Restaurants, Caterers Connect with U.S. Pork at Foodservice Australia

Working to distinguish U.S. pork from competitors’ products and create interest among potential new customers in the Oceania region, USMEF offered tastings of various pork dishes at Foodservice Australia, an annual food and hospitality event that alternates between Sydney and Melbourne. Funded by the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) and the Pork Checkoff, USMEF also distributed informational brochures on U.S. pork, along with pre-cooked bacon pamphlets and foodservice guide factsheets.

Visitors to Foodservice Australia found information on U.S. pork at the USMEF booth and samples of U.S. pork dishes

This year’s show in Melbourne attracted nearly 9,000 visitors, a 69 percent increase compared to last year.

“USMEF participated in the 2016 show and found it to be an event where we can gain good insight into the foodservice sector in Australia and learn where the market is headed,” said Sabrina Yin, USMEF-ASEAN director who also oversees activities in Oceania. “Although it is a smaller-scale show compared to the annual Fine Food Australia, this event focuses more specifically on buyers from the restaurant, bar, catering and bakery sectors, and this is where we see continued growth.”

USMEF’s Sabrina Yin offers U.S. pork tasting samples at Foodservice Australia

USMEF’s booth featured a chiller filled with a wide range of cooked U.S. pork products imported by Colby International, one of the region’s top red meat importers. Among the U.S. items presented were pre-cooked bacon, pulled pork with barbecue sauce, braised pork belly, pork rib patties and pork meatballs with various sauces. Show attendees, many of them foodservice managers and buyers, tasted pre-cooked products and learned about the versatility and quality of U.S. pork.

“We received many favorable comments at the sampling sessions as operators from a diverse field of restaurants throughout Australia discussed their preferences for pork products,” said Yin. “We were able to identify U.S. pork cuts and pre-cooked products that fit their needs, and in many cases we were able to offer them a sample of these U.S. pork products.”

Yin said Colby International will follow up with visitors to the USMEF booth, and that arrangements were made to send additional U.S. pork samples to foodservice operators and chefs – either directly or through their distributors – following the show.

Yin also noted that USMEF plans to reconnect with some of these potential new customers at Fine Food Australia in Sydney in September.