Chinese specialty food makes unique debut at New York food expo

NEW YORK, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of specialty food from Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, debuted in a collective fashion at the Fancy Food Show in New York over the weekend.

More than 50 specialty food, which belongs to different enterprises in Chengdu, unveiled at the expo under the regional public brand of "Tianfuyuan". Exhibitors hope their presence on international platforms could help make the brand more widely known.

"A US food and beverage company came by to talk and showed great interest to our goods," Hu Anxue, a Tianfuyuan exhibitor told Xinhua.

Set up in July 2016, Chengdu Tianfuyuan Brand Marketing Planning Co. was aimed at promoting local high-quality agricultural products. It granted brand to rural produces which are in line with some standards including quality and credit. 

Chengdu is abundant in good-quality agricultural products, but most of them are lack of brand awareness, an Achilles' heel when competing in broader markets, noted Wei Zhiwei, head of the company, "so we want to take the role."

Quality is always vital to core competitiveness, so enterprises are required to undergo a strict procedure of review and assessment when they are applying for the brand of Tianfuyuan, Wei added.

By June 2018, Tianfuyuan Company has organized more than 100 local agricultural enterprises with over 500 kinds of specialty products to participate in some 20 food exhibitions both at home and abroad. These promotion activities have helped establish businesses with more than 50 foreign companies, resulting in transactions up to 1.7 billion yuan (or about $256.7 million).

The 2018 Summer Fancy Food Show runs from Saturday through Monday at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, featuring exhibitors from 54 countries and regions. It is the largest show for specialty food in North America.