Saskatchewan Producers Seize Opportunities at Major U.S. Trade Show

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

If you are in the natural products business, this is an opportunity worth considering.

Natural Products EXPO West 2006 took place earlier this spring in Anaheim, California. Established in 1981, it is the United States' largest natural products trade show, with over 30,000 retailers, manufacturers, industry members, exhibitors and members of the media in attendance, along with 2,500 booths.

For Saskatchewan agricultural producers and marketers like Roger Provencher of Canadian Prairie Bison in Canwood, Natural Products EXPO West is an opportunity that can't be missed.

“I went to Natural Products EXPO West to meet potential customers, to get into the retail market and to look at doing some different programs for them," says Provencher. "We hope to add more value to the carcasses, which in turn will add more value for the producers.” Canadian Prairie's producers are all natural producers. They must sign an affidavit saying they don’t feed any growth hormones or antibiotics to their animals. The company sells mostly to the U.S., with a lesser market in Canada.

This year, Provencher’s group joined forces with the Canadian Bison Association and handed out samples on location.

“We hired a couple of chefs, and we did a bison brisket and handed out, I believe, around 3,500 samples over three or four days," he says. "Visitors would come by our booth, and we would start talking about what cuts they could possibly use and exchange business cards and pamphlets. Once we got home, we followed up by e-mail and telephone. We got them more samples and, hopefully, we'll strike a deal with them and go from there."

Another Saskatchewan group that attended the show is Northern Lights Foods of La Ronge. Terry Helary, the general manager, explains there are several reasons why he attends.

“One is to look for new customers; two is to maintain relationships with existing customers; and three is to see what is new in the market. I find it is always the follow-up that makes the difference in the sale, but attending the show gives us exposure and a market presence."

California is Northern Lights' biggest U.S. market, for both their wild rice and wild mushrooms, and Helary believes it is the personal touch that helps cement the wholesaler/retailer relationship. When he is at Natural Products EXPO West, he visits the stores where their products are sold—stores like Trader Joe’s. Northern Lights will even do private labelling for them.

The Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) is the provincial organization that has been leading trade missions of Saskatchewan food processors to Natural Products EXPO West. Brad Michnik, Director of Trade Development for North America and Mexico, explains that significant organic, natural products and herbal supplements sectors exist in the province. These export companies go to Natural Products EXPO West because it brings all the wholesalers, retailers, brokers and manufacturers in the industry together in Anaheim. There is also a Natural Products EXPO East held every fall on the East Coast, but the Anaheim show has proven to be the more significant of the two.

"Keep in mind that California is the birthplace of the organic, natural products movement in North America,” says Michnik.

STEP has worked with Saskatchewan groups going to Natural Products EXPO West for six of the last nine years. There has always been a large complement of Canadian companies that attend the show, of which anywhere from 12 to 20 are Saskatchewan firms.

“Saskatchewan is always well represented," say Michnik. "The Saskatchewan companies that attend range from people selling organic commodities to companies selling shelf-ready products for the retail market in the southern United States. Some of the companies that attend are in the early stages of the export process. They will go down to California to learn about the market, to see what the opportunities are, and to see how they are going to take advantage of those opportunities. At the other end of the spectrum, there are companies that are already successfully marketing down there, and are looking to expand their businesses and to find additional customers.”

When it comes to exporting natural agricultural products, there is nothing quite like getting your feet wet at Natural Products EXPO West.

For more information, contact:

Brad Michnik
Director of Trade Development
for North America and Mexico
Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
(306) 933-6555

Roger Provencher
Canadian Prairie Bison
Canwood, Saskatchewan
(306) 468-2930

Terry Helary
General Manager
Northern Lights Food
La Ronge, Saskatchewan
(306) 425-3434