Taiwan Bakery Seminar

Celebrity Pastry Chef Joanne Chang, presented blueberries and other USA ingredients at a series of seminars for bakers held throughout Taiwan!  She wowed the audience with sticky bun magic!

 News Broadcast of Seminar     Note the huge super typhoon which barely missed Taiwan!  Good Luck!

Here are some photos from the events:

Chef Joanne demonstrated how to take flour and blueberries and turn into gold!

Local chef prepares muffin batter with frozen blueberries which are now available all over Taiwan.

Muffins packed with blueberries!

Event was sponsored by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)  

Full house at all of the events.

As you can see, the attendees enjoyed the sticky buns!

Media turned up at each venue in the major cities of Taiwan.

Success!  This group gives the thumbs up!

Big G! This is what I'm Talking About!

Here is an example of General Mills keeping true to their commitment to remove artificial colors and additives and use the real thing! 

Blueberry powder!  Works well in extruded cereal flakes.

Note this important claim for those who really need gluten free products.

Now this is very interesting!   I like the way that the FIRST INGREDIENT is spotlighted!    

I'm Excited about Éxito!

Welcome to Éxito.  This Colombia-based grocery chain is the largest in South America with 2,606 stores and growing!

 Here are a few observations from my recent journey to a store in Bogota!

(above/below) Here are the native "Agraz."  

Fresh locally produced highbush blueberries.   Note that they are labeled "Arandanos" which is the same word used for cranberries.

Dried blueberries from Manitoba -- one of the Dynamo Award winners.  

Viva Colombia!

2018 Dynamo New Product Award Winners!

I love it when a plan comes together.    We have seen interest in blueberries in Colombia for the past few years.   Whenever we exhibit at Miami, we always meet Colombian importers and  food processors with interest.  This country of 49 million is on the rise.   With an end of a civil war which has hindered the economy since the mid-1960s-- Colombia is on the move.
>Colombians love blueberries.  They have a native species in the wild and have been developing a small domestic crop to feed demand.
>Colombian food processors are on the leading edge of new product development with blueberries.   Since USHBC started work in-country two years ago, we have seen developments of new blueberry products including, baking, snacks and confectionery.
>Dried blueberries and ingredient solutions such as flakes and powders are used in the food industry and poly-bag frozen blueberries can be found in supermarkets nationwide!
On September 7, 2018 USHBC held it's first annual Dynamo New Product Award for innovation.   Check out this video.  You can sense the excitement!  Watch this market grow!

Check out the online newsletter for the upcoming Almentech exhibition in Bogota, Colombia September 5-6.   Alimentech

India Bakery Seminar - 2018

USA Blueberries took center stage at the Food Ingredients India Exposition.   Here a master chef demonstrates making a cheese bun with dried blueberries!  It was a big hit!

More Food Ingredent India Action!

Food Ingredients India (FII) in Greater Noida (Delhi) concluded today.   Our FoodTech Raj Kapoor says it was a big success.   This year we opted for a double wide booth and set up a "Blueberry Lounge."  This allowed room for meetings.   In advance of the show, Raj invited dozens of current sellers of frozen dried and further processed blueberries to the show.   These early-adapter companies are extremely important for market development.  They already have product in-country and most companies are looking for local supplies much smaller than the full-container loads.   These companies participated in the event along with USHBC and this teamwork really pays off with good will and more business in the food industry sector.  

At the same time new players visited the booth and this included companies from far off regions who have heard the news about USA blueberries!   These companies are handled differently and leads are passed back to the home office for follow-up and connection to the USA suppliers.  One thing for sure -- several years ago when we exhibited -- it was pretty lonely at the Blueberry Booth.  Now, we are really a center of attraction!  USA Blueberries are hot!

Mascot Fans were a bit hit again in Delhi -- imagine 89 F and 70% humidity outside!   

You may be wondering what the guy in the white shirt is doing on the smart phone all of the time. He is adding visitor names to the USHBC-India What's ap group.  It is a really active group and once you are on it you are connected to all sorts of interaction with blueberry-interested  peers!