The U.S. Embassy, in partnership with the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, hosted the fourth “Taste of America” lunch and exhibition on April 28 at BIEL’s Pavillon Royal. “Taste of America” is a commercial event designed to showcase the goods and services of U.S. companies in Lebanon.
Over 500 guests, including Minister of Agriculture Akram Chuhayyeb, Minister of Public Health Wael Abou Faour, Minister of Economy and Trade Alain Hakim, Minister of Culture Ronny Arayji, as well as business leaders, attended the event. Twenty-four U.S. companies, including KFC, Hardee’s, Burger King, Butterball, Chili’s, Clucksters, JBS, Domino’s Pizza, Dunkin Donuts, Budweiser, Jack Daniel’s, Patron, Southern Comfort, Pacific Seafood, Jelly Belly, Magnolia Bakery, Frito-Lay, Ocean Spray, Shake Shack, McDonalds, Miller Brewing, Mountain Mudd, P.F. Chang’s, Creekstone Ranch, Pepsi, Tropicana, and Subway, served delicious American food and beverages to the guests. Products from seventeen American companies represented in Lebanon, including Ford, GMC, Cadillac, Corvette, Dodge, Jeep, Harley Davidson, Polaris, Gap, Columbia, Champions, 5-11, Apple, Segway, Mossberg, and Oakley, exhibited their products at the event. Local companies who represent those U.S. products include Itani, Mefosa, Vresso, Mercantile, Teletrade, Mike Sport, Azadea-Gap, Gargour, Rymco, Tewtel Group, Sports Forever, and Impex.
In his remarks, American Ambassador David Hale highlighted the Taste of America as a perfect example to show American companies are eager to do business in Lebanon. He invited the Lebanese and American private sectors to work together to establish more partnerships which will help bring prosperity to Lebanon. Ambassador Hale also praised the Lebanese for being resilient entrepreneurs who have succeeded and shined in places where challenges and risks are much higher than in Lebanon.
In addition to this 2015 event, the U.S. Embassy has organized three “Taste of America” events in recent years. This year’s Taste of America has been organized in partnership with the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, and with the support of Boecker, Pepsi, Ocean Spray, Dekerco, the U.S. Meat Export Federation and U.S. Beef.
