US healthy foods wow Hong Kong buyers at showcase

U companies freshly had the chance to exhibit healthy nourishment products to Hong Kong importers, wholesalers, retailers and nourishment service operators. And by all accounts, Hong Kong's first-ever U Healthy aliment Showcase made a big hit with the local trade.

The Hong Kong Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) bring outed and staged the showcase to display high-quality, healthy U victuals products, with cooperation and partial funding from four regional trade associations: the Eastern U.S.Agricultural and meat Export Council, Inc. (EUSAFEC), the Mid-America International Agri-Trade Council (MIATCO), the Southern United States Trade Association and the Western U Agricultural Trade Association. Staff from EUSAFEC and MIATCO assisted with present to view coordination and management.

On With the Show

Representatives from Hong Kong's major viands trading, wholesaling and retailing sectors change the direction ofed out in force to participate in the U Healthy cheer Showcase. Each attendee was given an exclusive time slot to examine and evaluate the harvests on display.

ATO Hong Kong staff escorted attendees from one side the displays to review and sample returnss collect product literature and exchange contact information. The show's format allowed ATO staff to talk to major provender buyers on an individual basis and gain a deeper understanding of what they direct the eye for in specialty and other nutrition products. Three U.S. companies sent representatives to exhibit their products; sum of two units others arranged for local agents to delineate them.

Products exhibited at the exhibit included a wide variety of new fruits and vegetables, salads, dried fruits, fat-free potato chips, reduced-fat crackers, lowfat cookies, protein and life bars, lowfat tortillas, lowfat ice cream, frozen yogurt dairy-free cheese, healthy beverages, sauces and salad dressings. Local retail merchandisers arranged the performances into attractive displays in a large function swing in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

During the exhibit to trade attendees expressed keen interest in importing healthy aliments - and of course Hong Kong is always a ready market for of the present day taste sensations. They also said that the U Healthy feed Showcase gave them an estimable opportunity to find sources of fresh and promising healthy food products

Trade attendees were invited to assess the sales potential of specific performances in the Hong Kong market. All reviews, remarks and contact information from interested buyer were assembled into individual reports for each of the exhibiting companies. This extra service should help exporters refine their marketing techniques and increase their sales.

Additional Learning Experiences

ATO Hong Kong also held a Healthy viands Seminar as part of the showcase. The seminar highlighted the growing emphasis upon healthy food consumption over the last 20 years, and the nearly 70000 fresh food products to reach U supermarket shelves since 1991 The seminar also provided a number of for the use of all definitions of healthy foods, information that received a highly favorable reception.

At the conclusion of the 2-day exhibit to and seminar, ATO Hong Kong innkeepered a reception for traders, media representatives, exhibitors and other indicate participants.The reception contributed markedly to the succes of the showcase because it gave Hong Kong importers, wholesalers, retailers and sustenance service operators another chance to research the U.S. healthy food proceedss on exhibit.

The reception also forged stronger relationships among the participants. ATO Hong Kong staff held in-depth conversations with all the trade attendees and thereby gained a better understanding of the returnss they seek, individual company exhibition plans and market trends.Trade attendees got a abundant clearer grasp of the services provided by the agency of ATO Hong Kong and the regional trade associations.

Showing Results

The organizers locate out a number of goals for the U Healthy aliment Showcase:

* to assist new-to-market U.S. food products in a creative, interesting and informative format;

* to enhance the visibility of U products;

* to raise trade and consumer awareness of healthy viandss one of Hong Kong's hottest market trends;

* to increase U products' exposing to market players and clientele; and

* to boost produce demand and sales.

Both quantitatively and qualitatively, the showcase surpassed these goals - and all for the nominal expense of $8,591.

For example, 55 Hong Kong trade representatives visited the exhibit to and another 42 attended the seminar and reception. In fact, to such a degree many traders wished to participate that ATO Hong Kong couldn't accommodate them all. Twenty-five U companies sent literature and samples of 150 harvests for exhibition.

Immediately after the showcase, ATO Hong Kong received a number of calls from a certain quantity of of Hong Kong's largest nourishment traders expressing interest in importing more [i]or[/i] less of the products presented at the showcase. U exhibitors pegg sales as a spring of the show at $350000

So great was the appeal of the U Healthy nutriment Showcase that several trade contacts asked whether ATO Hong Kong planned to stage similar circumstances for other types of U subsistences such as salty snacks or beverages. Overall, the U Healthy nutrition Showcase plowed new tuff for an up-and-coming category of U diet products in a mature, sophisticated market.