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November/December 2006 INsight excerpts
Coffee Company Grows Business with SUSTA Pavilion in China
Coffee Company Grows Business with SUSTA Pavilion in China World of Food China, Shanghai 2006 was held from September 4-6, 2006. As part of a SUSTA Generic industry promotion, Roy Copelan and Gerald Dukes of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, together with Cindy Martel of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, jointly organized the participation of seven companies from the SUSTA region for the World of Food China trade show. SUSTA constructed a beautiful Southern Originals pavilion for the show, which was attached to the U.S. pavilion and attracted the attention of many visitors. Offeecay Inc. was a SUSTA participant in the World of Food China Show. Their product is coffee grown on the sunny Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. During the show, the company displayed its coffee beans, roasted coffee beans and ground coffee beans, all with different packaging. A coffee machine allowed Offeecay to offer samples of their product to visitors. Offeecay brewed coffee daily and its aroma attracted many local traders who all asked questions and tried the product. Among the visitors was a key importer who became very interested in Offeecay. The importer tasted the coffee and had a detailed discussion with Alfredo Rodriguez, president of Offeecay. After the discussion, the importer was very satisfied with the products and subsequently signed a contract to purchase a full year's harvest from Offeecay. The company is now negotiating a contract with an Asian importer for Taiwan and Hong Kong Rodriguez was very happy after the show and expressed his gratitude that SUSTA organized such a good opportunity for his company. He thanked state agriculture officials and the SUSTA China in-market representative for providing such good service throughout the show. He also praised the SUSTA pavilion's design and beauty. SUSTA, along with its sister State Regional Trade Groups (SRTGs), will participate in the China Chain Store Expo from November 2-4, 2006. As part of the ongoing Generic industry initiative in China, look for more opportunities for U.S. suppliers to introduce products to the market in 2007. More information about the China initiative is available online at www.susta.org/services/gip_china.html. Upcoming events will be posted in the Events area of www.susta.org and advertised in upcoming issues of INsight. SUSTA's First December Chef Training Program With change, once again, comes opportunity! With the change in the FAS Market Access Program (MAP) year to a calendar year schedule, the December break at the John Folse Culinary Institute is now a fitting time to conduct SUSTA's culinary training program for foreign chefs. From December 2 through December 16, 2006, SUSTA will train a group of chefs from the Scandinavian region and from the United Arab Emirates. The plan for future years is to conduct chef training in two sessions per MAP year, one in May and one in December. Plans are to target the following regions over the next few years: Mexico in May 2007, the Caribbean in December 2007, and China and India in 2008. In the training course, the chefs are introduced to southern U.S. regional foods, ingredients, traditions, cooking techniques, and other aspects of the food service business in the southern states. Standard classes include Florida/Puerto Rico cuisine, Tex-Mex, southern Barbecue (Memphis, Carolina and Texas styles), Cajun/Creole, Soul Food (taught by guest lecturer Carmen Bazile from Alabama), DelMarVa, Low Country, holiday traditions, and baking in the south. Many of the foreign chefs return to their home countries, introducing southern U.S. cooking in their restaurants, hotels, cooking schools and television shows. Some past program participants have worked with SUSTA again, preparing products during trade shows or menu promotions as part of Generic activities in their home regions, including Central America and India. States and suppliers are invited to provide fresh product and branded items for use and display in the course. When possible, the products, ingredients and branded items are incorporated into the course, where the chefs get hands-on experience using the products. When this is not possible, the products will be displayed and introduced to the chefs. The brand names are also incorporated into a course booklet. Suppliers are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to expose influential foreign chefs to their products. The chefs are encouraged and trained to create new dishes that fit their country's local palate using the southern U.S. products to which they are exposed during the culinary training. In fact, their final task is to create a dinner of their home region's foods while incorporating ingredients introduced during the course. If your company is interested in donating products to be utilized in December's course, please contact Ms. Anne Parr of the John Folse Culinary Institute at (985) 449-7091 to arrange for quantities and shipping.
