Everyone is thinner in the virtual world
Oct 22, 2020
VIRTUAL WORLD -- This week, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ held its 2020 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) and USA Rice was there, hosting a virtual booth with USA Rice nutrition handouts, U.S.-grown varietal information, recipes, industry videos, and access to foodservice resources. Attendees were able to chat in real time with USA Rice staff, download business cards, and take an industry survey on rice usage, applications, nutritional reputation, and the importance of the “Grown in the USA” claim. Final survey results are still being tabulated.
Typically, the popular trade show draws more than 10,000 dietitians, food policy makers, healthcare providers, nutrition scientists and researchers, and food industry leaders from around the globe to interface with hundreds of exhibitors and attend learning sessions. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the annual expo transitioned from an in-person event to a virtual format for the first time in the Academy’s history, but participation was not negatively impacted with 13,600 registered attendees.
“The trade show’s new format didn’t change our mission – to promote U.S.-grown rice nutritional messaging, interact with audiences responsible for supporting healthy diets and shaping food policy, and make valuable connections within the nutrition space,” said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice director of domestic promotion.
USA Rice debuted “Rice Nutrition 101,” a new one-pager that summarizes The Rice Foundation’s latest published research on infant rice cereal consumption, provides up-to-date takeaways from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Scientific Report, and includes a round-up of past rice research reports.
Throughout the three-day show, USA Rice promoted its portfolio of nutrition and RD-focused resources, highlighted the importance of U.S.-grown rice in healthy diets, answered nutrition and food safety questions, and positioned USA Rice as the ultimate resource for all things rice to the more than 1,200 show attendees who “stopped by” the USA Rice booth.
“USA Rice is a longtime exhibitor at FNCE,” said Jacobs. “We always bring back fresh insight from nutrition professionals, and this year was no different. The interactions may have been virtual but the content and connections we made were real.”