Agri-preneurs Mix It Up at 2007 Showcase
News Date: 3/9/2007
Contact: Terri Sullivan, U.S. Food Export Showcase Management
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 13, 2007 – It’s the Year of the Boar, which brings good fortune, and that’s encouraging for Compart Family Farms of Minnesota, producers of Duroc pork. Last year, their premium pork product made a hefty impression on Asian food buyers at the U.S. Food Export Showcase and all indicators point to another good year.
From family farms to farmer-processors to farmer-owned breweries, the U.S. Food Export Showcase is packed with “agri-preneurs” interested in expanding their businesses beyond U.S. borders. It’s the Showcase’s entrepreneurial energy and top-quality products that keep buyers from around the world coming back each year to see what’s cooking across America.
The 2007 U.S. Food Export Showcase takes place May 6 – 8 in Chicago’s McCormick Place and offers a look at the companies, products, and trends that make the small and mid-size sectors of the U.S. food industry especially vibrant.
From regional favorites to foods specifically formulated for export markets, there will be a full range of American-made products on display in “pavilions” sponsored by individual state departments of agriculture.
The Bell Plantation in Tifton, GA will spotlight their extra virgin peanut oil and powdered peanut butter. From Columbus, NM, Carzalia Valley Produce will feature their sweet onions and watermelons. Great American Appetizers from Nampa, ID will exhibit their line of gourmet appetizers as well as refrigerated potato specialities. In the Illinois Pavilion, H.C. Schau & Son, Inc. will display their line of sushi and Asian lettuce wraps.
The annual Showcase is sponsored by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and is designed to provide small and mid-size food manufacturers with a cost-effective way to reach an international audience of top-level food buyers. NASDA’s Showcase partner is the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Through its offices in U.S. Embassies around the world, FAS works to organize delegations of food industry executives interested in American-made products.
This year, executive food buyers from 100 countries are expected with large delegations traveling from Canada, Europe, Asia, South America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Whether they’re from China, Dubai, Nigeria, or Ecuador you’ll find food industry executives crunching, munching, sipping, and dipping their way across the U.S. on the Showcase exhibit floor.
“It’s always interesting to see which products capture the attention of buyers from various countries,” said Showcase Director DeWitt Ashby. “If you have ever asked yourself, ‘What in the world do shoppers want?’ this is where you’ll find the answer,”
NASDA is a non-profit association of public officials representing the commissioners, secretaries, and directors of agriculture in the 50 states and four territories of the United States of America.