County Hosts Visitors From South America
Cumberland County was host to food industry executives from Brazil last week and again hosted more from other parts of South America this week, who came to learn more about the area’s food commerce. Rutgers Food Innovation Center (RFIC) in Bridgeton coordinated the event in partnership with the Cumberland County Improvement Authority.
The expeditions were comprised of tours, presentations and meetings including social events sponsored by the CEO Group, a non-profit organization comprised of Cumberland County business leaders. According to RFIC officials, the two-day visit was arranged to showcase the Rutgers Food Innovation Center, the world’s only Soft Landings food incubation program, and to provide a first-hand education to the South American agribusiness representatives about the features and benefits of Cumberland County.
“The South American visitors were impressed with the fact that our County is the Agricultural Center of New Jersey,” Cumberland County Improvement Authority (CCIA) Executive Director Jerry Velazquez said. “They all represented companies that want to explore possible locations in the United States for expanding and growing their businesses.”
The CCIA provided each guest with a digital information packet for their companies, which included a 7-minute video about the county as well as materials regarding the area and current food industry companies located here. The video was shared in Spanish and Portuguese.
“All together we entertained more than a dozen South American company representatives and I can honestly say each one was very impressed with our area, it’s location and abundant resources – both from an agriculture and a transportation standpoint,” CCIA Construction and Economic Development Director Jim Watson explained about the groups. “I expect to hear from at least of few of them after they have had a chance to process and distribute the information we were able to convey to them in such a short time span.”
Watson reports that as the CCIA’s economic development campaign, CumberlandYES.com, continues, the multi-platform marketing messaging promoting Cumberland County continues to reach global companies. “Our main objective is to reach businesses who want to enter the United States marketplace or increase their existing market,” Watson added. “Being the State’s Agricultural Center and home to the Rutgers Food Innovation Center, the only Soft Landings food incubation program on the globe, makes Cumberland County most attractive to international food industry leaders.”