Korean Buyers Delegation Brewing Ingredients RTM to Washington State

ATO Seoul brought a delegation of Korean brewers to Seattle and Yakima, Washington on August 2024 to help Korean ingredient users expand knowledge about the U.S. brewing ingredient and allow them to order ingredients on site. The delegation consisted of seven leading Korean craft brewers and one ATO staff. The team visited ten breweries, one cidery, two hop farms and one hop supplier. The delegation group also attended the Hop and Brew School hosted by Yakima Chief Hops and learned about the quality, value, technology of U.S. brewing ingredients. After the activity, four companies have responded that the activity resulted in $96,000 sales contract of hops. Six companies responded that they expect to purchase $377,000 of ingredient as a result of this activity within 12 months.

Pet Food Trade Mission to SuperZoo in Las Vegas in August 2024

ATO Seoul led a trade mission with 13 pet food buyers and distributors from eight Korean companies to SuperZoo, one of the world largest pet industry trade shows, held in Las Vegas, Nevada in August 2024. The trade mission aimed to discover the latest market trends and explore business opportunities. Organized by ATO Seoul, the program included meetings with U.S. companies and visits to pet food specialized distribution channels and a manufacturing facility to gain insights in the pet food businesses. The Korean buyers successfully engaged with many U.S. companies, leading to multiple purchasing contracts. In a follow-up survey, participants reported meeting with over 158 U.S. companies, with projected purchase contracts valued at $3,120,000 within the next 12 months.

Korean Food Ingredient Trade Mission to IFT Food Expo 2024

ATO Seoul organized a delegation of Korean food ingredient buyers to the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Event and Food Expo, held in Chicago, Illinois. The delegation consisted of 13 buyers from 5 food processing ingredient import distribution companies. IFT Food Expo, hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), is one of industry’s largest trade show exhibiting the latest products and trends in the food ingredient, food safety & quality, technology, equipment, processing, and packaging sector. Through the show and the market tour arranged by ATO, Korean buyers were able to improve their understanding on US brands, food trends, products, and network with industry stakeholders.

As a result of this reverse trade mission, the participants successfully conducted 86 business meetings with U.S. exhibitors. According to the post-activity survey, three out of five buyers answered that they have signed 7 contracts at the show (6.4 million USD). The other two responded that they are communicating with the U.S. suppliers to sign the contract. The buyers signed contracts for the following products: WPC, WPI, lactose, colostrum protein, frozen blueberry, frozen organic blueberry, dried blueberry, dried cranberry, seven berries concentrate, raspberry concentrate, butter, cheese. In addition, four buyers have responded that they expect a total of 14.2 million USD sales within 12 months.