For a lot of organisations, March (being the last month of the financial year) means plenty of accounting and project activity. Well, that has certainly been the case in Mexico. But in addition, March has become something of a “gastronomic” month. Lots of events related to the food and drink industry have happened here recently, and UKTI Mexico took advantage to promote British gastronomical excellence to different Mexican audiences.
A delegation of 26 British companies visited Mexico two weeks ago. They had the opportunity to participate in Expo ANTAD - the largest and most prestigious retail show in Latin America, attended by over 30,000 buyers and importers. It was the perfect environment for business opportunities to flourish.
As part of the ANTAD activities, our team organised “A Taste of Britain” evenings, to showcase iconic and new British products – including tea, whisky, real ale, beauty products, and even high tech loudspeakers. The events took place in Guadalajara and Monterrey, two of the most important cities in the country.
We were delighted by the visit of British chef Thomasina Miers, who is also a food writer, TV presenter, and the co-founder of Wahaca restaurants in London. Her restaurants serve fresh Mexican-inspired dishes and drinks: from tacos and quesadillas, to mezcal and margaritas. We were delighted to have the chance to introduce her to Mexican businesses and key stakeholders.
We promoted the hashtag #FoodisGREATUK in all our social media channels, as part of a digital campaign by the British Embassy that has already substantially increased our number of followers. We have also been promoting the “Food is GREAT Britain” video, adapted for our audience with Spanish subtitles.
Last but not least, British designer Tom Dixon visited Mexico to unveil his ground-breaking collaboration with renowned cognac brand Hennessy X.O. His innovative new copper bottle design showed how different sectors – in this case design and food and drinks - can work together to create a fantastic product.