FIC Expo

Last week was the Food Ingredients China (FIC) Expo in Shanghai. This was a trade show for for companies that specialize in food ingredients to showcase their products and secure trade agreements with local Chinese companies. At first I wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a really interesting and fun event! There were companies from all over the world! And the best part...tons of samples! I ate tons of dried fruit, candy, various teas and fruit juices, bread products, beef jerky...you name it, I tried it! One booth even had two soft-serve ice cream machines and an oven where they baked cookies right there. Dipping warm cookies in soft-serve ice cream (in a cone!) while you're working really isn't so terrible. ;)

The booth for the Food Export Association of the U.S. Midwest and Northeast was tended to by yours truly :)

I had my own interpreter and everything! Her name was Xin Xing...but she asked to be called Star. (Xing xing is star in Chinese...makes sense!) We actually became good friends and I went to her university the other day to hang out with her. You can expect a blog on that for sure!


Star made my hair in a traditional Chinese style. Pretty snazzy, ey?

The FIC Expo was a great experience. You never really think about how restaurants and grocery stores get their products...but now I know! We also got to sit in on one-on-one meetings between the manufacturers and the retailers which was really interesting. I realize trade agreements don't sound like the most fascinating thing in the world...but it's a really intricate process and I'm stoked that I got to see it all go down!