The future of food and rides for the upcoming fair season may not be fully known but many parameters will be set February 10-12, 2025 at the annual co-conference of the Outdoor Amusement Business Association (OABA) and the National Independent Concessionaires Association (NICA). The meeting combines the annual board meetings of the OABA and NICA's Fare Foods Food Show, showcasing new, classic and innovations-on-classic fair cuisine and food-service technology.

Hundreds of midway companies, concessionaires, decision makers, stakeholders and professional are expected at this year's conclave. Unlike last year, when the show was held a week earlier, this year's OABA/NICA event will again be held in tandem with the annual Gibtown Trade Show by the International Independent Showmen's Association. Some carnival companies and other midway providers attend both events and the realignment of the dates streamlines their participation.

Firm Dates

“A survey of our membership changed the dates for 2024 and another survey changed them back in 2025. “ said Greg Chiecko, President & CEO, OABA. “Our members prefer the earlier dates, but they also like being in tandem with the Gibtown trade show.”

With the trade show calendar calendar resolved, what is the state of the mind of OABA members? Carnivals – like fairs and other outdoor events – saw a healthy surge of turnout and spending. Revenues were high, but also were costs, due to inflation. How was 2024 for OABA members? “Same as fairs, revenues were strong but offset by increased costs,” said Chiecko. I believe everyone is optimistic for a good year. There seems to be a mindset change since the pandemic. People are going to live their lives and do what they enjoy.”

While rides and other key components of individual carnival company businesses may be determined at the Gibtown event, the OABA meetings set the collective agenda of carnival companies, particularly the lobbying efforts in Washington. Reluctant to share specifics about 2025's potential agenda, Chiecko said “We hope to establish our strategic planning process and set the course of work for the year.”

Foreign Guest Worker Visas

Although he emphasizes the most immediate goal will be “getting our P-4 provision passed” – which would give the mobile amusement industry its own visa category, instead of relying on H-2B. They will also discuss how a new administration with a tougher stance on immigration will impact the foreign guest worker program and OABA lobbying remains a work-in-progress.

In 2024, the OABA lobbying efforts led to the CARE (Carnivals Are Real Entertainment) acts – aka HR178 and S4040 – which offered a legislative path to bypass the cap-restrictions in the current H-2B program that have led to midway labor shortages. As the saying goes, both bills died in committee without hearing but are expected to be re-introduced in the upcoming legislative year – with the hows and what-for' being clarified at the 2025 board meetings. “The bills died with the 118th Congress. We will refile for the 119th, receive new bill numbers and keep on pushing.”

The presidential election may have distracted legislators from preventing the looming labor crisis for midway companies in 2024, but what Chiecko is most optimistic about is that the partnerships between fairs and their carnival companies has never been stronger. What pleased him the most about last year was “the relationships we have built with the fair industry and their willingness to help support our passage of the P-4 bills. I can only hope that it will continue to grow.”

Shining Bright

While behind the scenes OABA board members will be determining lobbying, regulatory and other issues shaping the 2025 agenda, the immediate future of fair cuisine will be served by the NICA Business Expo and Fare Foods Food Show. Rey O'Day, Executive Director, NICA welcomed the return of the coinciding dates of the NICA and IISA events. “NICA is glad to be participating with Fare Foods, OABA, Gibtown, and the Florida State Fair activities during the traditional dates.” The synergy we produce together strengthens all of us. Together we will be “Shining Bright!” in 2025.”

While no official public service announcement encouraging attendees to wear sunglasses has been issued, Shining Bight is the theme of this year's food show. The tagline reflects the upbeat attitude prevalent among midway concessionaires. Despite the persistence of inflation – which caused price hikes in nearly all food categories and related byproduct – food and beverage midway sales have consistently rebounded post-lockdown, making the appetite to attend this year's event nevermore palatable.

“When fairs reopened after Covid, guests swarmed in with money to spend and a passion to experience events again,” she explained. “As the expensive reality of everyday living returned, fairs that have preserved engaging programming, reasonable pricing, and stayed affordable have experienced record attendance. For many concessionaires, gross sales for 2023 and 2024 were about the same; however, their expenses continued to rise in almost every category of doing business. “

She cautioned however that this positive outlook may not be at the same levels industrywide. “Optimism seems to be higher on the east side of the Rockies.”

