendees, speakers and sponsors who made this year’s Annual Meeting an incredible success. NPA looks forward to bringing everyone together again for the 2023 Annual Meeting. Location and dates for the meeting are still being finalized but will be shared soon.