Levy Tells Rice Industry that Rice ‘Is on Trend’

AUSTIN, TX, December 14, 2005 — “Rice is on trend for the desire of today’s consumers for healthful, convenient and diversified food experiences,” said Jody Levy, leading trend expert, marketing strategist and president of The Advantage Partnership, LLC, a Pennsylvania consulting firm that helps organizations strategically build their teams and businesses. “Other food groups have to work to link their food with the current trends, but rice is already there!”

Levy spoke at the USA Rice Outlook Conference here Dec. 6, where she highlighted how an integrated marketing program leverages key trends to increase awareness and usage of U.S. rice products.

Healthful and well-being foods, convenience, and consumers’ increasing expectations from dining out are three key marketplace trends, Levy explained during her presentation on how mega-trends influence marketplace trends.

“Rice is extremely versatile and fits with marketplace trends,” she said. In addition to its other attributes “it is a natural fit for ethnic cuisines, it is convenient for consumers and foodservice operators to use, and it is available in a broad range of forms.”

The rising importance of the foodservice industry is largely due to consumers’ rising expectations for high-quality and authentic dining. “Consumers are eating more rice away from home because there are now more interesting rice dishes available,” Levy said. She noted that 78 percent of households eat out once a week, which is driving restaurant growth.

“Multiple trends often influence consumer’s decisions which results in bundling opportunities,” Levy said. “Even more opportunities lie where rice can be further linked to the current marketplace trends, and the good news is USA Rice’s programs work to increase rice-linkage to each trend. ‘Rice Fits!” she said.

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Contact: Sarah Castleberry, (703) 236-1458, scastleberry@usarice.com for more information

USA Rice Federation is the national advocate for all segments of the rice industry, conducting activities to influence government programs, developing and initiating programs to increase worldwide demand for U.S. rice, and providing other services to increase profitability for all industry segments.