Nearly 170 food and beverage industry professionals as well as 21 media attended a USDEC trade seminar in Tokyo in December 2013. The three speakers - all influential local experts in their fields - included a sports nutrition professor, registered dietitian/food technologist, and business consultant on global nutrition/food and beverage trends. Staff also conveyed the advantages of sourcing dairy from the United States at the well-received seminar and advocated the advantages of U.S. whey protein for healthy aging within a Japanese context.

Nearly 70 food and beverage industry decision makers attended a USDEC trade seminar on U.S. whey protein health and wellness innovation opportunities on November 15, 2013. Elena Groothuizen, Market Analyst at Innova Market Insights, was the key speaker, sharing data on the rising protein boom and trend in new health and wellness product introductions with whey protein in the United States across key categories such as for weight management, healthy aging and beyond.

With the objective of expanding U.S. cheese usage in the Emirati foodservice sector, USDEC conducted a U.S. Cheese Culinary Conference in Dubai on November 6. The event attracted 59 UAE-based chefs for a full-day of interactive instruction.

To build demand for and expand market presence and penetration of U.S. dairy products in the Middle East/North Africa region, USDEC conducted a first-ever U.S. Dairy Business Conference in Dubai. The interactive forum attracted 101 high-prospect food and beverage industry decision-makers from nine countries in the region and 12 USDEC member companies.