Origin: A Phone Call in June 2012 Sealed an October Cooperation Agreement
In June 2012, Imported Food Network received a phone call from Canada.
The caller was Mr. Wu, China Representative of Interspan Canada. Having learned about Imported Food Network online, he hoped to secure reliable market access for his company’s products in China.
Founded in 1989, Interspan Canada is an international trading company with rich resources of European and American brands, specializing in the export of snacks, daily necessities, beer, mineral water and other consumer goods. However, the brand had long struggled with efficiently introducing its product portfolio into the Chinese market.
During the call, our team introduced the platform’s resource advantages and professional matchmaking model. We shared an upcoming key project: Imported Food Network would launch a dedicated Imported Food Exhibition Zone with 20 booths at the October 2012 Autumn China Food & Drinks Fair (CFDF), providing exclusive exhibition opportunities for platform clients to connect with distributors and agents nationwide.
We extended a sincere invitation to Mr. Wu:
“We will set up a special imported food exhibition zone at the October CFDF in Fuzhou, offering full supporting services for our platform partners. We can reserve a booth for your product display. Would you be interested in participating?”
Mr. Wu expressed strong interest immediately. Unable to travel to China in person due to scheduling conflicts, he chose to send product samples to our team. Imported Food Network was entrusted to showcase his products and conduct investment promotion on behalf of Interspan Canada at the exhibition.
Encounter: The First Off-Site Cooperation in October 2012
The Autumn China Food & Drinks Fair was held in Fuzhou from October 18 to 21, 2012. Interspan Canada’s booth stood out prominently in our dedicated Imported Food Exhibition Zone. Though the brand’s representative was absent, our team was fully familiar with the product features and brand strengths.
We professionally promoted the products to every visiting distributor, providing detailed introductions covering product origins, quality advantages, cooperation models and market potential.
Over the three-and-a-half-day exhibition, Interspan Canada’s products attracted extensive attention and numerous inquiries. Our team recorded all potential client information in detail and forwarded all leads to Mr. Wu in Canada after the exhibition, enabling him to negotiate order specifics directly with Chinese purchasers.
Thanks to the platform’s professional matchmaking and exhibition lead resources, Interspan Canada secured multiple orders successfully, officially opening the door to the Chinese market.
Deepened Cooperation: From Sample Proxy Exhibition to Full-Channel Market Implementation
The fruitful CFDF cooperation laid the foundation for initial trust between Interspan Canada and Imported Food Network. What further consolidated and deepened this partnership was our continuous all-round professional services in the years that followed:
Offline Exhibition Matchmaking: We facilitated the brand’s participation in key industry events including the IF2014 Imported Food (China) Investment & Sourcing Fair, SIAL Shanghai, and Anufood China, enabling sustained face-to-face negotiations with Chinese buyers.
Precision Channel Matching: Leveraging our database of over 10,000 food distributors nationwide, we accurately connected Interspan Canada with regional importers, wholesale distributors and supermarket chains across China.
Localized Product Landing: We successfully introduced a wide range of the brand’s products into the Chinese market, including Dutch and Belgian beer, potato chips, Belgian chocolate, as well as French and American mineral water.
Through our integrated online and offline promotion and channel layout, Interspan Canada gradually gained a firm foothold in the Chinese market.
Trust: A Long-Awaited In-Person Gratitude From SIAL Shanghai to Shantou
Cooperation continued steadily with growing orders and expanding channels in the two years after the 2012 collaboration, yet Mr. Wu and our team had never met in person.
It was not until 2015, at the SIAL Shanghai International Food Exhibition, that we finally met face to face. Mr. Wu traveled all the way from Canada to attend the show and visited our booth at the earliest opportunity.
“I’m so glad to finally meet you!” — his opening words conveyed sincere gratitude accumulated over years of remote cooperation.
In 2018, Mr. Wu made a special trip from Canada to our headquarters in Shantou to pay a personal visit. He expressed heartfelt thanks for our professional services: undertaking exhibition promotion and investment promotion on his behalf during the initial market entry, and delivering consistent precise channel matchmaking support over the years.
He shared a memorable remark that has stayed with our team ever since:
“Though we were not present at our first cooperation, your professionalism made us feel like we have long been working side by side on the same team.”
What touched us even more is that in subsequent years, the founder of Interspan Canada would bring printed catalogs from local Canadian food exhibitions every time he returned to China. He personally handed them to our team, hoping we could screen high-quality products suitable for the Chinese market.
This long-standing trust has driven continuous deepening of bilateral cooperation.
Epilogue: 15 Years of Partnership, From Business Cooperation to Family-Like Bond
In 2023, we renewed our cooperation contract with Interspan Canada, marking the 12th year of partnership. By 2026, this long-term collaboration has spanned 15 years.
Over the 15 years, Interspan Canada has accumulated rich operational experience in the Chinese market through our platform. Meanwhile, we have gained in-depth insights into the demands and pain points of North American food brands entering China. Through repeated product screening, exhibition docking and business negotiations, both sides have built a profound emotional bond beyond contractual cooperation.
Case Insights
Trust is never built on a single contract, but accumulated through consistent delivery of commitments.
From a casual phone call in June 2012 and an off-site sample exhibition at the Fuzhou CFDF in October, to the first offline meeting at SIAL Shanghai in 2015, the sincere in-person visit in Shantou in 2018, and the enduring 15-year partnership until 2026 — the story of Imported Food Network and Interspan Canada is the most vivid interpretation of genuine recognition.
For 15 years, our consistent precise matchmaking and successful project implementations have earned us long-term trust from international partners.
True recognition is the greatest support we can ever receive.
Core Tags
Tags: 15-Year Cross-Border Partnership, Long-Term Cross-Border Trust, Exhibition Proxy Promotion, Precision Channel Matching, Platform Empowerment, Sino-Canadian Trade
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