Flavours

All exhibitors participating in the Flavours section (or have otherwise gotten approval to sell and/or sample food and beverage onsite), at the One Of A Kind Show, must review the information below and complete and submit the OVG Hospitality Authorization Form and the Toronto Public Health Special Event Vendor Form by March 8, 2024.

FOOD SALES AND SAMPLING:

• Any "Exhibitor" selling or distributing for the purpose of tasting or sampling a consumable food item or product shall purchase and maintain comprehensive general liability insurance naming OVG Hospitality and The Board of Governors of Exhibition Place as additional named insured, with a policy minimum liability of $5,000,000 per occurrence. A certificate of said insurance must be provided to OVG Hospitality three weeks prior to the event.
• Any "Exhibitor" wishing to conduct in-booth sampling or tasting must have the approval of the official caterer, OVG Hospitality.
• Any "Exhibitor" wishing to sell or sample food product items must abide by all applicable rules and regulations as set out by Toronto Public Health and Health Canada.
• Any "Exhibitor" wishing to sell or sample food product must abide by the size and packaging guidelines as set out by the official caterer, OVG Hospitality. No single use plastics are permitted; all serve wares must be biodegradable.
• All food items sold must be packaged for home consumption (approved minimum package sizes to be determined by OVG Hospitality).

One Of A Kind is always reviewing our show requirements to meet the demands of our customers, as well as the needs of our small business vendors. We will continuously work with OVG so that we can abide to the pre-packaged requirements while best accommodating different business models.

What has not changed however, is that we require ALL vendors at One Of A Kind to be thoughtful with their booth design so that they can showcase their brands, products and stories in the most compelling way. In addition to this, as vendors at the Show, you should always be respectful of your neighbours. For this reason, if you anticipate there may be lineups in your space, please make sure you design your booth accordingly, so that we do not have lineups in the aisles of the Show.

REMINDER: All Flavour Artisans (both selling and/or sampling), please remember that you will need to complete the MANDATORY OVG Hospitality Authorization Request form and submit a copy of your insurance via email by March 8, 2024.

A few important reminders about sample size, product size and pre-packaging your products for home consumption:

• SAMPLES: Food samples must be limited to bite size at either 2x2 inches (5.5 cm) or 2oz (59 grams); Non-alcoholic beverage samples must be limited to 4oz (118ml) and be approved by OVG Hospitality.
• PRODUCT SIZE FOR SALE/Pre-Package
  Requirements: Food and beverage for sale must be PRE-PACKAGED in such quantities to be solely intended for home consumption. Each individual package must be equal or greater to 1kg by weight or 1L by volume unless approved by OVG Hospitality.
• Be sure to review the rest of the form for all requirements, including health and safety protocols from both the city and the venue.
• Packaging should not be cut open for attendees who have just purchased your product.
• No single use plastics are permitted; serve ware used for sampling must be biodegradable.

Please note that all forms must be reviewed and approved by OVG prior to the event.

The flavour section’s aim is to showcase all the delectable gourmet foods created by food artisans across the country. We curate this section to offer many diverse offerings, however the one commonality shared by all our Flavour vendors is that all products must be pre-packaged and sealed for home consumption.

Depending on the type of food you sell, we understand this may not look the same for everyone. For this reason, we have worked with OVG to further clarify our shared requirements so that we can provide more information to ensure everyone is on the same page, and that our vendors can prepare for the show accordingly.

Over the past few years, we have seen a trend where more Flavour vendors want to allow their guests to select from a variety of flavours to create a custom box of their products (hereon in, we will refer to this type of product as the “custom box”). In an age where customization is in demand, and that our visitors do enjoy having options, we want to make sure we are responding to these shifts to meet customer expectations while still adhering to OVG requirements.

If you want to sell a custom box, there are some special considerations you will need to consider, so that we can be respectful of other vendors in the Show, while making sure the pre-packaged home consumption requirements are still fulfilled.

1. If you offer customers an option to select a variety of flavours/products to create a custom box, and that your products are not individually packaged, you will need to ensure all selected items can fit into a container/box, which must be sealed (the box can be sealed by a sticker, or be tied by a string) so that the purchase is ready for home consumption. We do recommend having some pre-packaged options available to speed up the purchasing process.
2. For baked goods (including but not limited to cookies & brownies) that do not meet the minimum package requirement (must be equal or greater to 1kg by weight), please ensure they are sold in a minimum quantity of six (6) unless another arrangement is approved by OVG. OVG has the right to deny any food sales onsite that may conflict with their concession sales. Packaging all goods in minimum quantities for home consumption is how we’re able to include these offerings within our Flavours section.
3. If your product requires visitors to pick and choose, you will need to make sure you have enough space within your booth to accommodate line ups. Please make sure this design is reflected in your booth drawing.

