Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Rankin Inlet (Oct 10/01) - There will be a distinctive Kivalliq flavour this year at the world's premier food and beverage show.
Kivalliq Arctic Foods (Keewatin Meat and Fish) will be represented at the Anuga 2001 Fair and Trade Show in Cologne, Germany, from Oct. 13 to 17 by plant manager Brian Schindel and employee James Kannak.
Anuga, a biannual event, is the largest international food and beverage products show in the world, attracting 6,400 exhibitors from more than 144 countries.
Kivalliq Arctic Foods, located in Rankin Inlet, cuts and processes Tundra Brand caribou meat and arctic char.
Schindel and Kannak will take caribou leg cuts and Denver hinds to the special aboriginal pavilion at the event, which will house the four aboriginal firms taking part.
Industry Canada and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs each contributed $63,500 to the cost of the pavilion.
Schindel says the show presents a number of opportunities for Kivalliq Arctic Foods.
Their trip is being sponsored by the Department of Sustainable Development, with help from Air Canada and First Air.
"The First People's Business Association has provided a chef, so we'll be doing some preparation of different caribou meat for taste testing," says Schindel.
"We have appointments with a couple of major food chains, which were lined up by our Trade Consulate, and our hopes are high we'll kindle their interest in our products."
Kivalliq Arctic Foods will also supply meat to a buyer's reception promotional meeting for about 250 delegates for Industry Canada, including trade commissioners and individual guests interested in the caribou product.
Schindel says he's also looking forward to checking out the competition.
"Not only is this an opportunity for us to present our product to potential customers, but we'll also see what other products we compete against look like, how they're packaged, distributed, all these different aspects.
"This information could help us a great deal with our marketing strategy."
