U.S. Cranberries Featured at Shanghai's 1st American Great Food Festival
Wareham, Massachusetts (PRWEB) July 30, 2013 -- U.S. Cranberries announced today the culmination of an eight-day 1st American Great Food Festival, a promotional event it co-sponsored at Joy City in Shanghai, China, July from 21st through July 28th.
In collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Trade Office in Shanghai and Womai.com, a B2C e-commerce website with 550,000 "Weibo" (Chinese Twitter) followers, the purpose of the event was to familiarize Chinese consumers with a broad array of American food products including a variety of cranberry brands. The event also included daily themes such as California wine tasting and DIY cranberry sushi with renowned food blogger "Yufei" from Fish Creative Design. An estimated 195,000 attended the eight-day food festival.
"Considering China has 1.3 billion-plus people, many of whom are seeking healthier diet options, the opportunity to introduce the culinary versatility and health attributes of cranberries into the China market is huge," said Scott J. Soares, Executive Director of the U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee.
Cranberries, with a suite of proven health benefits, fit squarely into the category of food products that are being sought by the increasingly health conscious Chinese consumer. A serving of fresh cranberries has been shown to be a good source of vitamin C and fiber, provides antioxidant polyphenols, and contains only 1 mg of sodium. Cranberries also may help maintain urinary tract health.
According to a USDA Economic Research Service report, Demand for Food Quantity and Quality in China, as household incomes rise, consumers will demand not only a greater quantity of food, but also higher quality (Gale & Huang, 2007). Furthermore according to a 2010 Euromonitor report, the combination of rising health awareness among consumers and strong economic growth continues to fuel new launches in the Chinese health and wellness market.
Added Mr. Soares, "If a mere 2% of China’s population consumed just one handful of dried cranberries per month, that would represent about 20 million pounds of cranberry consumption per year."
Other exhibitors included the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, California Wine Institute, Brewers Association, Raisin Administrative Committee, US Meat Export Federation, Jelly Belly, Wonderful Pistachio, and EVO Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
The U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee (CMC) was established as a Federal Marketing Order in 1962 to ensure a stable, orderly supply of good quality product. This Act specifies cranberries as a commodity that may be covered, regulations that may be issued, guidelines for administering the programs, and privileges and limitations granted by Congress. The CMC is charged with expanding market development projects in domestic and international markets. Currently, CMC conducts generic promotion programs in the United States, Australia, South Korea, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, France, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany and Mexico.
USDA American Trade Office (ATO) Shanghai ATO Shanghai opened its doors in 1996. Its primary objective is to promote and expand imports of U.S. food and agricultural products in East and Western China. ATO Shanghai’s reach extends from the rich emerging markets of the Yangtze River Delta along the Yangtze west to Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. ATO provides guidance to American exporters seeking information on the region and Chinese importers looking for suppliers of high quality food and agricultural products from the U.S.
COFCO Womai.com is a B2C e-commerce website that provides more than 300 kinds of American food products online. Womai.com’s refrigerated chain storage and delivery capabilities allow for goods such as seafood, pork, and berries to stay fresh in transit.
Scott J. Soares, U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee, +1 508-291-1510 11, [email protected]
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