Latin America Outbound Trade Mission 

The WUSATA Mexico Consumer Oriented Outbound Trade Mission took place in Mexico City and Monterrey from December 5th – 9th , 2022. These activities included logistics arrangements and meetings scheduled with potential buyers from both cities such as supermarkets, importers, distributors, and foodservice institutions. Additionally, a market briefing was provided by the Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Mexico City and Monterrey as well as an imports seminar. 2 tabletops were coordinated in Mexico City and other 2 in Monterrey where U.S companies were able to meet with different importers and showcase their products.  

A total of thirteen companies attended the Outbound Trade Mission coordinated by the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the California State Department of Agriculture.  

A total of 192 meetings were conducted during the mission with 45 different importers, retailers and distributors in Mexico City and Monterrey averaging 15 meetings per company. 

Additionally, 6 buyers from Central/South America were flown to the mission in Mexico City and 4 Mexican regional buyers were flown to Monterrey in order to meet with the delegation. 

Latin America virtual business mission

WUSATA carried out a virtual trade mission between exporters from the Western Union States and importers from 5 Latin American countries. The objective was to generate new business relationships and mission was divided into 4 categories on 4 different dates:

  • 27 August 2020 – Value-added products 
  • 3 September 2020 – Specialty drinks  
  • September 10, 2020 – Seafood  
  • 17 September 2020 – Fruits and vegetables  

18 companies from the Western Union States participated in the mission and 26 importers from different countries such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Panama and Dominican Republic were present. Each exporter had an average of 5 meetings, with a total of 106 meetings across the mission.

This activity was previously planned for a face-to-face trip to Costa Rica and Colombia but due to the restrictions of the pandemic we resorted to technology and offered the possibility of having private and group sessions. This new mode of business mission resulted efficiency and the possibility to target a greater number of contacts with previous and virtual agendas.

First Zespri participation program in Waze

In 2017 Zespri decided to create a geolocation campaign in Waze, the 1st ranked app in Latin America, above Google Maps and Foursquare, with more than 20 million unique users. 

The main objectives of the campaign were to increase the recognition of the Zespri brand by 25% and Sun Gold kiwi by 13%, increase the market presence by 25% and facilitate the location of the product.

The campaign lasted a month and Waze users received a notification every time they passed near a supermarket that had Zespri kiwifruit for sale. The program was accompanied by content in digital and social media and on its website. Also with printings at points of sale. 

The project resulted in 196 thousand navigations to locate Zespri kiwifruit in supermarkets and more than 118 thousand saved locations.  Market expansion to 4 new cities in the Mexican Republic and 3 new supermarket chains in Latin America. This campaign has been a success story on Google for new categories.

Potato harvest tour in Idaho for Latin American bloggers

As part of the consumer public relations program of the Idaho Potato Commission, Imalinx contacted a group of international bloggers to travel to Idaho and live the experience of knowing the entire process that the Idaho Potatoes go through to reach the consumer table. 

The publications of all participants talked about the benefits, the way of harvest, the added value, recipes and the experience lived in Idaho. 

The group was made up of bloggers focused on food from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico. 

  • “Mujeres al asador” (Women in the gril): 

Formed by Chef Citlali Huerta and Hussein Cárdenas of the TV Azteca program called “Con ganas” (with willingness) in the northern region of Mexico. With more than 3,000 followers on Facebook. Additionally, the Chef also published in her personal account with more than 2,000 followers. 

  • “El buen diente” (enjoy eating): 

With more than 14,790 followers on Instagram, 5,500 followers on Facebook and 2,000 on Twitter. The author, Jorge Chanis made publications using the hashtag #RicasPapasDeIdaho. 

  • “Nuchef”: 

Mara Corado Valls, the owner of NuChef, with more than 3,000 followers on Instagram and Twitter and approximately 1,000 followers on Facebook. 

  • “Foodies PR”: 

An account with more than 5,700 followers on Facebook, 4,297 on Twitter and 3,065 on Instagram. He published the best moments of the experience and some with content focused on the Idaho Potato harvest. 

At the end of the project, the 4 bloggers totaled 73 posts in the 3 social networks. Approximately 55,000 people were reached, and the posts generated traffic to our Idaho Potato Fan Page on Facebook. 

Expo Cuisine & Flavours

During the Expo Cocina y Sabores, Popcorn USA participated with various activities such as sampling product, children’s activities and a presentation with the renowned Costa Rican Chef Juan Carlos Delgado. 

 
The Chef made a delicious recipe, a salad with topping made of popcorn. 

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.  

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.