U.S. Red Meat Industry Makes Presence Known at SIAL China

Industry seizes opportunity to differentiate grain-fed U.S. beef and pork as top quality during one of the world’s largest food trade shows.

An eye-catching location and expanded pavilion with spacious public reception areas, private meeting spaces, meat sample displays and a separate cooking area for product tastings were among the pieces in place to ensure a prominent presence for the U.S. red meat industry at SIAL China in Shanghai. Twelve members joined the USMEF Pavilion at the show, which hosted 175,527 attendees from 67 countries during the three-day event.

These elements were part of a blueprint designed to tout grain-fed U.S. beef and pork as top quality and show that the U.S. red meat industry is fully committed to serving the region. USMEF Vice President, Asia Pacific Jihae Yang reinforced those messages in a keynote speech at the Global Food Industry Summit, as did USMEF China Director Polly Zhao as the sponsor of the 15th annual International Top Chef Competition.

“With the event canceled last year, there was a tremendous buildup about this show so we worked to capitalize on this opportunity to reinforce our message that U.S. beef and pork are best quality and has strong profit potential for buyers in China,” says Yang. “All of the elements that make U.S. beef and pork the best, with an emphasis on grain-feeding, were promoted, including our presentation at the industry summit and during the chef’s competition.”

The industry’s robust presence also brought strong coverage from traditional media outlets and social media. Yang and Zhao were interviewed by several influential media outlets from China’s general, lifestyle and food and beverage areas.

“We also found great interest among traders and the media in convenience items such as ready-to-cook (RTC) packaged products. We sampled RTC items and economical, underutilized cuts of beef and pork during our three-day tasting program,” added Zhao.

Promotional funding was provided by the Beef Checkoff Program, the National Pork Board, corn checkoff and soybean checkoff programs, and USDA’s Market Access Program and Agricultural Trade Promotion Program.