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Thank you for visiting our site. Visit often, and check this page to see what we are
up to. I will try to post all of the new stuff in chronological order so you
frequent visitors can keep up on this ever growing site.
Chronological Updates:
May 2002. TJPMD Deployed to
Afghanistan. TJPMD has received a contract to assist the Central
Asian Development Group in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan working on the
cotton sector in opium eradication activities.
TJP featured in June 2001 Business
Week - Asian Edition. A chance encounter with an American
Journalist stationed in Vladivostok, Russian Far East resulted in a cool story
about TJP business in the Hermit Kingdom. The article described our
company as a firm that specializes in advising companies on entry into tough
markets." Also quoted my good friend Michael Sun who sells everything
from "Screaming Bat" electric fans from China to Harley Davidson
motorcycles from the USA to the elite of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea, also known as North Korea. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_23/b3735130.htm
TJP is curently researching the profesional wrestling traditions of North Korea,
and will post at a later date!
Romania Up close! I added a page for my
friend "John Smith", my old friend in Bucharest. Yes, this is the same guy featured
in the New York Times several years ago who painted Camels on all of the yellow
lights in Bucharest to promote the popular brand of cigs. Also, stenciled Romanian army
tanks. Now John runs his own distribution business called "Lucky
Shamrock" which according to John is involved in the distribution of
fodstuffs throughout Romania and "other" activities!
Sorry John does not really look like Uncle Fester of the Adams Family, but we
were in a hurry when we took the web cam shot during a recent visit!
California Raisins. 20 years of raisin information
on line. I gotta make a living some how!
Nutraceuticals.
A guide to phytochemicals in foods.
Doing Business in North Korea,
a practical guide to doing new business in the Worker's Paradise.
Coming Soon! Back by popular request! Tom's guide to the
worst Indian Restaurants in the world! Putrid Papadom in Iceland, Disgusting Dosas in
Detroit, Curdled curry in Cuba!
Company News!
- Viva
Honduras! TJP is now working in the wonderful Central
American country of Honduras. As marketing advisor for the Honduran
Dairy Project, administered by Land O' Lakes International, and the US Agency
for International Development (USAID), Tom is working in the coastal town
of La Cieba and in San Pedro Sula. We are helping the project bring
new life to the country's dairy industry through marketing
activities! Watch for an update on this activity! http://www.catracho.net
- TP's
Views on North Korea featured in US Military Newspaper. Read
what the US Military newspaper "Stars and Stripes" has to say
about Tom Payne's pioneering work in the Worker's Paradise in an article
titled: A Rare Look at a Secretive Nation.
(Adobe pdf.) Note the contrast between the folks who are considering
"studying the market," and they guy who has already done
it!!! Sorry Great Leader Junior, no disrespect intended -- have a
happy birthday and enjoy the upcoming Wrestlemania 2000! 1/28/2000
- TP
featured on BBC World Service. Listeners around the world heard an
interview by Tom Payne on traditions associated with walnuts. Tom
shared the waves with experts in China, Azerbaijan and Iran. The
broadcast can be accessed at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/outlook/
1/27/00
- Olive
Oil Presentation - Tom Payne gave a speech to the International Olive
Oil Council at the annual meeting in San Francisco. The speech covered the
current situation on Trans Fatty Acids in foods, and how this will effect
the use of olive oils in food products -- The future looks bright for
olive oils!
- Mediterranean
Conference: TJP worked with top chefs of the Mediterranean to develop
a series of recipes which were presented to a conference on Mediterranean
cuisine at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa
Valley. They were a hit! 1/19/00
- Mexican
Uses of California Raisins. TJP developed a series of recipe
brochures using golden raisins in traditional Mexican
recipes.
- Successful
Seminars in
China! TJP orchestrated technical seminars in three cities in China for
client: Almond Board of California. A skilled baker from Taiwan dazzled crowds of up
to 100 bakers at events in Wuxi, Suzhou and Xiamen. Private bakers are an important
business link to China and are some of the leading entrepreneurs in the country!
