Business Of Agriculture: Food Marketing Fundamentals Workshops ...

Looking to sharpen your marketing edge? The Food Innovation Centre of BC is offering Food Marketing 101, a four-part workshop series to help producers and processors refine their marketing approach.

?Food marketing is different from any other kind of product marketing because it?s so emotional,? says program facilitator Bill Henderson. ?Understanding the fundamentals of food marketing and building a plan allows you to go out into the marketplace with confidence and achieve your business goals.?

The workshops will be delivered in four independent modules. Each session will build towards a specific goal or action plan that participants can apply to their business.

The series starts Thursday, March 15. The first workshop will focus on the fundamentals, including:

? The role and goals of food marketing;
? Consumer trends in BC;
? How pricing works for commodities and differentiated products;
? How to promote and sell your product;
? Visioning and goal setting.

Workshop #2 - Wednesday, April 18. Explore the importance of consumer research in identifying the best way to promote and sell your product. Participants will leave with an understanding of basic consumer research techniques, and where to find funding to support it.

Workshop #3 ? Wednesday, May 16. Focus on product development and improvement, as well as analyzing pricing, promotion and placement to optimize the impact of your product in the marketplace.

Workshop #4 ? Friday, June 15 (date to be confirmed). Assess market readiness for you and your product. Participants will learn effective strategies to move into the marketplace and expand their business.

Food Innovation Centre History
The launch of the Food Innovation Centre of BC represents a significant milestone for the food, functional food and natural health products industry in British Columbia. It comes after about 20 years of persistence and dedication of dozens of people and organizations that saw an opportunity and need for an industry-driven and -led commercialization resource in this province.

The drive toward a commercialization centre became galvanized in 2006, when a group of agri-food organizations came together to facilitate an assessment of the level of need and support for a resource of this kind. The resulting feasibility study was funded with support from the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

The Role of Growing Forward
Growing Forward is a partnership between Canada?s federal, provincial and territorial governments to support the development of a profitable, innovative and competitive agriculture and agri-food sector that is adept at managing risk, responds to market demands and contributes to the health and well-being of Canadians.

In 2009, the BC Ministry of Agriculture obtained funding through the Growing Forward agreement, for the establishment of a commercialization centre that is part virtual and part physical. Growing Forward funds are being used for concept development, planning and transition to the industry-led entity, leading to the launch of the FICBC.

Industry?s Role in Developing FICBC
Since 2009, a dedicated group of industry leaders representing primary production, food processing, bioproduct, natural health product, education, research and food safety has been working diligently towards the vision of a Centre, laying down the foundation for what is today the FICBC. The steering committee included representatives from:

• BC Agriculture Council
• BC Food Processors Association
• BC Food Technologists
• British Columbia Institute of Technology
• LifeSciences BC
• Small Scale Food Processors Association
• University of British Columbia
• Western Canada Functional Food & Natural Health Product Network

The steering committee was also supported by ex-officio (non-voting) members who represented the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

Ongoing Support from Government
With their mandates to promote growth of the agriculture industry in BC and nationally, the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are both key supporters of FICBC.

We expect the provincial and federal governments to continue to play a role in the development of the FICBC on an ongoing basis by providing advice and partnering with FICBC to deliver services to industry.

Food Innovation Centre of BC
422 ? 44550 South Sumas Road
Chilliwack, BC V2R 5M3
Telephone: 1-604-847-2279
Toll-free: 1 855 FOODCTR
Website: http://www.foodinnovationcentre.ca/

Source: http://langleytoday.ca/?p=17505

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