Prodeca strengthens the Catalan agri-food sector's presence in the United States with a calendar of commercial activities to the end of the year

Over the coming quarter Prodeca will roll out a strategic promotion programme in the United States to strengthen the presence and competitiveness of Catalan food and drink in this key market. 

September's calendar includes the second Catalan Food Show Miami on 17 September, and the sessions at cookery schools in Houston (Texas) and Albany (New York) of the programme Catalan Food Masterclass Prodeca runs in the United States.

Participation in the Culinary Institute of America's congress, Worlds of Flavors, from 5 to 7 November, and the marketing events Catalan Food Christmas Tasting in Houston (Texas) and New York in December will close a year of intense commercial promotion and marketing activity in the United States, to support the agri-food sector in opening the market and improving the value positioning of Catalan food and wine.

These activities form part of the strategy of supporting the internationalisation of the Catalan agri-food sector and maintaining its presence in a market considered strategic both for its size and for its role as the world's largest agri-food importer and second-largest food consumer. At the same time, Catalonia is working to diversify its agri-food exports and strengthen its presence in other markets with high growth potential, such as Latin America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, while consolidating European markets, which account for the bulk of Catalan agri-food exports.

Catalan Food Show Miami: a benchmark showcase

On 17 September the Catalan Food Show Miami will again turn Paradise Plaza in the Miami Design District into a showcase for Catalan cuisine. The event, organised by Prodeca in collaboration with ACCIÓ, will bring more than twenty food and wine companies together with local importers, distributors, restaurateurs and opinion leaders. The trade event will combine a business exhibition, wine tastings, cooking workshops and live demonstrations with chefs Alba Sunyer (Michigan) and Luis Roger (Texas), plus wine tastings guided by expert Núria Garrote (Michigan), consolidating Catalonia's image as World Region of Gastronomy 2025.

The day is conceived as a platform to help US importers increase the turnover of Catalan products while giving companies the chance to connect with key operators.

Catalan cooking masterclasses in Texas and New York

During September Prodeca will run Catalan Food Masterclass at US university cookery schools, led by chef Alba Sunyer, who has long promoted Catalan cuisine in the United States. The first session was held on 4 September in Austin (Texas) at the Austin Community College District, and the next takes place in Albany (New York) at the state university SUNY Delhi on 23 September.

The Catalan Food Masterclass include masterclasses on the values of Catalan cuisine, in a guided tour of the products available in the US market. They end with an interactive pa amb tomàquet workshop, an iconic, versatile dish that shows American students and culinary professionals Catalonia's legacy, creativity and culinary identity through bread, extra virgin olive oil and combinations with ham and cured meats, cheeses, tinned fish, preserved vegetables and chocolate.

This format makes it possible to connect directly with the future food advocates of the United States and convey the values of creativity, innovation and quality that characterise Catalan cuisine.

Worlds of Flavor and the Christmas campaign

The quarter's third major line of action will be Catalonia's participation in the Worlds of Flavor congress of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA), held from 5 to 7 November in Napa Valley (California) and now established as a key meeting point for the country's restaurateurs, food operators and specialist media.

Catalonia will have a leading role with its official presentation as World Region of Gastronomy, accompanied by a culinary demonstration by renowned chefs highlighting Catalan products and creativity, a cuisine that has reinvented itself while keeping the essence of the recipes and products that made it a world benchmark. The programme will also include a wine masterclass introducing the Catalan designations of origin through pairings with Catalan dishes. The event will also feature a display of products already available in the North American market, especially on the west coast.

For December, in collaboration with the Catalan Government Delegation to the US, Prodeca is preparing two Catalan Food Christmas Tastings focused on Christmas buying in New York and Houston. These activities aim to boost the positioning and market share of products already available in the United States, in a showroom format with activities, in all cases aimed at professionals from distribution, restaurants, shops, catering, hotels and opinion leaders.

A priority market with a growing presence of Catalan products

The United States is a priority market for the Catalan agri-food sector. With 1,175 exporting companies — 432 of them regularly — and a 3.6% share of total exports, it is the seventh destination market worldwide and the third outside the EU, after the United Kingdom and China. Over the past 10 years sales of Catalan products in the US have grown 125% in value.

In the first half of 2025 Catalan agri-food exports to the US reached €299 million, up 7.14% in value on the same period last year.

By category, the fine food sector's growth stands out: sweets, cocoa and its preparations grew 94% on the previous year and ready meals and preserves 51%. The wine sector grew 8.2% overall, with sparkling wines up 13.5%. Olive oil, by contrast, fell -31.2% in value in the first half of 2025, linked to price and demand trends.

These figures show the potential of a market that is both the world's largest agri-food importer and the second-largest global food consumer. With these activities Prodeca reaffirms its commitment to supporting internationalisation and gaining competitiveness for Catalan companies in one of the world's most demanding and competitive settings.