Canada: Dates Win Innovation Prize at GIC 2015
FAS/Canada is pleased to report the Bard Valley Medjool Date Growers (BVMDGA) were voted a Most Innovative Product with their new Pumpkin Pie Spiced and Dark Chocolate Orange Date Rolls at Canada’s annual Grocery Innovation Show (GIC). BVMDGA is an active USDA Market Access Program (MAP) partner through the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association and has seen sales grow by 215 percent over the last six years in Canada. Much of this success is attributed to BVMDGA’s utilization of an in-country representative, Ken Berger, ever present in the marketplace to carry-out the grower association’s marketing and promotion initiatives. As a result, Canada is now a top export market of BVMDGA accounting for 15 percent of annual production.