Director's Corner Since the beginning of this year, our office has been running on roughly half staff, causing the rest of us here to be a bit overworked and frazzled keeping up the pace. I am excited to announce that we have filled the fourth - and final! - vacant position here at SUSTA. I am pleased to introduce all of our new staff to you: Penney Lawrence, Coordinator in our Branded Program department, handles company activity reimbursement claims and applications for new funding. Penney brings over 15 years of award-winning customer service and administration experience in the investment and banking industry. Her close attention to detail is a huge asset to us. Monique DeGruy, also a Coordinator handling reimbursement claims and applications in our Branded department, joins us with over 10 years of financial expertise with a Fortune 500 banking firm. Monique's experience in handling loan packages and accounts payable fits perfectly with the position, and we're happy to have her on board. Brooke Sorci was just hired as Coordinator in our Generic department, backstopping Bernadette Wiltz on the many trade shows, reverse trade missions, and other activities we endorse that are non-company specific. Brooke comes to us with a background and interest in political science and international affairs, and her experience in organizing events will be a big p Ashley Millet will soon begin working for us part-time as Marketing Assistant, working on newsletters, publications, and outreach efforts. Ashley previously interned at the John Folse Culinary Institute with SUSTA's Chef Training Program. She has a dual degree in Culinary Arts and Mass Communication, and her penchant for writing about food makes her a perfect fit for SUSTA. Being fully staffed, we look forward to assisting you better and more quickly than ever before. Please join me in welcoming them, and if we can assist you, be sure to call on any of us! Sirha Trade Show The 13th edition of Sirha, the International Hotel Catering and Food Trade Exhibition, is expected to attract over 165,000 visitors from 122 countries in 2007. The European catering market, with a population of more than 471 million, is estimated at over 320 billion Euros. Sirha is the meeting place for professionals interested in new trends in the catering industry, featuring demonstrations and educational sessions. Between 1999 and 2005, the number of exhibitors and international visitors increased by over 50%. SUSTA will offer booth space for six U.S. suppliers to exhibit at Sirha 2007. A chef in the SUSTA pavilion will use product samples to prepare southern U.S. cuisine at the show. For more information about the SUSTA pavilion at Sirha, contact Ms. Barbara Charlet of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture at , Cindy Martel of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture at cmartel@ag.state.wv.us, or Marisol Rodriguez of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at rodrigm2@doacs.state.fl.us. SUSTA Pavilion and Trade Mission at IPM Trade Show IPM Essen, the International Trade Fair for Plants, is the largest gathering of professionals from the horticulture and nursery trade in the world. Over 60,000 trade visitors are expected to attend IPM this year, which is the show's 25th anniversary. Over the years, exhibitors at the show have increased from 100 in 1983 to approximately 1,400 in 2006, demonstrating the great success of IPM as a trade event. Building on the foundation of 12 years' experience exhibiting at the show, SUSTA invites southern U.S. suppliers of plant and nursery products to exhibit in our pavilion at the IPM show in Germany in 2007. The Southern Originals pavilion will offer a full package of trade show services to exhibitors at the show, including pre-show activities, strategic support, and post-show follow-up. Exhibitors will have booth space in an open, attractive and visible pavilion. Following the show, southern United States companies are invited to meet European horticulture buyers during a trade mission to the region, where they will tour nursery facilities to learn more about the European horticulture market. For more details, contact Rob Beets of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture at robert.beets@state.tn.us or (615) 836-5160. Suppliers can download a horticulture export guide for Europe, as well as a research study focusing on Spain, Italy and Hungary, at www.susta.org/services/funded_res.html. Generic Success: Southern Pavilion Sweeps European Market For many years, U.S. exporters have participated in the largest European food trade shows, like Anuga and SIAL. At these enormous trade events, the whole world is on display and visitors from all over the world are meeting. At this show, which was attended by 34,000 trade visitors, 12 exporters exhibited in the SUSTA Southern Originals pavilion: EcoFuelXB by Dynan Styl, Somerset Specialty Foods, Spice World, Johnny Love Vodka, Naughty Napa Valley Champagne, Nueva Cocina Foods, Inc., Florida Gourmet Foods, Blanton's Bourbon, Bubba's Best, R.L. Schreiber, Kozy Shack, and Emerald International Import/Export, Inc. The Düsseldorf show was a great success for the participants, and more than 85 serious trade leads were gained. As exporters and SUSTA's in-country consultant follow up on these leads during the coming months, it is expected that the first shipments will occur before the end of the year. German importers were very open to southern U.S. products and cooking style. Germany, with 83.5 million inhabitants, represents the largest market for consumer-oriented foods and beverages in the European Union. In 2004, German consumers spent approximately $215 billion on food and beverages. U.S.