USA Rice Heats Up the America’s Food and Beverage Show

MIAMI, FL -- USA Rice attended the 22nd Annual America’s Food and Beverage (AFB) Trade Show earlier this week at the Miami Beach Convention Center, with more than 700 exhibitors across food, beverage, and associated industries from every corner of the world.   

At the USA Rice booth, staff met with industry professionals both within and outside the rice sector, educating them about U.S.-grown rice and garnering more than 100 trade leads.  Visitors walked away from the booth with bright green Reach for Rice bags stuffed with infographics and promotional items such as the Think Rice salad shaker, and full color, tri-fold recipe pamphlets.  Approximately 550 brochures and promotional items were distributed over the course of the event,

Three winning chefs and the judge of the “Cocina Viva” chef competition, co-sponsored by USA Rice, that took place in Bogota, Colombia, earlier this year, took turns manning the USA Rice booth as part of their U.S. culinary tour.  They shared the benefits of using U.S.-grown rice in their kitchens, as well as insider tips on how to transform rice into a delectable main attraction for meals.

“The Americas Food and Beverage Show is an extraordinary opportunity for USA Rice to initiate valuable connections with trade leaders, partner with importers, and cultivate potential business leads for our members,” said Brian King, chair of the USA Rice Western Hemisphere Promotion Subcommittee.  “We endeavor to make a lasting impression on our consumers with our valuable quality U.S.-grown rice.”

Many connections made at the AFB show centered around import opportunities in the Western Hemisphere and the Caribbean, which continues to be an important market for U.S. rice.  In 2017, U.S. rice exports reached 1.5 million metric tons to Central America and Mexico alone.