The manager of consumer marketing and community relations programs with Manitoba Pork Council suggests improved communications is key to maintaining consumer confidence and retaining Canada’s share of the global market for pork.
Representatives of Manitoba Pork Council returned last week from Cologne, Germany where they took part in Anuga, the world’s largest food fair for the retail trade and food service and catering market, in conjunction with a Canada Pork International trade mission.
Susan Riese, the manager of consumer marketing and community relations programs with Manitoba Pork Council, notes Anuga attracts over sixty-five hundred exhibitors from about 100 countries and over 150 thousand visitors providing an ideal opportunity to connect with existing buyers, new buyers and key decisions makers.
With global meat consumption on the rise it’s really important for CPI to be at the show and provide our processors and trading companies with opportunities to develop those new markets so that hopefully we can access a bigger piece of the pie and then not just maintain our market share.
Given the variety of products that are put there and the global food system that we live in I think more than ever we’re going to have to really listen to consumers and communicate with them in a way that they want to be communicated with, whether that’s social media or internet or what ever and really keep a watchful eye on what our competitors are doing and what the trends are, so trying to be an innovator more so than a follower and create a system that really draws the consumer to the product versus perhaps developing a product and hoping that the consumer will buy it.
Riese says the Canadian pork industry has built its reputation on being able to provide a quality wholesome food product and we need to keep focused on those things.
Source: Farmscape.Ca
