FIRST EVER RETAIL PROMOTION OF MOROCCAN SPECIALTY FOODS

The Food Emporium (www.thefoodemporium.com), a high-end grocery with 16 outlets in Manhattan, will begin a two-week promotion of Moroccan specialty foods in September 2010 under a deal arranged by Nathan Associates Inc. A joint effort of The Food Emporium and Maroc Export, Morocco’s export promotion agency, the campaign will mark the first time Moroccan products have been promoted directly in a retail food outlet in the United States.

The campaign is a unique opportunity to showcase Moroccan products in one of the most important venues of the food industry in the United States. The Food Emporium will be stocking Moroccan olives and olive oil, couscous, fruits, vegetables, and even some of Morocco’s artisan ceramic tableware. Industry professionals and trade press will get a preview of the offerings at a reception hosted by the president of The Food Emporium and Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Trade.

Nathan Associates struck the deal for the promotion campaign through Morocco New Business Opportunities (NBO), a program sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development. In managing the NBO Program, Nathan Associates provided export promotion and business linkage assistance to more than 50 Moroccan exporters targeting the U.S. market in response to the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement. Working directly with Maroc Export, the firm designed promotional activities and generated dozens of business-to-business linkages between Moroccan manufacturers and U.S. buyers. From 2006-2009 the NBO Program helped Moroccan exporters generate more than $70 million in new exports.

For more information on the food products promotion, please contact Mike Blakeley, Principal Associate,