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.
As
part of the program to follow up the positioning and promotion of Prunes From Chile
in Mexico, a seminar was held in La Hacienda de los Morales, within the
framework of the festival “Sabores de Chile.”
The objective was to inform the 30 attendees
about the campaign that was developed in 2013-2014, the exports 2014 to Mexico,
harvest and projections for the year 2015 and importers and wholesalers
support.
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.
The events held
by Zespri in the summer of 2014 in Mexico and El Salvador brought
together local media and health specialists, with the aim of sharing more
information about the company, the varieties of kiwifruits and the nutritional
benefits of Zespri kiwifruits.
Attendees enjoyed a delicious breakfast prepared
with both varieties of kiwifruit: Green and Sungold; and take home a premium
kit with product and vip gifts.
As a positive result, Dr. Rodríguez Navarrete
posted on Twitter some photos of the event and positive comments about the
launch of the Zespri brand and gave recognition to
the Imalinx team.
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
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.