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.
In October 2010, the event of the Washington Wine Commission was conducted in Cancun to increase awareness of industry professionals and media of the sectors regarding the wine industry of the American Union.
The tasting-seminar was taught by the Master Sommelier Shayn Bjornholm, Director of Education of the Washington Wine Commission.
Some of the vineyards which were present include:
By the end of the event, attendees enjoyed a tasting of a cocktail and a networking session between wine exporters and representatives of the Mexican market. After the successful event of the Washington Wine Commission in Cancun, two more visits were arranged and in 2012 Millbrant Vineyards became part of important wine catalogues in Mexico.
The strategy was developed at the restaurants Teodora, Lucca, Bistro Q and Chino Latino, in which eight dishes were created including beverages, entrees, main courses and desserts. Pomegranates from the west of United States and yellow onions were included as star ingredients.
The objective was to establish a relationship between the gastronomic uses and diffusion to consumers. Visual aids, tent cards and press announcements helped the promotion creating excellent feedback from consumers and restaurant managers.
As representatives of the Blueberry Council, Imalinx organized a sampling activity at the restaurant Jaso, located in Mexico City at Polanco neighborhood.
The chefs, Jared Reardon and Sonia Arias, offered a tasting of six dishes which surprised even the most experienced palate, where blueberries were the source of inspiration of which chefs had to use in this occasion to create never seen before dishes on their menu.
The sampling of the menu had the objective of making the consumption of blueberries more accessible as it is a berry that is little known in our country.
On May 2010, the first blueberry culinary encounter at the Higher Education Centre of San Angel (CESSA) was celebrated, where eight outstanding graduates of this year developed original recipes with blueberries as the main ingredient.
The encounter aimed to reveal the qualities and benefits of blueberries,
as well as the multiple uses that these have and the necessary measures for
their proper handling.
Participants were able to use fresh, frozen and dehydrated blueberries.
The result was a presentation of original recipes of which the following stand out:
Imalinx achieved to position blueberries as a versatile and added value product with a “more than just for muffins” approach.
On joint efforts with the renowned chef, Paulina Abascal, an integral campaign was developed with participation on television programs, radio and magazine articles.
In alliance with the magazine “Pasión por la Cocina” a contest was arranged in which consumers participated to win a visit to the kitchen facilities of the chef and to obtain the book “Larousse Desserts” autographed by the chef and author, Paulina.
Having chef Paulina Abascal as spokeswoman of the brand allowed blueberries to position themselves as an added value item with a “more than just for muffins” approach.
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.
The demonstration which was focused on products from western United States was undertaken in the Higher Education Centre of San Angel (CESSA) in Mexico City. Taught by chef Rod Jessick from the Coeur Dálene Resort in Idaho, who developed a menu with products of western United States for future chefs and media.
The section Buena Mesa of the newspaper Reforma published an article regarding the innovation of the United States’ cuisine.
In the culinary forum for universities, the participating entities were the University of Claustro de Sor Juana, the University of Anahuac del Sur and the University of the Valle de Mexico.
On the other hand, during the culinary forum of blueberries the future chefs had to integrate them into Mexican dishes and present their dishes before the evaluation of five critics in gastronomy.
Exporters and distributors of Chilean wine gathered in a large wine tasting to learn regarding new labels and strengthen relationships with current marketers.
Within the restaurant Hacienda de Los Morales, a pairing event was organized as well as a presentation of over 40 Chilean wineries. Different varieties were featured such as Carmenére and Late Harvest, which are currently available in premium retail stores in Mexico.