Why we love heading to food shows and expo’s.
While the benefits of fermented foods are always top of mind for us here at Living Goodness, plenty of Kiwi’s are still relatively new to the idea – and we’re on a mission to change that.
This month, we headed to the Christchurch Food Show, and the Auckland Go Green Expo on the weekend of the 7-8th of April. Peter manned the Christchurch show, and Fiona took on the Auckland one, and we had a blast at both!
We thought we’d talk to Fiona and Peter about their weekends at the shows, and get a little insight into how Living Goodness is spreading the good word about fermented foods.
Why do you like heading to expos?
We’re really keen on making sure every Kiwi knows about the benefits of fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, and expos are a great way to engage with people and explain this to them face to face over a friendly chat! So many people have wanted to try them but haven’t had the chance, so these events are a really brilliant way for people to give them a go.
What made you choose these ones in particular?
We’ve found that being based in Auckland means our reach down in the South Island isn’t as strong as we’d like it to be, so the Christchurch Food Show is always a fun way to get down South and meet people interested in fermented foods there.
As for the Auckland Go Green Expo – this was our first year and it was brilliant! It was incredibly busy on both days, and people were really excited to learn more about fermented foods, how to be healthy, and look after the planet we live on. Being surrounded by so many health and sustainability oriented businesses was a really exciting opportunity as well.
What was your favourite part about the expos?
It’s wonderful to meet our existing customers and get that really valuable face to face time with them – but we also really love when we get new customers excited about our products. One of the real benefits of meeting people at these expos is getting the chance to hear about how they eat our fermented foods, and in turn give them new ideas on how to eat fermented foods – especially those trying to get their families or children into it.
What were some of the funniest or coolest responses you guys had to your products?
One kimchi obsessed lady brought 12 jars of our Sum Yum Kimchi - that was something different!
The best responses by far that we had, were from people who have never tried fermented foods before saying “Wow that’s actually really nice!” as if you’re going to give them something that tastes disgusting! It’s always fun to surprise people with something tasty enough that they want to buy it.
There you have it, folks! We had an exciting weekend on both islands, and we can’t wait for our next expo’s, where we can convert more sauerkraut skeptics!