As a hive of Japanese buyers descended upon her, Gail Watch buzzed about, handing out honey with flax bread and slicing sausage to go with honey-based sauces.
Watch, who works for BeeMaid Honey, displayed wares along with 22 other Manitoba companies for five buyers from Japan and Taiwan, brought to the Prairies by Agriculture Canada.
Buyers moved methodically around the ballroom, eyed by eager processors proudly displaying their food and an array of laboratory data on ingredients and food safety.
They tested everything from spring water to wild rice and were wooed with sample packages and small gifts.
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Rick Rees surveyed the room with the experienced eye of one who spends 40 weeks a year traveling the world meeting customers as the director of marketing for BeeMaid Honey.
Rees, also the vice-president of the Manitoba Food Processors Association, said food shows can be the proverbial foot in the door, and said federal and provincial governments are in the best position to set them up.
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“Governments have global influence,” he said, explaining they know how to find good contacts with the resources and interest to make deals with food processors.
Personal contact is essential to doing business in Asian markets, Rees said. Exchanging business cards, shaking hands and making some small talk is a critical first step to doing more serious business.
Canadian companies can follow up the visit with samples or a personal visit on the buyer’s turf.
BeeMaid Honey already sells five kinds of honey to Japan, including a label featuring the Rocky Mountains.
Rees said about six percent or $180,000 of the company’s business is done in Asia. BeeMaid has been there for more than 50 years. While he travels across the Pacific once a year, he said most of the companies at the trade show have limited experience on the other side of the ocean.
A trip to Asia can cost five figures, Rees said, beyond reach for many small, young companies. But he said the food processors’ association helps them benefit from each others’ expertise.
Ken Braun’s company Crystal Egg has only been making its liquid and frozen egg products since last July. It was his first time meeting Asian customers and he said he appreciated the chance to make contacts.
Buyers peppered him with questions about shelf life and salmonella risk while munching on loonie-sized omelettes.
Braun said he thinks the Pacific Rim holds promise for his company because of the pasteurization technology he uses and the high quality of Canadian eggs.
Randy McRorie laid his Japanese business cards on the table beside pictures of his wild boar frolicking around his Stonewall, Man. operation. He and partner Doug Sylvester ship an average of a tonne of meat per week to their only customer, a Japanese meat distributor.
McRorie said government-led introductions can be the crucial ingredient to getting a deal. After all, that’s how he met his Japanese customer.
