USSEC organized and conducted a public cooking class using soybean ingredients to promote the use and health benefits of U.S. Soy products for gastronomic institutes and the general public. The class took place on June 27 in one of Mexico City’s public parks and more than 200 people participated. An expert chef was hired to develop and prepare soy dishes for the event, including chicken flavored tabouli salad and soybean spaghetti bolognese.

Three soybean oil refineries and four soyfoods and soy beverages partners/producers participated as event sponsors. These companies provided the ingredients used in the cooking class and also provided samples of their products to be included in giveaway bags given to each participant. Brochures and promotional articles produced by USSEC were included in the promotional bags. There was also a soybean product exhibition where participating companies promoted their products and gave samples, information and tasting of soybean beverages to attendees.
Radio spots were run prior to the event during two broadcasts, advertisements were inserted in newspapers, and banners were used on the internet and social media to promote the cooking class, as well as the health benefits of consuming U.S. soybean products. During the event, USSEC Regional Marketing Director – Americas Nayeli Vilanova gave three interviews to media present and spoke about USSEC´s mission and marketing activities and about U.S. soybean products and their health benefits. These interviews were run on radio and in newspapers and magazines. The public cooking class and media promotion about the health benefits of soybean products was a very successful activity as 97 percent of the attendees were convinced to use soybean products as a source of healthy food. The outreach of USSEC´s message spread by the various media used was estimated to reach 6,028,302 people.