It’s Organic Week across Canada and Certified Organic Associations of BC (COABC) is hosting a Comox Valley event Sept. 24 from 4-8 p.m. that is sure to be of interest to farmers in the area - all about food trends, marketing organic, and growing your organic business with value-added food.
Speakers include Greg McLaren, managing director of the Business Advisory Team and Candice Appleby, executive director of the Small Scale Food Processors Association.
McLaren will discuss organic marketing/consumer trends.
The organic food industry is growing rapidly and demand continues to increase. What are the key trends, what is changing and who’s buying?
Many consumers are cynical, some are just confused, while a growing group are true loyalists, so this means both opportunity and challenges for those in the business. This presentation offers insights on organic food marketing for local food growers and producers.
Appleby will present Get Ready to Grow! Getting Starting in a Value Added Food Business.
Can you transform food products into something more valuable? Are there buyers out there interested in your products and how can you do business with them? What regulations affect your industry? Is there even a profit to be made?
Answers to these questions and more are part of our learning session on value-added food. This is a free event at the Vancouver Island Visitors Centre in Cumberland.
Organic Week, Sept. 19-27, is the largest annual celebration of organic food, farming, and products across the country.
Hundreds of individual events will showcase the benefits of organic agriculture and its positive impact on health and the environment.
“There are more than 3,700 organic farms in Canada, and 20 million Canadians buy organic weekly,” notes COABC communications officer Darcy Smith.
“As increasing numbers of Canadians turn to organic to improve their health and the health of the planet, Canada’s organic sector offers something to celebrate,” he added.