Staff from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection's (DATCP) International Agribusiness Center (IABC) organized exhibit space at Fine Food Australia, held September 5-8, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. This project was funded by the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) of the Small Business Administration. Fine Food Austrailia is the country's leading retail food trade exhibition and has been connecting buyers and sellers within the food service, hospitality, and retail industries for almost 40 years. Australia has proven to be an appealing and profitable market for U.S. companies. Australia is an open market with minimal restrictions on imports of goods and services. The U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement provides some advantages for U.S. products, which are well-regarded as high-quality and being of good value. Two Wisconsin cheese companies, Sartori and AMPI, exhibited in the DATCP space and promoted their products.
At the same time, DATCP Economic Development Consultant Lisa Stout contracted with a social media company based in Australia to provide social media content and promotion to Australian buyers and influencers, which resulted in 42 posts and 560,000 impressions.
Lisa Stout was also the Food Export Activity Coordinator for Food Show Plus! Services at the show, working with six U.S. companies, including AMPI and Sartori, to provide tradeshow enhancement services. The Food Show Plus! participants met with 88 foreign buyers during the show, reported on-site sales of $130,000, and anticipated one year sales of $1,070,000.
