On January 18th and 19th, two activation days were held at Aztlán amusement park as part of a month-long campaign aimed at promoting informed popcorn consumption. The goal was to educate visitors about the origin, nutritional benefits, and everyday uses of popcorn. This campaign was seamlessly integrated with the park’s attractive menu of flavored popcorn options an initiative led by the park itself in collaboration with one of the popcorn distributors in Mexico.
Throughout January, the campaign maintained a strong presence across the park with branding featured on popcorn stand frames, food menu boards, and digital screens in key areas. With an estimated 2,000 daily visitors, the park provided an ideal setting to reach a broad and diverse audience. During the two activation days, 800 people actively participated in interactive activities that highlighted the benefits of U.S. popcorn and encouraged a more conscious approach to its consumption, all within a fun and family-friendly environment.
The combined efforts of the educational campaign and the park’s flavorful popcorn offering created a cohesive and appealing experience for guests. This helped reinforce the positioning of U.S. origin popcorn in a setting that celebrates entertainment and popular culture. The collaboration between campaign partners and local stakeholders proved effective in expanding reach and impact, laying the foundation for future initiatives in high-traffic, high-consumption venues.
On December 21st, a special activation took place at Six Flags Mexico as part of a month-long campaign designed to raise awareness about the origin of U.S. popcorn, its benefits, and its various uses. Taking advantage of the park’s high foot traffic during the holiday season, the campaign featured prominent branding on official popcorn containers and menu boards at food stations, achieving an estimated daily visibility of 5,000 people.
During the main activation day, more than 1,400 people actively participated in engaging activities aimed at educating them about popcorn’s origin, its versatility as a healthy snack, its role in the Mexican market, and common consumption occasions. These interactions provided valuable insight into consumer awareness—approximately 30% of participants were already familiar with the U.S. origin of popcorn and its significance in Mexico.
The collaboration with Six Flags proved to be an ideal platform to expand the campaign’s reach and connect with a broad, diverse audience in a fun and familiar setting. With a combination of consistent visibility throughout December and a high-impact activation, the initiative helped reinforce the positioning of U.S. popcorn, promote informed consumption, and lay the groundwork for future efforts in the entertainment and mass consumption sectors.
Imalinx and the Southern United States Agribusiness Trade Association (SUSTA) coordinated the trade mission to Mexico City and Monterrey from October 7th – 10th. Three companies from different categories-snacks, groceries, beef jerky, and multivitamins-registered for the mission.
The mission included one-on-one meetings, supermarket visits, and educational sessions by Imalinx and the Farm Bureau to understand the market in each city. Each company had an average of 5 appointments in each city for a total of 41 meetings during the mission, all with buyers who have specific interest in the exporters.
The supermarket visits were in stores such as Costco, City Market, Chredaui, Ingredienta, HEB and Soriana. The companies were able to better understand their competition in Mexico, price range, indirect competition and different formats available in Mexico City and Monterrey.
USRPA (US Rice Producers Association) , in collaboration with the Colegio Superior de Gastronomía, organized a training session for 6th-semester students who were taking the course on grains and seeds. The event was attended by 14 students and aimed to instruct them on the advantages of using American long-grain rice. During the session, two recipes were developed: rice and shrimp croquettes, and orange rice pudding, where the star ingredient was American long-grain rice.
The collaboration between USRPA and the Colegio Superior de Gastronomía allowed for a theoretical class where the advantages and differentiators of American long-grain rice were explained. Subsequently, the students put these learnings into practice by developing the two mentioned recipes. All participants received a recognition for their participation, highlighting the importance of both practical and theoretical learning. The results of this session were highly positive.
The training session not only achieved its educational objectives, but also inspired students to explore new culinary possibilities with American long-grain rice.
Popcorn and CMAB participated as a sponsor in the event Restaurants Choice, organized by Players of Life, which awards the best restaurants in Monterrey and its metropolitan area. With the presence of international judges and more than 100 restaurateurs, including restaurant owners and directors of chains, the event focused on recognizing the best in each category.
During the event, they had a prominent presence on printed and electronic banners, as well as direct interaction with the restaurateurs and directors. The brand’s innovative programs were presented and collaboration opportunities were discussed, using various communication channels to ensure an effective message.
The results were notable: They achieved more than 30 direct contacts interested in future collaborations, and a large part of the attendees recognized the brands as a key player in the sector, strengthening its presence in the restaurant industry.
The Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA), in conjunction with the Idaho and Oregon Departments of Agriculture and Imalinx, scheduled a trade mission to these states with a delegation of Mexican buyers from the ingredient and foodservice industry to meet new suppliers of grains, seeds, processed products and value-added products.
Imalinx recruited buyers who had one-on-one meetings with 15 companies to develop new business, visits to some of their plants and also visits to supermarkets for end consumers and foodservice where they were able to see new product trends and food and beverage presentations.
“Thank you for the invitation to this trade mission. We have a lot of potential with new products such as khorasan and teff. We must follow up with the companies as necessary to be able to enhance the results of new business opportunities.” Added Value Buyer
Expo ANTAD, that took place from March 12 to 14, is a trade show focused on the retail sector with more than 1,100 exhibiting companies and an estimated 10,000 professional visitors.
This year IMALINX coordinated a total of 17 booths for 6 of our clients, organizing logistics, business meetings and follow-ups with importers, distributors and supermarkets of various categories of food and beverages; from fresh produce such as Idaho Potatoes, grains and nuts such as Popcorn and California Raisins, dairy products with California Milk and various companies from the South and West of the United States.
The show was a success and has allowed us to see products in the supermarket in a short period of time after the show.
Zoofari is a zoo located in central Mexico that receives around 75,000 visitors annually. A popcorn machine was lent to Zoofari Park for a 4-week trial period to promote the profitability of having a popcorn machine and offering American popcorn to its visitors.
Additionally, promotional materials from Popcorn USA, including water bottles, bags, and cardholders, were sent to be distributed among their visitors to increase sales. At the end of the promotional campaign, Zoofari expressed great interest in acquiring a popcorn machine. Imalinx provided information, and Zoofari agreed to purchase the machine at the end of January.
We had a three-month campaign with chef Carlos Leal, who has a total of 97,000 followers and created video recipes providing information of the benefits and qualities of American rice.
He also participated in the training session with students as our spokesperson to give general information of the product and showed a variety of dishes using American rice. The students had the opportunity to asked questions, taste the food and learn interesting information about our brand and product.
Additionally, to reinforce our key messages and reach a different segment of the community, we had two campaigns with influencers who created video recipes providing information, tips and recipe options using American rice. The two influencers who participated were @señoritawalmart and @fromscratch__ with a total of 572 followers.
This activity resulted in 500,411 people reached with 664,260 impressions. Our KOLs always combine our products in the most incredible recipes and mentioned how to differentiate them from the competitors.
For the second consecutive year, Popcorn USA! participated in the campaign of Six Flags in Mexico called Christmas in the Park. The objective was increasing awareness of the benefits and versatility of popcorn among its visitors, as well as increasing sales.
The campaign ran from November 25 through December 24, including the following activities: