Seminar
CPI recently conducted a Canadian pork cooking seminar in Osaka at the Tsuji Wellness Cooking School (located in the Harukas department store) at Abeno Harukas. The event was in celebration of the opening of Abeno Harukas, Japan’s tallest building at 300 meters with 62 floors, which opened March 7, 2014.
The cooking school is located right in the department store, next to the cookware sales area. The event was advertised as part of the opening celebration and consumers entered to win a chance to participate in the cooking seminar. Eighteen winners were randomly selected to attend the cooking show and demonstration which highlighted the safety, food quality and taste of Canadian pork. Participants worked with CPI’s Michael Young and Master Chef Mr. Sagawa (a specialist in Japanese cooking) to produce Canadian Pork stuffed pork roast and Canadian Pork Miso Soup with vegetables – they finished up the event with a tasting of the dishes.
Cooking Grand Prix
Canadian pork sales at retail grocery chains in the Kansai area of Japan are on the increase and to support this positive growth, CPI will be participating in the Parents and Children Cooking Grand Prix 2014. Held in July, CPI has participated in this popular event, which is televised across the Kansai region, a number of times.
Photo Shoot
Japanese customers selling Canadian pork have requested images of the product for use on labels, brochures, posters etc. They are specifically looking for photos showing Canadian pork being used in typical Japanese family meals.
CPI organized a photo shoot in Japan, featuring family meals using cuts sold at supermarket meat cases.
Benchmarking
On March 13, the CPI team worked with the Federal Meat Academy (FMA) in Japan to conduct a competitive benchmarking project in collaboration with a CPI processor partner. During the past year the CPI team has completed three competitive benchmarking projects in collaboration with CPI processors in Japan, utilizing 23 samples sets (69 cases of chilled product).
Changes to the benchmarking program have now enabled participating processors the ability to access a larger sample of their own data as well as the growing data base of competitors’ information since CPI began benchmarking in Japan back in 2007. These changes were based on annual input from participating CPI processor members and will greatly enhance the quality of the information gathered and the significance of the statistics as sample volumes grow.
“In today’s market, price quickly becomes how you are measured. Competitive benchmarking supports the packer in several ways,” says Ron Gibson, Business Development, International Sales at Maple Leaf Foods Inc. “It provides feedback for the packer on how their workmanship, packaging, product specification and meat quality attributes compare to the market--it also captures how your product is changing over time. It allows the packer to define their products on a value proposition and not just price.”
Changes in production and manufacturing trends combined with opportunity gaps to improve and accurately compare specifications in terms of yield, value and financial performance to the importer distributor and end-user customers is important information to bring to the negotiation table. Japan continues to be the most competitive and the most lucrative pork market in the world.
For more information about changes to the Competitive Benchmarking Program for 2014 – 2015 or to book a project in Japan contact Michael Young, Vice President Technical Programs and Marketing Services 778.425.1982 young@canadapork.com
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