Acaimania at Anuga 2013

3-10.10. 2013

This year, Acaimania participated in the world's leading food fair in Europe – Anuga 2013. After a very successful summer campaign all over Slovakia we are convinced that Acaico has the potential to conquer Europe because it is simply great!

Anuga is a fair taking place in Cologne every 2 years where world's largest and most important food producers come together. It lasts 5 days and has thousands of visitors. It is a culinary event of the year and that is why we couldn't miss it...

The preparations for the exhibition were demanding – we had to think about a million details. From the design proposal for our jungle stand to its final look, clothes, transport, delivery of frozen goods, etc. A week before the fair, Acaimania headquarters resembled a humming beehive – busy workers flying in and out collecting supplies. Every spot was filled with someone carrying out a mini project forming a part of the Acaimania stand.

The night before the fair was full of pizza, packing, finalizing and checking off things on our to-do list.

At 5 in the morning, the team formed by Peťo, head of Acaimania, Jacob, our new export reinforcement, Dapi, language support, Zu, head of marketing and stand design, Peťa, the Acaico treasure keeper and Kaja, the Amazon, met together. As true travelers, we embarked on this adventure in caravans. The journey was very long but Germany welcomed us with sunny weather so we could start removing layers of clothing we put on in chilly Slovakia.

After checking-in in the campsite, we had a long day ahead of us – setting up the stand. It was an exacting task and although it took us all day, it was definitely worth it. The stand consisted of the image of a rainforest, hand-carved totem poles, original barrels in which we recieve acai from Brasil, and authentic boulders (so perfect that everyone thought they were fake). To stick the rainforest posters onto the stand took the longest. They had to fit perfectly. Finally, when we after hours and hours of work looked at the result of our effort and compared it to the stands around us, we knew it was worth it. 

The next day we set the bar even higher when our hostesses put on their Amazon rainforest costumes. And that is when it began. The combination of healthy brasilian delicacies and Slovak beauty impressed everyone. People started to come by our stand, take pictures, taste Acaico and Fruit Heaven, and ask about our products. The most uttered words in front of the stand were "lecker!", "delicious!" and “mňam!". Fair visitors were amazing, many of them came back again and again. We have to admit we didn’t expect such a success. There was a constant crowd in front of the stand and other stallholders just kept rolling their eyes. People were delighted by the taste and health benefits of our Acaico – antioxidants, minerals and vitamins in such a high amount – simply fantastic. The biggest compliment came from Brazilians themselves who are of course the most important critics due to the fact that Acaico is their national food. When 10 out of 10 Brasilians said that our Acaico tastes better than back home, we were thrilled.

Days passed by and Acaico gained popularity. Many people already knew about it, others were just discovering it. But the main objective of our participation at the fair was to find a world distributor for Acaico. 

Dear Acai-maniacs, we did it! Our „Slovak“ Acaico discovers the world! The most interested were the Russians, the Germans, the Dutch and the Japanese, who are experiencing a real Acaico boom. We received our first order from a restaurant in Germany whose owners said: „Wow, this is amazing. We have to have this in our restaurant.“ Dear Slovaks, congratulations for your delicious Acaico!

During the first 2 days, we used more than 2,500 teaspoons and 4,000 cups. Our treasure keeper Peťa is on hundreds of photos in cameras from all over the world. We passed out more than 10,000 portions altogether.

5 days of the Anuga fair were not easy but great. The group of people that met at the fair was amazing. For a week, we were like a small family (this way we would like to say hello to Roland and Frank, the Polish guys, and guys from Coconut Water and the Ficken people ).  

Now we have a lot of work ahead of us invading Europe and the world with our Acaico. We are beginning a long journey but we believe that with the passion in our hearts and our Acaico fuel, we can get far. 

Keep your fingers crossed!

Your Acaimania