Everyone Say Cheese at SIAL Paris 2024
SIAL Paris is a biennial international food trade show and is one of the largest food innovation exhibitions in the world. SIAL Paris serves as a platform where producers, distributors, restaurateurs, and importers-exporters can explore the latest trends, products, and innovations in the food sector; sample the latest products; engage in discussions; and make new connections. The United States Department of Agriculture-endorsed SIAL Paris show and exhibition occurred Oct. 19-23, 2024, and included 7,500 exhibitors from 130 countries. Key business sectors included dairy products, meat, seafood, frozen products, ready-made meals, grocery products, food processing, beverages, organic products, nuts, pulses, grains, and fruits and vegetables.
The Office of Agricultural Affairs of the American Embassy in Paris hosted the official USA Pavilion at SIAL Paris 2024. The pavilion featured a wide range of food and beverage products, representative of the quality and innovative products available from the United States. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Daniel Whitley opened the USA Pavilion, walked the pavilion and visited with exhibitors. U.S. Ambassador to France Denise Campbell Bauer attended the trade show on Tuesday to greet exhibitors. A highlight of this year’s exhibition was the continued expansion of the USA Pavilion presence in the Dairy and Cheese Hall, going from no USA Dairy Pavilion in previous shows to 44 sqm in 2022 and increasing to 184.5 sqm in 2024.
“The 2024 SIAL Paris was a great venue to elevate the global image of cheeses from the USA. With 13 exhibitors in the U.S. Dairy Pavilion, our industry was able to showcase its wide range of offerings from mainstream convenient products to specialty gourmet varieties. The pavilion was quite busy throughout the five days of the show, signaling significant future business for our industry,” shared Angélique Hollister, Senior Vice President of Global Cheese Marketing at the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
Trade is important to the dairy industry. The United States exports about 18% of all dairy products to other countries. SIAL Paris showcased many cheese varieties, allowing visitors to see and taste many fantastic cheese products from dairies and creameries all across the United States, such as Jasper Hill Farm. Jasper Hill Farm is a family-owned dairy farm with an on-site creamery and underground seven-vault aging facility in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Jasper Hill Farm cultivates diverse cheese culture profiles to produce the highest-quality products possible while supporting the local Vermont working landscape and community.
Rogue Creamery from Central Point, Oregon, participated in this year’s exhibition. Rogue Creamery is dedicated to producing world-class, sustainable artisan cheeses by combining tradition with innovation to foster a global community of cheese lovers. Audrey Stange is the company’s Ambassador of Moo for Wholesale Sales and Product Education. Audrey Stange stated, “This opportunity proved to be extremely valuable to our efforts in expanding exports beyond Europe.” Through SIAL Paris, the company established several leads to follow up on and looks forward to participating in future events.
Plymouth, Wisconsin’s Sartori cheese, had a booth space in the USA Pavilion. For generations, Sartori has partnered with Wisconsin’s generational family-owned farms to transform high-quality cow’s milk from dedicated farmers into one-of-a-kind, award-winning artisan cheeses. Sam Allison, Director of Global Sales, said, “It was great having broader engagement from the Wisconsin cheese industry at the show.” Participating in SIAL Paris allowed the company to engage with visitors to expand awareness around the great cheese products available from the United States and Wisconsin.
Shirley Acedo from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture stated, “SIAL Paris was more than an event – It was a testament to Wisconsin’s dedication to quality, innovation, and global partnerships. At the heart of the Cheese Pavilion, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin presented a spectacular six-foot-long charcuterie cheese board, featuring an array of top Wisconsin cheeses that captivated audiences. Distinguished guests, including U.S. Ambassador to France Denise Campbell Bauer, USDA FAS Administrator Daniel Whitley, and U.S. Dairy Export Council CEO Krysta Harden, underscored the significance of Wisconsin’s international presence.”
SIAL serves as an international platform to explore the latest food innovations and provides a unique space for producers, distributors, restaurateurs, and importers-exporters to engage in discussions and form business connections. It is these connections that contributed to SIAL’s continued success.