MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – Last week, USA Rice conducted its second annual Advisory Board meeting with 30 participants and partners to discuss USA Rice activities in Mexico and ideas for successful future implementation. Participants included representatives of the rice trade, supermarket chains, press, publishing companies, restaurants, culinary schools, private organizations, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Trade Office in Mexico City.
“USA Rice does a lot for our institutions,” said Marco Mendez, chef at the Dijon Culinary School. “We stand ready to help promote U.S.-grown rice in the foodservice sector, so these planning sessions are quite helpful.”
USA Rice has worked with more than 70 culinary schools over the past several years as a means of strategically building a network of U.S. rice ambassadors. Many of the students who had previously participated in USA Rice activities are now in decision-making positions in other culinary schools, restaurants, and hotels throughout Mexico and are continuing to promote rice in their sector.
During the meeting, USA Rice also shared two recently produced promotional videos that are online and available for partners to use. The first, “Arroz Saludable” (“Healthy Rice”), discusses the nutritional benefits of rice and clarifies negative myths about rice, including that rice is fattening and not nutritious. The second video is venturing into a new area here – gluten free. “Arroz Libre Gluten” (“Rice is Gluten Free”) explains the little understood conditions of gluten allergies and celiac disease.
“Everyone appreciated the concise, informative nature of the videos and requested copies to have at their institutions,” said Gaby Carbajal, the USA Rice contractor in Mexico, who attended the meeting. “There was also interest in creating new materials and posters about gluten free living to be displayed in the rice aisle at supermarkets, and USA Rice has committed to developing these materials.”
Carbajal added, “We got a lot of good feedback at this meeting on the effectiveness of our promotions program. It’s a great way to connect with stakeholders and share up-to-date information, and we plan to continue to hold these meetings on an annual basis.”