Producers fish for 
ideas at trade shows

Boston is a food mecca this week.

Exhibiting companies from 46 countries have descended on the Hub for the three-day International Boston Seafood Show/Seafood Processing America that starts today.

More than 19,000 attendees are expected to pack the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center for the event, which coincides with the New England Food Show.

The trade-only seafood show is the largest in its 32-year history in terms of exhibition space, with more than 1,850 booths and 1,000-plus exhibiting companies. A record 19,905 buyers, suppliers and other industry professionals attended last year's show, and registrations are tracking very well this year, according to show director Liz Plizga of Diversified Business Communications, the Portland, Maine, company that produces the exposition.

"Our trade show mirrors the industry … so it's a good indication for the economy and industry here in the North American market," Plizga said.

The event's keynote speaker tomorrow comes with controversy attached to his name. Soren Kaplan is the author of "Leapfrogging: Harness the Power of Surprise for Business Breakthroughs" and founder of InnovationPoint, a San Francisco-area management consulting firm.

The Wall Street Journal last month chronicled how Kaplan bought his way onto its best-sellers list for business books last August when "Leapfrogging" debuted. Kaplan paid a marketing firm to buy 2,500 of copies of the book in advance of its publication, the Journal reported. Sales of the book plummeted 99 percent the next week, and the book dropped off the list, but Kaplan conceded the best-seller status helped him land speaking and consulting gigs.

Seafood show organizers were unaware of the controversy, Plizga said, and chose Kaplan because he'll talk about breakthrough innovation, a topic that resonates with any industry.

"We booked him a while back," she said. "He's participated with other groups within our company, and we've seen his work before."

TV personality Regis Philbin is the keynote speaker for the New England Food Show, a trade event for the food and beverage industry which last year drew 18,000 people, 7,000 of them crossovers from the seafood show.

Joe Piantedosi, of Malden's Piantedosi Baking Co., will join Philbin to discuss the parallel between Philbin's work entertaining audiences and Piantedosi's work pleasing customers in the hospitality industry.

"Philbin was out in the front in having cooking segments on his show, and he always talked about the restaurant industry," said Peter Christie, CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, the show's sponsor. "He loves dining out."

With close to 500 booths and more than 300 exhibiting companies, New England Food Show attendees range from buyers for large hotels to small mom-and-pop restaurateurs.

"The reason they come is they're always looking for new ideas," Christie said. "They're looking for better ways to cut costs or come up with a new product to help their business and attract customers."

Boston chefs Jamie Bissonnette, Joanne Chang, Brian Poe and Jason Santos also will participate in a panel about social media,"Social Chefs: How to Use Your Followers to Build a Following."

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