In October, the commercial mission for the Producers of the Western United States of America was carried out, focused on the main importers of beer, wines and snacks.
Attendees created business relationships and attended the Great American Beer Festival held annually in Denver, Colorado.
A
trade mission was coordinated to visit three major Colombian cities where
potential buyers from the country met.
The
commercial mission took place from the 23rd to the 27th of February in Bogotá,
Medellín and in Cartagena, more than 150 meetings were held with potential
buyers in the country where they had the opportunity to present their products.
The Agro-Commercial
Office, MS Consultoría and the Chamber of Commerce of Cartagena
attended the event.
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 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:
A seminar taught by Omar Barbosa, sommelier of the year. 42 restaurant managers and industry professionals attended to the event.
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%.
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.
The event had two principal approaches. On one side, the menu created by host chefs Jared Reardon and Sonia Arias, consisted of a Thanksgiving dinner in which they integrated the products promoted by WUSATA.
The second objective was to develop material and activities for young people and children in an entertaining promotion, in order to teach them the story behind the festive days of Mexico and United States.
There was a total mass media coverage of more than $60,000 dollars and giant banners were placed within stores. In general, the campaign resulted in an increase of over $7 million dollars.
As part of the activities of the 2009 program with the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA), Imalinx coordinated an on-line seminar regarding the “Trends in the Mexican Market”.
The seminars resulted in an 80% increase of participating companies and a similar increase in the number of companies that visited the destinations after listening the seminar.
Trade missions to the western United States allowed to strengthen relationships between importers and buyers of fresh products in Mexico and exporters from the United States, such as importers in Oregon. In the picture, Mexican importers of fresh products in Oregon.
As part of the trade mission of the western United States, four produce exporters from New Mexico, Montana and Colorado participated in the trip to visit customs agents, the frontier’s inspection zone and the bonded warehouses to understand all the requirements and steps to follow when successfully exporting to the Mexican market.
After the visit, direct imports in the region with supermarkets increased by 50% including of yellow onions, pumpkin and pinto beans.