October 2009
It would be easy to get lost in North America’s largest specialty foods trade show. With more than 24,000 buyers, the Fancy Food Show features more than 140,000 kinds of delectable edibles, all vying to stand out of the crowd. This year, six Palestinian producers were among more than 200 first time exhibitors, promoting the West Bank’s best pickles, nuts, spices, olive oil and snacks.
The Palestinian Pavilion was sponsored by USAID’s Economic Development and Investment Promotion (EDIP) project, and assisted on site by EDIP’s implementer, CARANA Corporation, and PalTrade, a Palestinian export promotion association. The stand drew the interest of buyers from Arab countries and ethnic Arab stores in the U.S., as well as buyers interested in Mid-dle Eastern flavors for mainstream markets in Canada and Japan, among other nations.
The group of Palestinian exhibitors made over $2 million worth of sales and contracts, mostly to the U.S. and Canada. As a result of its participation at the trade show, Zadona Agro-Industrial Co. expects to ship its first container of pickles to buyers in North America this October and, in 2010, the com-pany is planning to export between 20-25 containers of Majoul dates which were well received at the show. The company is considering hiring up to 15 new employees to handle the increased demand for their products.
Anabtawi Group, which also participated in the show, drew much attention for its Al’Ard brand olive oil, leading to a deci-sion to establish a branch office in Baltimore as a distribution hub for the northeastern U.S. The company is connected with Pangea Artisan Market, which will receive its first pallet of Al’Ard extra-virgin olive oil in the fall of 2009.
Though most exhibitors are seasoned producers and exporters, they said the Fancy Food Show opened their eyes to the de-mands of the U.S. market.
“The show is good for Palestine, which is still an infant in this industry,” said Mazen Sinokrot, owner and marketer of multiple food companies in the West Bank. “We need to know what American exhibitors are showing. How is their consumer differ-ent from the European consumer? This is necessary to know as we tailor products purely for the American market.”
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USAID’s project helped promote the first-ever Palestinian Pavilion |
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The Palestinian Pavilion, coordinated by the USAID EDIP project and PalTrade, took six Palestinian specialty food companies directly to the international market and potential buyers for their goods. |
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Several exhibitors signed orders and made sales to buyers in the U.S. and Canada. |
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