Blueberries by the Spoonful

Here is an interesting way to explain ingredients in a baby food.   Heinz Australia launched recently Watties for Baby.  Check out the back of the pouch.  

"Wattie's for Baby Berry Nice Pear Smoothie comprises four tablespoons of pear puree, one tablespoon of blueberries, one tablespoon of Greek style Yoghurt, half a tablespoon of rolled oats and half a teaspoon of strawberry puree."

Note the big jump in blueberry baby foods in Asia.   

Asian Breakfast Cereals with Dried Blueberries

Thai consumers love the color blue!  First with Ice creams and now cereals!

Breakfast Cereals with blueberries are on the rise in Asia.  Dried blueberries are inclusions  and also extruded into cereal flakes as shown in this innovative cereal from Taiwan. 

Look closely and you can see the dried blueberry extruded into the cereal matrix.   

Here is a newly launched cereal from Kellogg's in Japan which touts 1/2 weight of the total is dried fruit!   Half of the dried fruit is blueberry!

Notice the amount of detailed health information listed on the pack including charts, graphs and other information on digestion and gut health.

The cereal health trend has spread to China as well.  Imported products such as Quaker are transitioning to local production.  Dried blueberries and almonds are recognized healthy ingredients.

The cereal box is interesting reading with lots of detail on specific ingredients and dietary benefits.

Here is a new one called Crunchy Monkey!  Lots of dried blueberries!

Culinary Education in Vietnam

Frozen blueberries from the USA are now available to hotels and restaurants all over Vietnam.  Here a future professional bartender concocts a creative blueberry cocktail!

With the boom in the hotel and restaurant business in Southeast Asia, skilled chefs, baristas and bartenders are in demand.  This month USHBC worked with a local culinary school in Ho Chi Minh City to sponsor and provide ingredients for a weekend bartender camp and competition.

Belly up to the bar and check out this exciting event.  Some ultra-creative blueberry uses.  These new blueberry converts will be in the workplace soon!

Of course, a blueberry volcano!

Selfie time with a blueberry mojito!

A blueberry and basil treat

A gin fizz with blueberries and floral décor

And the winner is..

Mr. Mohito!

Of course, our FoodTech Hana is busy working the crowd including this VIP from the press!

Wintertime Frozen Promotion - Taiwan!

Frozen polbag blueberries are promoted all over Taiwan this month at many of the 86 Carrefour stores,  The frozen sales had some unexpected challenges this year and our FoodTech Mandy and her team stepped in to re-charge the store and customer interest!  

Many are amazed to see how easy it is to make a smoothie at home!

Promoters lead the shoppers to the frozen case where they can buy all of the ingredients to make smoothies.

Good Morning Vietnam! Say Cheese & Coffee

Cheese & Coffee is a trendsetting coffee chain located in the major cities of Vietnam.  Vietnamese are passionate about good coffee, cheese and now -- blueberries!  (Note the construction crane on the upper left corner of this photo taken in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon)  They are everywhere!

Chilled coffee drinks with frozen blueberry is the draw!   Our super-charged Food Tech Hana provided 1 kg bags of frozen IQF blueberries as part of a USDA funded Quality Samples Program (QSP).  Cheese and Coffee research chefs developed a whole line of blueberry products including blueberry cheesecake, smoothies and Hana's favorite: "Chocoberry.   Trials led to production and that led to a new product category in Vietnam that is on the rise.

Take a number!  A Crowd lines up early to get a coffee & blueberry fix!

The excitement is building!  Note the Winter Cocoberry promotion poster!  The new line is especially popular with the young Vietnamese Café culture.   Winter time is still warm weather in Southern part of Vietnam and rainy too.  A refreshing chilled beverage is a must! Hana is getting calls from other chains, hotels and restaurants who want to try frozen blueberries!

Congratulations to Team Blueberry Vietnam!  Also, thanks to the USDA-Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) for funding the initial frozen container of blueberries.  This has primed the pump and importers are following up with commercial orders to chase the demand!

Thrive with Blueberries

Here is the Kaiser Permanente billboard from 2014!

Colombian Food Tech Magazine Salutess Blueberry Products

Alimentos magazine in Colombia salutes the winners of the Blue Dynamo Product Awards with a full page tribute!  The winners included blueberry snacks, chocolates and pastry products.  All look forward to next year!

Disneyworld Christmas Promotion - Shanghai

December 15, 2018- Shanghai Disney kicks off American Christmas Tradition with USDA-ATO sponsored event at Disney-Town!

The staff at the USDA-FAS Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) is always looking for ways to promote US products such as blueberries.  Shanghai Disney collaborated with ATO to create a Christmas event to spotlight the American home baking tradition.  Above Ryan Scott with special guest and Chef Moma a local celebrity chef start things off at the Disney Resort!  The event was attended by invited families from the Shanghai area as well as visitors to the Magic Kingdom East!

First, visitors walked the USDA display area and tasted bakery ingredients such as almonds, raisins and of course dried blueberries which are available online from T-Mall!

Bakery suppliers from the region attended and we were able to increase our network of local suppliers.  Julia Zhu from Beijing and Mandy Chen tag-teamed this event and made some excellent contacts!

Ryan Scott, the ATO as you can see had a great time at the event and all were pleased that USHBC participated in this event.  The value of participating in a Disney-Sponsored event is 

huge!

Julia reported that blueberries were the most popular item at the event.

After a seminar by Chef Moma the kids got a chance to decorate with USA ingredients!  

This young princess told her mom that they must enjoy the magic of blueberries at home!   Just scan the QR code and We Chat will make your wish come true!

Bluebery Potato Chips from Japan

Japan produces some of the most interesting new food products.  Here Calbee introduces blueberry and cheese.  The product is described by the company as "a product for women."  Ultra-low-moisture ingredients such as blueberry flakes and powders work well in chips, crackers and all sorts of snacks.  Plus the blueberry on the pack appeals.

Berry Latest - Latin America

Above: Brazil: Portuguese Web.  Here is the Berry Latest for Latin American Food Industry!  This is the special issue on blueberry powders which are becoming more and more popular in this region of 700 million.  Below: Latin America Website

Super Pet Foods

Here is an interesting pet food concept from American Manufacturer Member's Mark, marketed in Mexico.   

Christmas in Manila!

It's gift-giving season in the Philippines!   This year more and more USA blueberries are on the list of must haves.

Stores bundle collections of imported goods.  These baskets contain bags of dried blueberries.

The Philippines hosts a whole slew of local favorites including snacks and sweets.  

There is always a new item on the market and this year it is chocolate-coated blueberries!

Here is the latest trend -- gifts for the pets!

November 2018 New Product of the Month!

Kroger has re-branded its Greek Yogurt!  Look at that big beautiful blueberry!

Now, this is unique -- you cannot miss this one in the dairy case.

Blueberries are the first ingredient after milk!

Vietnam USA Product Showcase

USA Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink visits the USA pavilion of the Food & Hotel Exposition held November 27-30, 2018.  He spent time visiting with Team Blueberry and was well versed in the great progress that USHBC has made in Vietnam in the past year.  

Thank you to the US Embassy in Hanoi and the ongoing support from the USDA-FAS and APHIS staff in Vietnam!   They are always looking out for blueberries.  The excitement continues.

Welcome to the USA Foods Showcase sponsored by the US Embassy Hanoi at the Melia Hotel, Hanoi, November 28, 2018.

Hana samples  mini blueberry cakes from a popular Hanoi bakery!  We also passed out dried and frozen blueberries which were a big hit!