The Hispanic food distributor, La Tortillería, held its ninth Summer Food Show, one of the few that takes place outdoors, with a large attendance of vendors and buyers.
More than 60 food and beverage companies presented a variety of products to visitors during the one-day show, which took place on Thursday, June 13, outside the La Tortillería headquarters in the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The Hispanic food distributor covers the areas of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
Dan Calhoun, one of the company owners, said that for nine years it has never rained on the day of the Summer Food Show, giving it to all attendees the opportunity to enjoy a good day of business.
“The suppliers come, they are happy, we sell because that makes us all happy, but more than that, we have many friends here, we feel like family,” said Calhoun, who stressed that his family business is guided by the principles of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, for the world’s good and God’s will. “
Four brands that are well known in the food industry, Cholula, Badía, Petit and Ya Está!, participated for the first time in La Tortillería trade fair, looking to expand their products distribution in the Southeast.
“I met Francisco Menéndez, owner of the Guatemalan company Ya Está! He’s 58 years old like me, he’s one of five brothers and his dad started the business 40 years ago and it’s the first time he has participated in La Tortillería’s Food Show. He told me that he loved the spirit, the team, the people, he enjoyed the family atmosphere we have and he expressed himself very happy to do business with us, this is just an example of what we enjoy here,” said Calhoun.
Numael Acosta, Vilore Foods Area Sales Manager, told Abasto that they had high expectations of doing good business, representing brands such as Totis, La Costeña, Jumex, among others and now they are launching the new brand, Kern’s nectars, a well-known product in Guatemala and Central America.
“We are launching Kern’s here at La Tortillería trade show and we will be selling it initially in the Southeast. We trust that with La Tortillería’s distribution network we will have a great reach with our new product, “Acosta said.
In the beverage category, for the first time the Petit brand from El Salvador attended La Tortilleria Summer Food Show, presenting a variety of nectars with different flavors and sizes, ideal drinks for the summer season.
“We are introducing a new brand called Bit Tajín, a juice that also has the flavor of Tajín seasoning, something new and different, there is nothing like this drink in the market,” said Kevin Rose, VP of Business Development at High Point Sales & Marketing that represents the Petit brand.
In the summer season, companies are presenting their new refreshing products in the beverage category and Novamex highlighted the new Jarritos Coconut Water, ideal for the hot season and very healthy due to its natural ingredients.
“The focus of our company is to offer natural products. We are the only ones that offer coconut water with Non-GMO or additives,” said Franklin Morales, District Sales Manager Southeast, from Novamex.