-style foods are popular, particularly among the affluent younger generation, and the high demand for foreign products is further fueled by a large non-German population and the Germans' penchant for traveling abroad. Next to the German market, surrounding German-speaking countries like Austria and Switzerland can be taken into consideration, with an extra 16 million consumers. Trade visitors were not the only ones who showed interest in the southern U.S. pavilion. The trade press invited to the SUSTA booth produced several articles as a result of their visit, including an article in DistriFood, one of the leading retail magazines in the Netherlands. SUSTA and its European in-market consultant are working on next year's exhibition schedule. Watch future issues of INsight and check the Events section at www.susta.org to see which events in the E.U. will feature the Southern Originals pavilion in 2007. Changes in SUSTA's Branded Department SUSTA is proud to announce Branded Program Coordinators Penney Lawrence and Monique DeGruy are part of the Market Access Program (MAP) Branded team. Branded Program Manager Deneen Wiltz will assist Penney and Monique with processing claims, applications and amendments for all of the companies in the 16 southern states, as well as answering questions related to the Branded program. Branded participants' patience is greatly appreciated as the coordinators learn the process of the Branded Program. MAP Branded participants are asked to copy Deneen (deneen@susta.org) on correspondence sent to Penney (penney@susta.org) and Monique (monique@susta.org). Each Branded coordinator is assigned a list of states and will work closely with applicants and participants from those states. Supporting documentation for program applications and reimbursements claims should be sent to the appropriate coordinator for the participating company's state. Below is the breakdown of states for your reference. Deneen (Branded Manager) All States Penney (Branded Coordinator) Arkansas Florida Kentucky Maryland North Carolina South Carolina Puerto Rico Tennessee Monique (Branded Coordinator) Alabama Georgia Louisiana Mississippi Oklahoma Texas West Virginia Virginia Anyone with questions about changes in the Branded department should contact the SUSTA office at (504) 568-5986. Applications for 2007 and reimbursement claim forms for 2005-2006 are available online at www.susta.org/services/map.html. Branded Program Helps Florida Company Explore New Markets Robert Trovato of Younger You, Inc./TA Nutra-Lift® Skin Care knows how to leverage the resources available to small businesses looking to expand their international presence. Younger You first learned about the Market Access Program (MAP) Branded from staff at the U.S. Commercial Service office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After two years in MAP Branded, Trovato says that as a result of their participation, Younger You has "increased sales, increased exports and increased distributors worldwide." According to Trovato, having the ability to reimburse distributors for advertising costs has played a key role in expanding Younger You's business in existing markets and gaining distributors in new markets. Since Younger You began receiving Branded funds, the company has acquired nine new distributors worldwide in countries such as Kuwait, Lithuania, Jordan, India, China, Thailand, Canada, Russia and Great Britain. "The funds have given us a competitive advantage against other companies that do not provide advertising support," explained Trovato. Younger You was exporting for three years prior to joining the Branded program, and thanks to the added support that MAP funding provided, the company increased sales to three existing customers in Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Germany. "The MAP program is extraordinary and is critical for small to mid-size businesses to gain market share as well as increase exports abroad," said Trovato. "The MAP program has done miracles for our sales and our increase in exports." In addition to increasing sales in existing export markets, Younger You plans to use MAP Branded funds to expand their business into 11 more countries, such as Brazil, Peru, and some countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Trovato cites the Commercial News magazine as a helpful source for trade leads in new markets. Trovato recommends that small to medium-size agricultural companies use MAP funds to strengthen relationships with distributors with whom they have already developed ties, as well as increase exports in new markets. "[The funds] give you an advantage over the competition in whatever market you plan to export to," he said. "Better and more marketing means better sales, and that is what you get with the MAP program." If you are a successful exporter who has benefited from SUSTA programs, we would love to hear from you! SUSTA is always on the lookout for testimonials from companies that have used MAP Branded, SUSTA Generic promotions, Export Readiness Training, or other SUSTA resources to widen their market scope, increase sales or find new export opportunities. Success stories from you allow us to tell the Foreign Agricultural Service how our programs benefit U.S. suppliers and help ensure future program funding. To tell us about your export success, contact Mary Beth Wesdock (marybeth@susta.org). Articles will only be published in INsight or online with company permission. |
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