- New office
construction complete! TJP has developed a new office building in San
Mateo, California on the edge of the Silicon Valley. The two-story 1930s are deco
beauty has been systematically restored and equipped with a conference room, library and
sun deck! Check out the photo tour of our new digs. Directions:
 Baseball
and Blueberries! The Japanese are baseball crazy, are concerned about good
eyesight and love blueberries. TJP combined the mix and presented a unique promotion
for the North American Blueberry Council. We ran baseball advertisements in two of
Japan's premiere baseball publications Weekly Giants (Yomuri) and Baseball Weekly.
The unique ad, titled "Batting Eyes" touted the eye strengthening virtues of
dried blueberries, which are scientifically documented! We offered free samples to
baseball teams who would sign up and document their batting averages over the year.
The result have been overwhelming and now we are rolling out the concept to Archery,
computers and golf. According to TJP, Japan is too big and expensive a market to
address through the consumer channels! Take a niche market route to succeed!
Oh yes, blueberry sales to Japan have increased from 300 Mt to more than 10,000 metric
tonnes in just three years! Batter up!
 Kanji Web
site! TJP has published on of the first bilingual Japanese/English Web
sites. Http://www.blueberry.org/jpn
You may need to go to Microsoft Internet Explorer Update to load Japanese Fonts. It
is worth it! While you are in the web mood, check out the latest Japanese Baseball
Standings. http://www2.inter.co.jp/Baseball/1999/99std_c.html
If you like Japanese baseball, you will love the ultimate Mondo Godzilla
site: http://www.inteleco.com/mondogodz/index.html
- TJP Active in
Mexico...again! TJP resumed marketing activities in Mexico, this time in
the poultry and baking industries. We just finished a series of seminars on Canadian
flaxseed in the Jalisco Highlands, Morelia, Mexico City and other cities. We believe
that Mexico has "bottomed out," and the industries are on the move again.
We are especially bullish in Mexican bakeries who are advancing with product development
and health ingredients!
- TJP in ten cities in
China! We now are active in ten cities including Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou, Suchou, Wuxi, Tianjin, Chendu, Harbin and Xiamen. We just completed a
series of seminars for the Almond board of California utilizing a Taiwanese baker.
 Video
Teleconferencing. Its hard enough to get a phone line out of China, but a
video teleconference. TJP orchestrated a live video teleconference from Modesto,
California to Guangzhou China. On the Chinese side, we featured a guest expert from
Wuxi University who showed off ten new snack food flavors. On the California side,
the audience spike live to big experts in almonds. Last year, TJP pioneered this
concept and linked Modesto to Budapest Hungary for a trade seminar.- I have Returned! A
near plane crash did not deter Tom Payne from returning to Mindanao for a seminar on
California raisins. After having to cancel a seminar last February, Tom returned on
his own to complete his mission to Cagayan de Oro Philippines. After the seminar, he
traveled overland to Davao City, and according to Tom passed in and out of rebel
controlled territory at six checkpoints! they figured that any one with light skin
in this area must be dangerous!
- 11 hours south of
Kunming? Ever wonder where "the middle of nowhere was?"
Head via dirt road, 11 hours south of Kunming, Yun Nan province, spend the night at a
plantation and next morning hoof it another five hours to the largest walnut growing
plantation on earth! TJP brought a team from the University of California, UC
Extension and the California Walnut Commission to the Golden Triangle to see what is
happening in the real Chinese Walnut Industry. According to locals these were the
first Americans to be seen in the area since the WWII and they were amazed! The
journey went very well and the California walnut industry is aware of the real situation!
- TJP Publishes Client
Web Sites. Does he ever sleep! Check out the North American Blueberry Council , and the Walnut Marketing Board web sites. Sorry, no
inflated livestock, but lots of good, and updated information! The Blueberry site
features a Japanese language Kanji section in HTML. This is one of the few dual
language sites on the web, so check it out!
