The Art of Beans and Todo con Frijol Promotional Campaigns Take Colombia by Storm

We have been reporting on the increase in coverage and programming in Colombia over the past year. Support from USDA FAS’ Emerging Market (EMP) and Agricultural Trade Promotion Programs has allowed us to launch several different marketing programs and make a name for ourselves in many major Colombian cities. Our marketing programs are multi media and run under two distinct campaigns, Todo con Frijol or Beans with Everything and El Arte de Frijol – the Art of Beans. The campaigns include workshops, cooking demos, meetings with top Colombian chefs, recipe books, and promotional video clips. The US/Colombia Free Trade Agreement has made Colombia a market of tremendous potential for U.S. dry bean exports as we are now price competitive. However, we still have to compete with other South American nations that enjoy zero duty market access and Colombia’s own domestic supply. Annual US dry bean exports to Colombia are around 11,000 MT, showing tremendous room for growth.

This is the objective of our promotional campaigns, increase consumption of dry beans and demand for high quality U.S. origin beans. We are committed to this market and are in it for the long term.

Check out this amazing promotional video on a recent Todo Con Frijol event in Barranquilla to get a ‘taste’ of what we are doing.