FMI Connect to highlight international platform
Arlington, Va.-based Food Marketing Institute (FMI) announced its international platform for FMI Connect. The show will be held in Chicago in June and will boast a historic selection of international food companies from across three continents.
“From spicy Chinese hot pots to the fiery street-food scenes of Thailand and Mexico and the cooling sugar shacks of Canada, FMI Connect will delve into sensory food traditions and trends that influence the way U.S. food companies do business now and in the future," said Leslie Sarasin, president and CEO, FMI. "The international flare at FMI Connect 2016 will offer attendees unmatched access to food companies in China, Quebec, Mexico, Thailand and Italy to meet the need for shoppers’ insatiably ethnic-savvy palates.”
Italy is perpetually at the intersection of food and fashion, and the June Expo promises an authentic Italian experience via the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), which will have the largest presence among all of the international pavilions, FMI said. ITA will present more than 60 Italian companies showcasing “Authentic Italian” food and wine and will feature the return of Fiere di Parma (Cibus International Food Exhibition), Federalimentare (the Italian Food & Drink Industry Federation), Fiera Milano (TUTTOFOOD) and Verona Fiere (Vinitaly).
Trading partners will find mutual benefit in the ability to share new products and services that transcend time zones and maximize efficiencies at the Expo this year. Namely, FMI Connect will reintroduce Connect Business Exchange (CBX), a tool that matches food retailers and suppliers for 30-minute one-on-one business meetings. The CBX service is complimentary for all FMI Connect attendees, FMI said.
And international audiences traveling to Chicago could capitalize on an opportunity to enhance their experience by attending both FMI Connect in Chicago and the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York. FMI said it cemented a new relationship with the Specialty Food Association in 2016 to offer an attractive incentive to international food industry executives who are already making a significant investment to journey to the United States.
“We created an exclusive invitation for the international professional in the food world by offering the ability to attend two food shows with one plane trip," Sarasin said. "When FMI Connect concludes, Fancy Food begins at the Jarvis Center in New York, featuring a trendy Brooklyn food tour on June 25. International attendees will have the opportunity to experience first-hand how Chicago and New York City’s Brooklyn borough are epicenters of culinary invention.”