Panama and Colombia Trade Mission for Potato growers

Trade Mission coordinated with WUSATA and the Idaho Potato Commission and executed to increase the market share of Idaho potatoes in new countries of Latin America.  

On January 2013, the Idaho Potato Commission in alliance with WUSATA (Western United States Agricultural Trade Association) participated in a Trade Mission to Panama and Colombia.  

Several Idaho Potato growers and processors scouted the market and established business relationships with retailers, importers and potential distributors of Idaho Potatoes. The objective of the mission was to learn more regarding the opportunities of this Latin America markets.  Idaho potatoes producers and processors prospered in the market and established commercial relationships with potential retailers, importers and distributors for the brand. 

The results were effective, as one of the largest retail chains in Panama generated their first purchase order, shortly after the trade mission. 

Children’s Health by Zespri kiwifruit

During the 2012 season of Zespri kiwifruit, the largest kiwifruit distributor in the world announced its first annual campaign focused on Children’s Health with Kiwifruit in conjunction with the supermarket chain Soriana with the objective of promoting good nutritional habits in children.  

Zespri and Soriana selected four charitable foundations, which represented the most important regions of Mexico, to promote the children’s health through proper nutrition and physical activity. 

PARTICIPANT FOUNDATIONS 

  • Fundación Un Kilo de Ayuda (One Kilogram of Help Foundation) 
  • Fundación Tarahumara (Tarahumara Foundation) 
  • Movimiento de Apoyo a Menores Abandonados A.C.  (Support Movement for Abandoned Children Foundation) 
  • Casa de la Salud Génesis A.C. (Genesis Health House Foundation) 

The dynamic of the campaign consisted on people playing within a microsite www.kiwisaludinfantil.com and answering trivia questions regarding health and nutrition, they won points for the charitable foundation and the region of their choice.  

At the end of the campaign, the foundation with the most quantity of points achieved, won the amount of $60,000 Mexican pesos from Zespri; the second place $20,000 Mexican pesos and the two remaining foundations $10,000 Mexican pesos each.  Zespri delivered an equivalent of $100,000 Mexican pesos between the four institutions. 

The result of the campaign was positive as, during the 5 weeks of duration of the activity, sales of Zespri kiwifruit at Soriana increased by 28%.  

“I am very happy that Zespri launches the Zespri’s Children Health Contest in Mexico as it is a vital topic for our country, in addition  to joining the work of foundations with this campaign, as it will grant us with a very important awareness result… just to say that nobody here loses and we all somehow win.”, says Inés Masallach, spokeswoman of Zespri’s Children Health and Marketing Director of Imalinx Latin America. 

Due to this campaign, Zespri was certified by the National Chamber of Women, as one of the 100 responsibly healthy companies in Mexico in 2013. 

Healthy consumption of U.S. kernel popcorn

The program, created by Imalinx, was integrated with mass media and direct communication in point of sales by the end of 2012.  

Didactic materials were produced and focused on families with children to encourage healthy eating of American popcorn.  

The result of the marketing mix led to an increase in sales of 117% in selected stores.  

Cooking Workshop with Idaho Potatoes in British American School

The cooking workshop was coordinated by the Idaho Potato Commission on October and carried out in the British American School.  

Parents, professors and media experienced the workshop with the chef Natalia Delgado, ambassador of the Idaho Potato Commission. Natalia promoted the “Good Eating” and highlighted the nutritional benefits of including Idaho potatoes in their daily diet.  

Participants discovered the versatility of the products by cooking unique recipes with dehydrated as more than just mashed potato.  

Below you will find some pictures of the Cooking Workshop. 

Popcorn USA at cinemas from Costa Rica

During the second semester of 2012, a social media and retail marketing campaign was developed in Mexico and Costa Rica to promote the consumption of U.S. kernel popcorn.  

The objective was to demonstrate consumers the benefits of including popcorn as part of their daily diet. The campaign had a total reach of 1,530,000 consumers in Costa Rica and more than 2,000,000 people in Mexico.  

As a result of the campaign, alliances were created with one of the most important cinema chains in Costa Rica, where it was possible to negotiate the most significant points of sale to position U.S. kernel popcorn.  

Sanborn’s Menu Promotion with Idaho Potatoes

As part of the consumer program of the Idaho Potato Commission, Imalinx created a strategy where Idaho products participated in the menu “The month of United States” of the restaurant chain Sanborn’s. 

During July 2012, the USA menu was featured in all 200 Sanborns restaurants nationwide. The IPC participated with the inclusion of 2 different dishes featuring Idaho mashed potato.  

The objective of the strategy was to generate brand awareness of Idaho mashed potatoes, and its quality. In addition, to position the brand and integrate the product in the daily diet of the smallest members of the family. 

Different POS materials were used to support the program. Tent cards, posters, banners and newspaper ads were part of the campaign, all of which included the Grown in Idaho logo. Imalinx representative on behalf of the IPC also negotiated to have Spuddy Buddy visit 10 restaurants in Mexico City to create brand awareness among consumers. 

The interaction between children and Spuddy Buddy was the most successful as 70% of children ordered a dish with potatoes, asked for pictures with Spuddy motley. 

According to the sales information Sanborn´s provided us, in all 16,160 dishes featuring Idaho mashed Potato were sold over a 1-month period. 

Idaho Potatoes in Madrid Fusión, Mexico

On May 23rd, 2012, the Idaho Potato Commission was contacted through Imalinx with a special request for taking Idaho Potatoes to the presentation of chef Willow Benet (chef of the restaurant Pikayo in Puerto Rico), within the event Madrid Fusión, an international competition of gastronomy carried out for the first time in Mexico.  

The key messages of versatility and quality of the product were reinforced during the presentation of the event. A pre-baked frozen potato was used, and a new presentation was exhibited to the market.  

The participant chefs and distributors showed high interest on learning more about the different presentations of Idaho potatoes.  

TV campaign with Popcorn USA

From December to January, in representation of the U.S. Popcorn Board, Imalinx implemented a television campaign with the objective of communicating the different ways of consuming U.S. kernel popcorn.  

The participation had national and regional coverage, also publications in magazine-type programs, where the average audience was 2.1 million viewers.  

Development of recipes with California pomegranates

Pomegranate arils are used in Mexican dishes during the months of August and September. However, the objective of this program consisted in extending the season during more months of the year, reaching until December or January. The recipes that were developed included ideas for snacks, health menus and beverages.

Media contacts received positively the material and additional to achieving an equivalent cost of 20 to 1 mentions and insertions, the pomegranates were part of the season and participated in one of the magazines with the largest circulation in December, Kena Christmas edition.

U.S. Wines “Best Served with Friends” Promotion

During the period August-September, a promotion of U.S. wines was executed for its consumption in Mexico. The project was carried out in coordination with the Western U.S. Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA).

The promotion was developed through three components:

  • Seminar / Press conference with sommeliers and specialized media.  

A seminar taught by Omar Barbosa, sommelier of the year.  42 restaurant managers and industry professionals attended to the event.

  • “Wine of the month” campaign 

It included the participation of 10 restaurants in Mexico City, Monterrey and San Miguel de Allende, who promoted tastings of U.S. wines and used material of the campaign. This resulted in an increase in sales of 14%.

  • Public relations 

The campaign efforts were carried out through an investment in newspapers, magazines and the participation at the trade show Abastur. The national coverage had the objective to communicate the origin, benefits and characteristics of the product, achieving a total reach of 7.2 million consumers.