Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTSO), organized a joint international marketing activity, visiting 'The Winter Fancy Food Show' food fair in Las Vegas, USA, within the scope of Processed Food and Frozen Food Clustering and UR-GE (Improvement of International Competitiveness) projects.
 
Representatives from 19 processed and 17 frozen food companies participated in the event held between January 14-19, 2023.
 
The preparation stage of the international marketing activity for the Bursa food sector began with identifying target countries, focusing on the United States as one of the most potential markets. After reaching a consensus on the US, one of the key target markets, the decision was made to visit The Winter Fancy Food Show through research and meetings with project member companies. Project members aimed to compare their industry's advancement with the processed food sector of the United States during bilateral business meetings.
 
On the first day of the fair, representatives visited nearly 1000 booths, engaging in discussions. Particularly, packaging and marketing strategies necessary for entering the US market were evaluated with representatives of US companies. On the second day of the fair, Bursa companies, having identified potential partners for collaboration, conducted second meetings. On the final day of the visit, participant companies concluded their discussions.
 
The Winter Fancy Food Show provided significant benefits to both the Bursa processed food sector and the companies within the Processed Food UR-GE project. In post-activity evaluations, companies expressed that they realized the need for detailed work on marketing and packaging strategies to enter the US market. Despite reservations about the US market, Bursa companies stated that they overcame these concerns by observing the industry's situation in the US firsthand, gaining confidence in entering the US market. Participants also noted that communication information exchanged at the fair opened opportunities for future business connections.