Any exhibitor wishing to sell or sample outside of the guidelines listed on the application form must receive approval in advance by contacting Christine Frankie at OVG Hospitality Christine.Frankie@oakviewgroup.com.

While exhibiting at the One Of A Kind Show, Flavours exhibitors are expected to abide by the regulations set forth by Toronto Public Health with regards to safe food handling procedures.

All vendors sampling must complete and submit the MANDATORY Toronto Public Health Special Event Vendor Form by March 8, 2024. Food vendors should also familiarize themselves with TPH’s Food Safety at Special Events page for more information.

IMPORTANT: All of TPH’s regulations will be enforced. Below are a few of regulations that are most difficult to rectify once onsite.

• Exhibitors are responsible for providing their own Temporary Hand Washing Station. Temporary Hand Washing Station must be present in any booth where food sampling is happening. This consists of liquid soap, paper towels, a container with spigot, a raised surface to put the container on, and a bucket for the water to pour into (see below). All items are available at stores such as Canadian Tire and Walmart. Please ensure your temporary handwashing station is ready before the Show opens.
• Safe Sampling Practices can be achieved with the use of a few key products. Below is a list of dos and don’ts based on the type of product being sampled.

• Liquids and Sauces
  Do: Use squeeze bottles or pumps to dispense the product
  Do Not: Leave open or uncovered bowls of sauce, allow customers to dip in or spoon the sauce themselves, or have the samples easily accessible so that the customers may help themselves.
• Solid Foods
  Do: Keep covered always, place food in a disposable container before giving the sample to the customer.
  Do Not: Leave food uncovered, place food closer to the customer than to you, or have the samples easily accessible so that the customers may help themselves.

• Some helpful items to support the “dos” of food sampling are squeeze bottles, cake stand lids, and tongs.

To help our Flavours exhibitors abide by TPH regulation, the One Of A Kind Show provides sinks with hot/cold running water at the North end of the hall for the exclusive use of Flavours exhibitors. This washing station is for dishes only and is not a substitute for the temporary handwashing station required in your booth.

In accordance with Health Canada regulations, all samples and food for sale must provide clear ingredient labels to help consumers identify and avoid foods which contain ingredients to which they are allergic or sensitive. In addition, samples as well as food items for sale, must be labeled in a consistent manner that is in accordance with Health Canada regulations, to alert consumers to any potential allergens, gluten sources and sulphites.

For more information, and a list of priority allergens, please visit www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/allergen/index-eng.php.

The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) came into force on January 15, 2019. These regulations address selling meat, dairy products, and fish in a province or territory different to where the food item is produced. If you manufacture your product inside Canada but outside Ontario, confirmation of your booth contract is conditional on receipt of your Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) license by Melissa Lauzon, Senior Operations Manager, at Melissa.Lauzon@informa.com.

If you don’t already have an SFC license, follow these steps.

• Complete the SFC quick and simple Licensing interactive tool to determine the type of licensing you need to sell your products in Ontario. On the second page of the interactive tool, you will select the option “You manufacture, process, treat, preserve, grade, package or label food to be sent or conveyed from one province to another,” and any other applicable items.
• Receive the result of what type of license you need by finishing the interactive tool.
• Read What to consider before applying for a Safe Food for Canadians license
• Read Tips for a smooth Safe Food for Canadians license application
• Create a MyCFIA account if you do not already have one.
• Apply for a license within My CFIA. There is a fee of $250 to do so and the license is good for two years.
• You will receive an electronic message indicating one of the following:
  Your license has been issued and is available in your My CFIA account, or
  Your license will be issued once the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has inspected the business.
• Once you receive your SFC license, send it to Melissa Lauzon, Senior Operations Manager, at Melissa.Lauzon@informa.com. Confirmation of your booth contract is conditional on receipt of the license.

More information regarding SFC licensing can be found here.

Please note, exhibitors who produce meat, dairy, and fish products inside Ontario do not need a license to sell their products in Ontario but are still able to apply for a license.

Should you have questions, please contact Melissa Lauzon at Melissa.Lauzon@informa.com.