Information for Potential Sponsors

Information for Potential Sponsors

The Conference of Food Engineering 2024 (CoFE 24) will be held from August 25-28, 2024, in Seattle, WA, is the only conference in the United States focusing on food engineering research and education.  The main theme will be on sustainable engineering solutions & technologies relevant to industrial processing, food safety, packaging, waste reduction/upcycling, and decarbonization. Participants include attendance from Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa at the most recent 2-3 conferences.

CoFE 24 will be organized by the Society of Food Engineering (SoFE) which is a nonprofit organization incorporated in the state of Ohio.   Contributions and sponsorships to the society are tax-deductible.  Details about SoFE and its history may be accessed at:  https://socfoodeng.org/ .

Attendance for CoFE normally includes students from various university programs worldwide. Significant involvement from the food industry has come from companies, large and small.  Sponsorships from a varied cross-section of food companies are anticipated for CoFE 24.

Four sponsorship categories are available: (https://socfoodeng.org/cofe/sponsors/ )

Bronze Sponsorship ($ 3,000) –  Access to a table top for company/organization display materials. Sponsorship will be recognized in the conference program.

Silver Sponsorship ($ 5,000) – One complimentary registration, and access to a table top for company/organization display materials. Sponsorship will be recognized in the conference program.

Gold Sponsorship ($ 7,500) – Two complimentary registrations, and access to a table top for company/organization display materials. Sponsorship to be recognized in the conference program as well as in other displays.

Platinum Sponsorship ($ 10,000) – Three complimentary registrations, and access to a table top for company/organization display materials. Sponsorship will be recognized in the conference program, displays, and during plenary sessions and banquet.

All sponsorship payments are tax-deductible, and are to be made to the Society of Food Engineering.  If interested in being a sponsor, please contact us at societyoffoodengineering@gmail.com

Sponsor FAQs

How large is the conference? (what was last meeting’s # of attendees?)

At our previous meeting, CoFE 22 in Raleigh, NC, we had an attendance of over 200.   We are expecting 200 to 300 attendees at CoFE 2024.

What is the makeup of the attendees (academia vs. industry)?

We have academia, industry and government agencies (FDA, USDA) among attendees and speakers

How many sponsors does CoFE get in each category and how many from industry attend without sponsoring?  (would we be one of 3 sponsors, or one of 15)?

Based on prior experience, we expect to have 5-8 sponsors.  Prior sponsors have included Abbott Nutrition, Meijer, Formulaction,  Nestlé, McCormick, Kerry, PepsiCo and ConAgra.  We have numerous industry attendees, and some of them register without sponsoring.

Is there an opportunity to get resumes from the attendees, or will we need to do in person relationship building to see if this can be a feeder pool for recruiting?

Sponsors will get a table to exhibit items, so you can solicit resumes there.  During CoFE 18, we had a specially organized career fair for students, with industry panelists presenting and answering questions.

Can sponsors provide promotional materials at the conference (i.e. EAS or Curate bars, bags, pens, etc.)?

That would be welcome. We are planning to provide a folder or a bag for the conference. We can include your materials inside that or you can provide them on your exhibit table.

As part of the poster session, can we have a booth to share what our company does and play our engineering promo video?

It is a possibility, and may depend on how long your video is. We can show the video during lunch time or you can show them on your table top exhibit. We can discuss this further.