We participated in Grill Master in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico during the month of August promoting Idaho potatoes and the 3-pound HEB package.
Grill Master is one of the most prominent and recognized events for barbecue enthusiasts in Mexico. It brings together the best grillers and a multitude of BBQ fans, creating the perfect environment to be present with Idaho Potatoes and 38,000 people attend.
The attendees enthusiastically received tastings, praising the flavor and freshness of our products. In addition, we took the opportunity to distribute promotional items with the image of Idaho potatoes and our beloved Spuddy Buddy, capturing the attention and interest of the participants, and strengthening the recognition of our brand in the public.
We had the expert support of Chef Humberto Villareal who prepared the potatoes in different ways: Mashed potatoes with skin and butter, Roasted Potato with Pork Belly and Idaho Potato Salad.
Currently, Russet potatoes have broken sales records with the retailer!
The Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA), in conjunction with the Idaho and Oregon Departments of Agriculture and Imalinx, scheduled a trade mission to these states with a delegation of Mexican buyers from the ingredient and foodservice industry to meet new suppliers of grains, seeds, processed products and value-added products.
Imalinx recruited buyers who had one-on-one meetings with 15 companies to develop new business, visits to some of their plants and also visits to supermarkets for end consumers and foodservice where they were able to see new product trends and food and beverage presentations.
“Thank you for the invitation to this trade mission. We have a lot of potential with new products such as khorasan and teff. We must follow up with the companies as necessary to be able to enhance the results of new business opportunities.” Added Value Buyer
We had an approach with Pinche Gringo BBQ through the MLB event organized by the Agricultural Trade Office in Mexico city.
It is a chain with 8 restaurants in Mexico City. We saw a great opportunity to participate by integrating Idaho potatoes into some of their recipes and considering different types of support such as IPC-branded materials, uniforms, etc.
We committed to providing them with gradual support once the budget is finalized. Dubacano is the importer that delivers the potatoes to them on a weekly basis.
| Load | Weight in kg | Weight in lbs |
| Weekly load: 18 sacks | 405 | 891 |
| Monthly load: 72 sacks | 1,620 | 3,564 |
| Annual load: 864 sacks | 19,440 | 42,768 |
We have a Spuddy Buddy in LED that we will provide as part of IPC’s support materials.
All of these efforts will help us gain presence and raise brand awareness among their restaurant attendees.
They are very excited to work together to achieve the expected results for both parties.
An important support provided by Kiwi Zespri is the delivery of materials to traditional market vendors who handle the product. Some of the materials are: pennants, tarpaulins, recipe books, market bags, spoons, bin covers, borders, danglers and tasting boxes. These materials make Kiwi Zespri displays more visible and therefore sell more product.
Something new this year was the delivery of Zespri Umbrellas, which were very well received and have signaled the markets where our consumers now know where to find both Zespri Green and Zespri Sungold.
On August 8 and 9, Imalinx, in conjunction with the California Dairy Council and 5 cheese producers, visited the city of Querétaro to provide training to executives and store managers on products that bear the Real California Milk seal.
Mention client, association CMAB
The event was coordinated 3 months in advance to be able to adjust the agendas of Point Reyes, Di Stefano, Cheese Bits, Joseph Farms, and Vintage, prepare the presentations, send samples, and arrange the training for 40 people from HEB that included executives, regional managers from Bajío, store managers, and deli managers.
In addition to the presentations, there were Q&A sessions, as well as a guided tasting by Joe Baird, The Cheese Monger at CMAB, to discuss the flavor profiles of some cheeses, ways to use them, and how to pair them.
Within the trip and the activity, tastings were also coordinated in 3 HEB stores to promote the products with the end consumer.
“Thank you for the support. With these activities we can boost sales and commitment of the stores and collaborators to increase product sales!” HEB Regional Buyer
On Tuesday, July 23rd, the Delizie della Burrata event took place in Cuernavaca, Morelos. An event designed to bring the best quality of fresh cheeses to the door of the foodservice sector in the eternal spring city. Di Stefano cheeses are made with 100% cow’s milk from California in the artisan style and with the original Italian recipe.
Together with our distributor Gennaro Riccio we presented the Di Stefano brand, its history and trajectory. Gennaro gave us a training on the uses to learn more about each product, its flavors, versatility and quality; delighting us from classic recipes to very creative innovations.
We had 15 attendees from 9 different companies, all of them were able to learn, taste and ask questions. They took away samples and a gift kit, as well as many ideas to apply everything they learned!
As part of the WUSATA program for Mexico in 2024, an inbound trade mission focused on agricultural products was coordinated, which was led by Imalinx-Mexico, acting as the representative in the country. The mission took place from July 7 to 12, 2024.
The main objective of this trade mission was to educate suppliers from the western United States about the Mexican market. Attendees had the opportunity to meet key contacts within the Mexican import industry and establish one-on-one relationships. Trade visits included tours of the facilities and fields of American companies. The final delegation consisted of five Mexican importers from different regions of Mexico. They met with ten suppliers and visited seven packing plants.
Key Points:
California Raisins was part of the second edition of the cooking class for children 6 and 8 years old, where they learned how to prepare two recipes where the star ingredient was the California Raisins.
The event took place in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon in the outstanding workshop of our beloved Chef Irving Quiroz “Amasijo”, where we had the company of 6 children who participated in the class where they made oatmeal cookies, butter and raisins and raisin pancakes.
During the class, the children showed their love for raisins and their emotion for making the recipes using California raisins.
At the end of the class, the children received recognition for their participation and kits as a thank you for attending.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that this activity was followed on social networks where we obtained a total reach of 107,044 people and a total of 139,792 impressions.
As part of IPC’s retail support efforts, we held l Potato Lover’s Month from April 8, 2024, to May 17, 2024, with the goal of increasing the supply and sales of Idaho potatoes in participating stores.
POS materials were sent out and used for displays. Store staff were assisted with setting up and maintaining the displays. The stores with the highest increase in sales were the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. The displays were posted on the Idaho Potato Facebook Page and were put to a vote based on the number of likes to determine a winner.
The Potato Lovers Month at HEB in 2024 was a success with unit sales increasing over 50%, thanks to the participation and enthusiasm of the managers and associates at each store.
Sunmaid Growers of California listed 12 SKUs in the Mexican Market delivering the first purchase order for 800 cases with an estimated export value of 28,000 USD in March 2024 and available to Mexican consumer on April 1st, 2024. Raisin Administrative Committee provided industry-wide consultations during 2023 providing market information, importers contacts and facilitating communication for the first contact.
The listing process into the country took over one year and RAC was able to provide industry information to Mexican Retailer “La Comer” with 15% national market share with 13 high-end retail stores named “City Market”, where the product will be immediately made available, to eventually distribute in the rest of 72 stores with potential sales of 200,000 USD for full distribution in this retail chain, with the potential to increase volume once other retailers list the product portfolio in 2024.
Product listing will be complemented by a generic Retail Marketing campaign managed by RAC and it is expected that this will be the first step to develop raisin individual packs as a snack category in Mexico that has been a part of the U.S. Culture for many years, opening the way for more uses of California Raisins in that country.