Agri-Food Trade Service

Content Manager's Blog

This Web site was created 15 years ago as a source of market information and export support activities for Canadian companies. As the web evolves and our interaction with clients intensifies we've decided to take a more active approach in keeping you informed with what we've published recently and to give a sneak peak at what you can look forward to in the coming months in the hopes of giving you a reason to come back and get more involved with our projects.

CRFA Show 2011

March 24, 2011

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As spring approaches, so does the beginning of the 2011 trade show season for the ATS Team. Our season kicked-off with the annual Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) Show, which we attended at the beginning of March. The show took place from March 6-8, in Toronto, Ontario, at the Direct Energy Centre and featured more than 1,200 exhibit booths. This marked the 65th year of the show which celebrates the foodservice industry and all it has to offer.

As in past years, there was a diverse array of exhibitors showcasing a wide range of products from healthy beverages, to indulgent desserts and ready-made food solutions, to sustainable packaging and foodservice equipment. Seminars, new pavilions and a variety of demos by top Canadian chefs also brought a sense of excitement to the show this year.

As the ATS does every year, in conjunction with our Ontario Regional Office, we scoured the show to find the latest innovative products from the Canadian foodservice industry. We'll be producing a report on these products to highlight the efforts of our industry. Keep an eye out for this report to appear in our Canada Trade Events section on the ATS Web site. In the mean time, you can view our previous Competitive Insights report: The 2010 Canadian Restaurant and Foodservice Association Show which outlines all the new and innovative products featured in 2010.

This year, there definitely seemed to be more new products than in 2010, across a variety of product categories. For those of you who can't wait for the full report, here's a sneak peak of some of the new and innovative products at this year's show.

• Healthy, organic and allergen-free products:
  Gluten-free pizza crusts, bread and sauces (Stickling's Organics, O'Doughs, GURU), and "healthy" snack bars and treats (Taste of Nature, Dairylicious, Eatwell's Cookies)
• Dessert indulgence with specialty products:
  Tea-infused chocolate, mini truffles, sundaes, and macaroons, as well as flavourful biscotti (tea and all its splendour, Dorgel, Nestle, Patisserie Cocoa, Bubbie's Biscotti)
• Dairy in all its forms, particularly cheese:
  "Worldly" cheese flavours, buffalo mozzarella, flavoured butter, and lactose-free cream (Woolwich Dairy, Saputo, Stirling's Creamery, Natrel)
• New twists on old favourites:
  Poutine potato croquettes, toastable meat snacks, mini chicken burgers, spicy olives, mini bread sticks, and bagels with scrambled eggs and 100 calories (Mr. Spduz, Tillman's, Pinty's, Matt&Steve's, Fred's Bread, Burnbrae Farms, Pita Gourmet)

For the ATS Team, the show provided an opportunity to get in touch with industry, while working at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) exhibitor booth and walking the show floor to speak with exhibitors to get a sense of the innovative products and trends we can expect in 2011. With all of the diversity at the show, the Canadian industry stood out as a number of new and innovative products were highlighted, and covered a range of categories.

Once again, the CRFA Show provided an opportune time to speak with our industry clients about their products and market activities, as well as how we can make ATS services of use to them. Now that we're back in the office and no longer on the tradeshow floor, we encourage you to keep in contact with us so that we can support your export endeavours.

Until next time…

Robin Wint
Online Product Manager, Agri-Food Trade Service (ATS)
robin.wint@agr.gc.ca

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