Vegetables and Beer

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Update from Belgium,

After dodging cars on the busy streets outside of our hotel in Gent, we
finally made it to the bus and headed for our first visit.  Our visit
to REO Vegetable Exchange was quite an interesting visit. We are used
to the customs of the Chicago Board of Trade and that method of doing
business. However, today’s visit was a cooperative amongst vegetable
producers, where farmers try to pool their resources and make
themselves more marketable by selling as a whole rather than as
individuals.  We wandered through the vegetable and fruit storage
facility while smelling the sweet aroma of fresh strawberries, endive
and the 63 other products marketed at REO. The producers must become a
member and then have the right to deliver their products through REO.
The produce is brought in, checked for quality, and shipped out all in
the same complex, which includes a buying floor.  After the visit was
over we made our way back to Leuven.

We are all feeling wonderful after visiting the world’s largest brewing
company by volume, InBev. InBev first begun in 1366 but went public in
2000.  The company is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.  Some of the
many beer brands of InBev include Leffe, Stella, Becks, and Bass.  At
InBev, we had a fantastic presentation about marketing to the
international community. We then smelled the many sweet aromas of the
brewing process of Stella Artois on the brewing tour. We then followed
our senses to the cold samples of Stella Artois. We headed to the gift
shop and then headed back on to the bus for the long ride back to
Gent. 

Deanna, Nathan, Jeffery  

Posted by IBIP Administrator