You are here

Back to top

U.S. Dried Fruit and Nut Associations Launch "American Seasons" Bakery Promotion in China

August 23, 2016

August 18 witnessed the opening of the 2016 “American Seasons” Bakery Promotion, jointly organized by the Shanghai U.S. Agricultural Trade Office and the renowned bakery brand Ichido. This promotion will bring Chinese consumers a brand-new experience of the delicacy of American-style bakery products with authentic American baking ingredients.

Nine USDA co-operators, namely, the American Pistachio Growers Association, California Prune Board, California Raisin Administration Commission, California Walnut Commission, U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee, U.S. Dairy Export Council, U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, U.S. Pecan Growers Council, and U.S. Wheat Associates, co-organized the promotion and provided a diversity of high-quality American baking ingredients and related technical information.

“American Seasons” will last for one month at Ichido’s 30 stores, during which a total of 45 new products with U.S. baking ingredients will be launched. Each week the consumers can expect some new flavors and novel surprises at the Ichido stores. Master Chef Cai, the owner of Ichido, led his professional chef team to develop all these new recipes during three months of hard work with repeated tasting and adjustment. The development team, with its many years of experience working in the bakery industry, exhibited great creativity with a variety of bakery products, such as prune tiramisu parfait, American-style potato bread, pecan macaroons, cranberry butter biscuits, and raisin brioche. High-quality tree nuts, dried fruits, dairy products, and wheat flours from the U.S. were widely applied in these new products, aiming to introduce the most delicious and healthy bread and pastry desserts to Ichido customers.

At the opening ceremony, Ms. Valerie Brown, Director of the Shanghai U.S. Agricultural Trade Office, said, “The United States is the world’s leading food manufacturer and exporter. We have rich and diversified agricultural products, and very colorful food cultures. We hope this event will help Chinese consumers better understand the quality healthy baking ingredients and unique baking cultures of the United States. We also hope the new products developed with American baking ingredients will provide Chinese consumers pursuing exquisite and relaxed lifestyles with more bakery options.”

Ichido was founded in 1999 and specializes in manufacturing desserts, cakes, coffee, and bakery products. It has about 80 stores and 1,200 employees in China. Master Chef Cai expressed his gratitude to the nine USDA co-operators that co-organized this promotion: “We are honored to work with the Shanghai U.S. Agricultural Trade Office and nine USDA co-operators on this promotion. We have access to lots of top-quality American baking ingredients thanks to their support. We hope we will further upgrade our product portfolio and help our customers enjoy better quality and healthier products. We also hope our co-operation will last till after American Seasons so as to continue to serve our customers with quality and healthy bakery products.”

ATO Shanghai is a trade assistance and promotional office under the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In addition to export assistance and market research and development for U.S. agricultural products, ATO Shanghai coordinates promotional activities such as trade shows, food service activities, and retail campaigns. Working closely with importers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and trade promotion organizations, ATO Shanghai introduces and promotes American agricultural products in East China and throughout the Yangtze River region.

For a long time, American dried fruit and nut associations have been paying great attention to the Chinese bakery market and have held many related training and promotional activities. This time, the "American Seasons" Bakery Promotion provided a display of all kinds of bakery products with American style and quality.

Mr. Cai told Produce Report, "American cranberries go well with bread and especially cheese for their bright-red look. We add American pecans to our products such as pecan tarts, cookies, and macarons, to provide a special flavor that can't be replaced by other nuts."

For more information about this activity, please contact:

Susan Zhang, ATO Shanghai
Tel: 021-62798622
Email: hongyu.zhang@fas.usda.gov

Shanghai Barong Food Co., Ltd. (Ichido)
Tel: 021-51101717
Email: ichido@ichido.com.cn

Add new comment

10 + 7 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.