Tourism, trade and Investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, ‘Wesgro’ has collaborated with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to announce the launch of the 64th Summer Fancy Food (SFF) show application season.
The Summer Fancy Food is being organised under the Africa Trade and Investment (ATI) Southern Africa Buy-in Activity Project.
The Summer Fancy Food Show is the largest trade and one and only specialty food event that is organised in the United States. The show will take place from June 23 to 25, 2024 and will attract the thousands of makers and buyers.
It also involves the brokers, distributors and other industry professionals for three days of product discovery, networking and business opportunities.
The SFF Show provides exhibitors an opportunity to connect with more than 30,000 leading buyers, distributors and retailers. They will get a chance to network with their peers and enjoy the world-class educational programs.
To exhibit in the SFF Show is a cost-effective and powerful way to grow the business, whether the exhibitors are new to trade shows or a seasoned industry veteran.
An official criterion considers the eligibility of the exhibitors who can participate in the show. The eligible countries who can participate in the SFF Show are Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.
Export-ready firms that meet international and US market entry requirements are eligible to participate in the show.
The firms should be able to cover their own expenses related to flights, accommodation, visas, samples and product liability insurance.
The eligible partners must represent the exporters from their provinces or countries. The US based buyers actively represent producers from the above mentioned Southern African countries.
Reportedly, the show offers a floor space at the Africa Fine Foods Pavilion to make the arrangement of the exhibition.
The organisers also give a pre-event training through webinars in collaboration with the South African Consulate General New York that leads up to the show. The training sessions also include the webinars with the show organisers.
A B2B linkage support is created through a seasoned trade promotion service provider in the United States that is appointed by USAID Africa Trade and Investment Activity.
The SFF also hosts Market Intelligence Meetings in New York ahead of the trade show. Along with this, Retail Tours are also organised and the exhibitors are taken to field visits to retailers or distributors in New York and New Jersey.
Retail Tours provides exporters an insight on trends, competitor pricing, packaging, retail layout and more.
An event lookbook is distributed online, and print versions are available before, during, and after the event. The lookbook showcases what the firms at the Africa Fine Food Pavilion have to offer.
Estimated Marketing Costs are listed in the online directory. Day after the show, a briefing session is conducted with the partners and exhibitors on lessons that they have learned throughout the event.