Summer ,1998
- Captured on Elevation 203. Read about Tom's recent misadventure
in North China where visiting a battlefield of the Russian Japanese war, he wandered
somewhere he wasn't supposed to go!
- Southeast Asian Seminar Action.
- See details on Mozambique, a country where the average per capita income
is less than 100 USD!
- Strange
But True page adds giant inflated pig from Taiwan. And, this is not
even one of the strangest things Tom has encountered in his travels!
- Staff photos added to
China Marketing Coop: Staff Bios Page! See Barbara,
Julia and all of the gang in action!
- Indian Snack Foods
Seminar in Chicago. December 2, 1998. TJP will conduct a seminar on
the USA market for visitors from India who are the leading snack food manufacturers in the
country. We will have guest speakers from the US Government, Snack Food Association
and Tom Payne who will speak on the ins and outs and realities of importing products to
the USA. (11/20/98)
- TJP to move to new
offices. TJP will be moving down the street to San Mateo, California. We
have a new building all to ourselves, which we will be renovating in the next few months.
(Tom loves to do remodeling!) The new offices feature an upstairs/downstairs,
a sun deck and chile pepper warehouse with roll up door! What more could we ask for
(11/10/98)
- Back to Hungary.
TJP's Edith Nagy in Budapest will assist the Almond Board of California
with the upcoming Foodpest trade show. (11/1/98)
- China Action. TJP
has been awarded a contract to work with small bakeries throughout China on behalf of the
Almond Board of California. (11/1/98)
- TJP Back in Raisin
Action. TJP was assigned as food technology marketing consultant to the
newly-created California Raisin Marketing Board. (11/1/98)
- TJP Speaks at
International Sultana Conference. TJP gave a presentation on product
development at the meeting of Sultana producing countries, held in San Francisco.
10/16/98) View his presentation.
- TJP to speaks in
Mexico City. Tom Payne will visited Mexico City on October1 to lecture on
egg products to the National Chamber of Commerce of Bakers, Canaimpas. Had the opportunity
to work again with our good friend Evelyn Villavicencio and others in Mexico City!
- TJP visits Japan.
Tom will be in Osaka Japan September 15-19 to work on the market for blueberries.
Already our efforts in Japan are going great and significant export advances have
been made!
- National Baking Center
Seminar. TJP presented California walnuts to instructors at the National
Baking Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA, August 17, 1998.
- India Seminars on
Snack Foods. TJP will work with Insight Management Consultants on a series
of seminars for Indian Food Processors in Madras and Bombay, August 14-20.
- TJP conducts seminars
in Hungary. TJP coordinated a video teleconference/ trade meeting in
Budapest, August 17, 1998. The conference brought together the import trade in
Hungary with the Almond board of California in Modesto, California via state of the art
video teleconferencing. We had to wake up pretty early on this side, but it was a big
success, and something we will explore further in other markets.
- TJP to conducts raisin
seminars in Singapore and Malaysia. TJP
successfully orchestrated confectionery seminars in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur Malaysia in
July on behalf of the California Raisin Growers. We will brought over a master
confectioner to demonstrate how bakers and confectioners could create inexpensive fruit
fillings with California raisin paste as a base. The Raisin Durian filling was a
hit! Tom consumed more than 5 curried fish-heads during the week.
- China Seminars a Big
Hit! TJP conducted a series of four confectionery and baking seminars for
the Almond Board of California in China. We brought a master German Confectioner to:
Beijing, Dalian, Wuxi and Shanghai and we played to full houses. See the Tom's
Travels section soon for details on his big adventure to Elevation 203 in Dalian -- a
place where Russia and Japan squared off in the 1900s war--also where Tom almost got
arrested for espionage and accidentally straying onto a top secret Chinese Naval Base!
(Just another workday for TP!)
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