August 18, 2011
Ecuadorian Firms Cook up Business Opportunities at Fancy Food Show
Chefs Make Mark with Ecuadorian Specialties at International Expo
The Fancy Food Show is the premier gourmet food fair in the United States. It features specialty food and beverage items from around the globe.
The expo offers opportunities to food vendors from multinational food companies to wholesalers, restaurateurs and entrepreneurs to stand out and, most importantly, make business connections.
Business Support Makes Difference for Ecuador Firms
ACDI/VOCA worked with the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Relations and PRO ECUADOR, an Ecuadorian export promotion agency, to prepare Ecuadorian businesses to showcase their wares at the July 10-12 expo in Washington, D.C.
ACDI/VOCA’s USAID-funded Local Economic Development program (PRODEL) is helping smallholder producers succeed in the global marketplace as a sustainable means of reducing poverty in Ecuador. The program realized the opportunity inherent in exhibiting at the Fancy Food Show and organized an effort to support product promotion by Runa, Inalproces, Hoja Verde, Pacari, Inagrofa and Escoffee at an Ecuador booth.
“The funding assistance to attend trade fairs provided by USAID through PRODEL is the most effective way to expose us to and help us enter international markets,” says Gonzalo Salvador of EcuaConservas, a Quito firm specialized in the production of canned hearts of palm.
Training and Promotion Guidance Prepares Enterprises for Success
To ready the six firms for the event, PRODEL conducted training for their representatives. The training included strategic guidance and support from Impact International and gourmet food specialists, Janis Grover and Mary Ann Switana.
PRODEL also worked with PRO ECUADOR to produce promotional materials featuring the Ecuadorian gourmet food industry, particularly the anchor firms.
Famous Chefs Serve up Specialties for Potential Contacts
To stand out from the 2,400 exhibitors from 80 countries and 180,000 specialty foods and beverages at the sprawling Walter E. Washington Convention Center, two nationally known Ecuadorian chefs prepared Ecuadorian food samples using anchor firm products.
Chefs Carlos Gallardo and Felipe Campana prepared such specialties as choco (ceviche with lupin beans), chulpi (chicken and toasted corn kernels), coconut shrimp balls and chocolate plantain torts.
Firms Make Promising Business Connections
The anchor firms reported extreme satisfaction with the experience, having established many promising leads that they believe will ease access to the strategic U.S. market.
“This means of publicity and marketing coordinated by PRODEL is the most useful program activity for an exporting company like ours,” Salvador says.