While economic news for much of 2024 saw a leveling off of inflation, that had little impact on food prices and 2025 projections. Higher wholesale costs are already the rule not the exception for 2025, and the worry is how much of that increase can be passed along to the consumer, who seem poised to tighten purse strings again.

Fighting Inflation

“Many national suppliers have already sent out substantial price increases for 2025, which signals that inflation will continue into 2025,” she explained. “Pricing for commodity items like potatoes used for french fries continues to rise. Also protein items are being affected by bird flu and swine flu. We hope these industries will recover before the high demand of summer kicks in. The biggest impact to fair attendees is that while the amount of their disposable income appears to remain stable, inflationary pricing means that it purchases less. They have to make choices.”

What choices will be made has been complicated by the fact food is not alone in the upwards spiral of an inflation-plagued economy. “The main concern for 2025 is that expenses in all categories are continuing to rise significantly. The rising cost of entertainment is concerning. Fairs are struggling to continue to offer entertainment and programing that is engaging enough to attract guests and keep them on their fairgrounds longer. Perceived value and length of stay are crucial to the success of our members. Stronger attendance at fairs means more revenue with which to solve this challenge.”

O'Day pointed out that attendance as well as attendee spending is threatened by rising prices, a leading criticism in 2024 of fairs by fairgoers on social medial platforms. “Customers are clearly expressing their upset about gate, parking, food and ride pricing in social media. Devaluing the fair guest's dollar by creating additional fees on everything they spend is another topic. We look forward to turning those posts into testimonials about wonderful fair visits.”

NICA members are also in lockstep solidarity when it comes to supporting OABA workforce initiatives. “The H-2B program and the possible lack of it is troubling to the entire industry. Another is the concern for both locating reliable labor and the rising costs of labor. We look forward to overcoming this worry by working together to grow our labor choices and creating efficiencies that require less labor.

The NICA Business Expo portion of the event features educational sessions, workshops, networking, and discussion groups covering the wide range of issues and potential challenges fair food purveyors face in 2024. The Fare Foods Food Show showcases the widest array of fair cuisine suppliers in the industry, highlighting the food trends and technology that will define the 2025 fair season.

The NICA event is also the setting for the annual general membership meeting which includes the year in review presentation, 2025 Board of Directors installation, and the announcement of Coca-Cola's membership contest winners. The meeting is followed by NICA's annual gala, which highlights the NICA Foundation and honors new Hall of Fame recipients.

2025 Food Trends

The Fare Foods Food Show is renowned as the epicenter of new cuisine trends for midway food vendors. What 2025 trends does O'Day forecast as defining the upcoming season? “Hot, spicy, or cultural fusions will remain popular. Anything with pickles or hot, flaming Cheetos will continue to trend well. Bacon has also retained its fans. Gluten free menu items are also trending up.”

Discount pricing and smaller portions she also anticipates as the rule, not the exception, when appeasing fair foodie appetites. “Many successful tasting programs based around $5 on the concept of “grazing” were used to encourage customers to go from stand to stand, trying new foods during lower attendance time frames. They successfully brought guests in earlier, provided value, and encouraged participants to try foods they would not try at a higher price. And they were fun!”

She added, “Pricing challenges will be met by changing portion sizes, modifying packaging, and adding kiosk ordering stations. The beverage category is growing due to the profits they provide. Honey and new sauces are being used to change up some core items. Without a doubt, new food items entice fairgoers to attend, but it is still the “traditional fair food favorites” that keep them there. “



O'Day also predicts a strengthening of the fair/food vendor collaboration, a policy NICA is unabashedly pursuing. “NICA's mission is dedicated to strengthening relationships with fairs, festivals, and special events through effective communication, education, benefits, leadership, and solutions. Both entities are better at working together today because we are serious about it as an industry. The more times we can gather everyone involved in the same room, either at conventions, communication committees or straight talking to each other about our shared concerns, the better the relationship works. We are committed to “Together We Can” to accomplish anything necessary for the betterment of the fairs, the participating vendors, and most importantly, the fair guest they share together.