During May and July, three sessions of the Culinary Institutes Program coordinated by Imalinx on behalf of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council were held in renowned culinary schools located in Mexico City and Cancun, important tourist destinations and high implementation of gastronomy.
These
sessions consisted in conference and sample class, which aimed to increase the
knowledge and demand of blueberries through students and future generations of
chefs.
The participant schools were Culinary Institute Corbuse, Centro de Estudios Superiores de San Ángel (CESSA) and Technology Institute of Cancun. (UT)
During
the workshops taught by Chef Jaqueline Garreta, over 200 graduate chefs
and students learned about the origin, cultivation, and main nutritional
benefits of this fruit, as well as the varieties that can be found on the
market, the chemical reaction that they have when combined with other
ingredients or when subjected to different culinary processes, among other
topics.
Subsequently,
we held the sample classes for groups of 30 students on average in which each
of the participants had the opportunity to meet the blueberries and experiment
with them demonstrating their culinary knowledge and creativity cooking
delicious meals and drinks.
Testimonials:
“Good conference! Thank you for helping to expand our creative gastronomic
field.”
– Manuel Hernandez (Bachelor of Science in Gastronomy)
“Excellent conference and excellent
workshop. Our guests were surprised by the gastronomic quality and creativity
of our students. Congratulations!”
-Communication UT Cancun
As
part of the program for trade servicing, Imalinx and the California
Raisins Committee attended the National Association of Supermarkets and
Department Stores (ANTAD, for its acronym in Spanish)
in Guadalajara, Jalisco from the 11th to the 14th of March, 2014.
The
goal of attending the event was to create contacts focused on retail trade and
the supply chain.
The event recorded an approximate flow of 35,000
attendees during the 3 days.
The participation of California Raisins in ANTAD was successful because
valuable contacts were obtained from importers and processors of dried fruits.
On March 11th
, 2014, the Imalinx team participated as a lecturer at the
annual meeting of the International Blueberry Organization to share information
about the blueberry market in the country.
During the conference, very important points
were exposed, such as the increase in demand in the Mexican market over the
last 5 years, and how focused activities helps consumer to become familiar with
the fruit.
More information about the event:
http://www.internationalblueberry.org/2014/03/28/mexico-presents-serious-blueberry-potential/
From
October 17th to October 19th, the Blueberry Council
(USHBC) participated through Imalinx in the consumer show Salud y
Bienestar, directed to consumers and to health and nutritionist
specialists in the industry in Mexico City.
It was the first participation of the blueberry
and it was the only fresh product in the show, which generated a lot of
interest from the participants. Special information was prepared for
nutritionists and physicians, and prescriptions were prepared with a healthy
approach: Whole Grain Blueberry’s Pancake and Blueberry’s Tea.
More than 25,000 attendees and specialized media
were registered, the result was more than USD$15,000 equivalence in media per
publication of content and more than 250,000 readers were reached.
In October 2012, after the first negotiation reunion between the importer of Costco and Idahoan Foods, the first order was placed and five months after, by March 2013, they had already imported 168 pallets of Idaho products.
One of the most important markets for kiwis Zespri is Costa Rica, due to this reason a media tour was carried out to share Zespri’s brand awareness in television programs.
Starting from Viviana en Tu Cocina (Viviana in your kitchen) TV program, a leading women´s TV show in Costa Rica featuring ex-Miss Costa Rica Viviana Muñoz where the Imalinx Corporate Chef prepared Zespri recipes with the two varieties of kiwifruit.
The main objective was to show how to eat the product and the versatility of preparing dishes and snacks with this fruit. As a result of the program, the demand of Zespri kiwifruits and the brand positioning was the highest level registered within the region for three years
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.
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
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.
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.
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.