Imalinx in conjunction with the Culinary Institute Corbuse, held a bakery seminar with the aim of presenting the benefits and applications of baking with California Raisins.
The evaluations showed that there is a lot of opportunity to integrate the raisins into the kitchen of new generations.
As
part of the program for trade servicing, Imalinx and the California
Raisins Committee attended the National Association of Supermarkets and
Department Stores (ANTAD, for its acronym in Spanish)
in Guadalajara, Jalisco from the 11th to the 14th of March, 2014.
The
goal of attending the event was to create contacts focused on retail trade and
the supply chain.
The event recorded an approximate flow of 35,000
attendees during the 3 days.
The participation of California Raisins in ANTAD was successful because
valuable contacts were obtained from importers and processors of dried fruits.
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.
On May 23rd, 2012, the Idaho Potato Commission was contacted through Imalinx with a special request for taking Idaho Potatoes to the presentation of chef Willow Benet (chef of the restaurant Pikayo in Puerto Rico), within the event Madrid Fusión, an international competition of gastronomy carried out for the first time in Mexico.
The key messages of versatility and quality of the product were reinforced during the presentation of the event. A pre-baked frozen potato was used, and a new presentation was exhibited to the market.
The participant chefs and distributors showed high interest on learning more about the different presentations of Idaho potatoes.
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.
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.
Thanks to the information that was provided to Litehouse Dressings, the company explored all its candidates and in 18 months Litehouse found its best partner with GAB, known for its brand Mr. Lucky.
With the joint efforts of both companies, 8 SKUs have been introduced in the Mexican market with a growing distribution in the retail sector.
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.