Fancy Food Show in New York, June 28-30, 2015

ATO Seoul recruited 6 mission members including Korean confectionery importers to visit the Fancy Food Show in New York, June 28-30, 2015. There was a site visit program in Baltimore arranged by Maryland State Department of Agriculture, visiting a farmers market, specialty foods grocery stores, Costco and a farm, and then moved to New York. Delegation members gained better understanding of U.S. agriculture, farmers and product trends. The products of most interest were confectionery, baby products, frozen cakes, new bakery products, cheese, nuts and others. As a result of the mission, the Korean buyers were likely to engage in business partnerships, with expected $1 million in sales over the next 12 months.

Korean Wine Industry Leaders Attend Washington State Wine Experience 2015

A group of six leaders of the Korean wine industry attended the Washington State Wine Experience (WSWE) 2015, May 17 – 22 under the sponsorship of the Washington State Wine Commission (WSC). The event allowed the Korean attendees to gain hands-on understanding about the value, quality and diversity of Washington state wine. The attendees also developed contacts with a large number of Washington state wine producers and marketers during the trip for potential business partnerships. A follow-up survey administered right after the trip indicated that the Korean attendees would generate launchings of two new Washington state wines in Korea ($50,000 of initial export value); launching of a Washington state wine course in a leading wine education institute in Korea that will educate some 100 endorsers of Washington state wine each year; featuring ten promotional articles about Washington state wine by a leading wine SNS provider to 25,000 Korean wine consumers within the next 12 months following the trip.

Northwest Wine and Food Pairing Seminar & Gala Dinner

Northwest Wine Coalition (NWC), a partnership between Washington State Wine Commission and Oregon State Wine Board, hosted a "Northwest Wine & Food Pairing Seminar" on May 27 in Grand Hyatt Hotel Seoul. The event was also sponsored by the U.S. Meat Export Federation, U.S. Dairy Export Council, and U.S. Cranberry Marketing Council. For this memorable event, NWC brought Geoff Kruth, a highly acclaimed Master of Sommelier from the United States as the lecturer. Mr. Kruth shared his depth of knowledge and experience about pairing wines from the Northwest regions (state of Washington and Oregon) with a variety of food and cuisine in a four hour long educational seminar during the day as well as through the gala dinner in the evening. Over 70 local wine professionals attended the seminar with strong interest and 50 influential wine opinion leaders and media journalists attended the gala dinner. The seminar and gala dinner on May 27 was actually a launching event for the month-long 'Northwest Wine By-the-Glass' sales promotion that will take place in 14 top class restaurants in Seoul, including Paris Grill of Grand Hyatt Seoul, Casa del Vino, Vin-ga, Wine Book Cafe, and JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul in June 2015.