Food Export – Midwest and Food Export – Northeast’s mission has always been to help U.S. companies increase their export sales. One of the main ways we do that is by attending and hosting events around the globe.  

In this monthly blog we highlight everywhere we went and everything we did during February 2023! 

IMR Day
Philadelphia, PA
February 3

Following the Northeast Buyers Mission at the end of January, some of our In-Market Representatives joined Food Export Northeast and Food Export Midwest in the Philadelphia office to present updates from their respective markets and for meetings with our different programs to share feedback and ideas to innovate our join operations.  

Focused Trade Mission to the Caribbean for Retail and Food Service Products
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
February 7-9

The mission kicked off with a market briefing presentation from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Frederick H. Giles, Regional Agricultural Counselor for the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Haiti. The briefing was followed by a retail store tour and one-on-one meetings with buyers. This year we had 8 participating suppliers and 5 buyers.

Food Show PLUS! at Gulfood
Dubai, UAE
February 20-24

Food Export offered our Food Show PLUS! Services at Gulfood 2023 in Dubai. Gulfood is the largest food and beverage sourcing event in the world, showcasing about 100,000 products from more than 125 countries. This year we had 13 U.S. suppliers participating at the show. This was a very successful mission with $3M in projected sales.

NASDA Winter Policy Conference/Board Meetings
Arlington, Virginia
February 24 – 26

Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast Executive Director, Brendan Wilson, and Deputy Directors Laura England and Michelle Rogowski traveled to Arlington, Virginia for the annual National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Winter Policy Conference and the Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast Board Meetings. The conference is an opportunity for commissioners, secretaries, and directors of agriculture from around the nation to gather with federal agencies, congressional leaders and industry stakeholders to talk about pressing agricultural and food policy issues.

Frozen Food Buyers Mission at AFFI-CON
San Diego, CA
February 25-27

Food Export – Northeast coordinated the annual Frozen Food Buyers Mission at AFFI-Con in San Diego from February 25 – 27 in conjunction with the American Frozen Food Institute. International buyers from 7 different markets traveled to Southern California to meet with over 20 suppliers!  Several staff members from the Food Export association also travelled to the mission to help coordinate and network with our existing and potential suppliers in the frozen food industry.

While in sunny California for this Buyers Mission, our international buyers also attended a retail tour of local grocery stores, including Whole Foods Market, Target, Trader Joe’s, and Albertsons.

Bingo Luncheon
Chicago, IL and Philadelphia, PA
February 27

Food Export Northeast and Food Export Midwest got together over a video conference call for lunch for a special lunch. Staff members dressed in their best Miami retiree outfits for an afternoon of snacks and bingo. This was an opportunity for our staff to get together despite the geographical distance between Philadelphia and Chicago, while at the same time indulging in some mid-winter fun.