Brooklyn Buzz Blog

Today, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce launched its Innovation Committee, chaired by Katepalli Sreenivasan of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, David Ehrenberg of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Toby Moskovits of Heritage Equity Partners and Matthew Burnett of Maker’s Row. 

Also present were Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Andrew Hoan and Board Chair Denise Arbesu. 

Thomas Sorrentino, a lifelong Brooklynite, is a partner at the accounting firm PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP. He is also one of the nine Commissioners of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, appointed to a term that runs through January 2022. Sorrentino has been a member of the Brooklyn Chamber since 1995, and a board member since 2012.

“I have tried to follow the mantra of doing my best to treat everyone with respect, integrity and sincerity, and living by my word,” Sorrentino said. “I believe that people come to truly know you through your actions and deeds in how you deal with them, and how consistent you are over time.”

Sorrentino joined the Chamber as a young certified public accountant to try to expand his client base. He and his firm have been Chamber members for over 20 years.

He volunteers his time with a number of charitable, civic, community and business organizations. He is on the Board of the St. Bernard Academy, the Catholic Foundation of the Brooklyn Diocese, and is a Past Grand Knight and Trustee of a local Knights of Columbus Council. He is also a member of the Investors Bank New York Advisory Group.

He was chosen to be an honoree of the 2017 Italian-American Heritage Event, sponsored by the Brooklyn Borough President’s office, and had also been selected as one of Grand Marshals of the 2016 Brooklyn Columbus Day Parade, sponsored by the Federation of Italian American Associations, or FIAO.

He has a bachelor’s degree from New York University, and is a certified public accountant in New York and New Jersey.

Sorrentino’s ideal day in the borough is seeing a Brooklyn Cyclones game and then going out to eat.

By Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services

The holiday shopping season is upon us and small business owners know all too well how ‘Black Friday’ got its name. Often operating with slim profit margins, it is the end-of-year holiday shopping rush that finally pushes many businesses into the black. It is common that 20% - 30% of annual sales occur during the last month of the year alone. The NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) is offering a few simple tips along with our services to help your business make the most of this holiday season:

SPREAD THE HOLIDAY CHEER ONLINE

Connect with your customers online by offering exciting seasonal promotions on your website or by launching a holiday-inspired social media campaign.

KNOW THE RULES

Help your business avoid costly fines by staying in the know. The holiday season can present unique regulatory challenges for New York City small business owners. SBS offers free compliance consultations that can help.

HIRE EXTRA HELP

Create new positions and hire additional staff to help your business perform well during the holiday rush.

GET YOUR BOOKS IN ORDER

Stay on top of your holiday sales by keeping your business finances well organized this season.

CONNECT WITH YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Participate in the holiday-inspired programming happening on your block and in your neighborhood. From tree lighting events to local gift guides, get involved and help organize local campaigns to increase foot traffic in your area.

SBS is here to help your business succeed this holiday season and year-round. We operate a network of seven NYC Business Solutions Centers located in all five boroughs that offer free, hands-on support to help small businesses hone the skills needed to start, manage, or grow in a changing economy. The services provided include free business courses in multiple languages, access to financing assistance and incentives, recruitment services, and pro-bono legal advice. We will also help you cut through red tape by offering free, on-site compliance consultations that help small businesses comply with regulations and avoid costly fines.

While you’re preparing your business for this busy season, we’re continuing to promote the diverse, independent, small businesses that enrich neighborhoods across New York City. Through ‘NYC Love Your Local,’ SBS encourages New Yorkers to add their favorite small businesses to an interactive map for other New Yorkers to discover. Check out the businesses on this map and be sure to share your favorites at nyc.gov/loveyourlocal. You can also promote your favorite neighborhood businesses and discover those shared by others by using #LoveYourLocalNYC on social media.  

IceStone was founded in 2003 with the concept of transforming waste glass into something beautiful. Three core ingredients make up IceStone: pre-consumer recycled glass, Portland cement, and non-toxic pigment. To date, IceStone has diverted 16 million pounds of glass from landfills. Available in 16 colors, IceStone is used mostly for kitchen and bathroom countertops, bathroom vanities, reception areas and tabletops.  

Located in the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard, IceStone not only practices sustainability with its product, but also in its manufacturing process and in its factory. A skylight overlooks the factory, allowing employees to take advantage of natural light. Electric/hybrid forklifts are used, and since a lot of water is needed during the production process, IceStone uses a recycling water system.

In 2012, IceStone was hit terribly by Hurricane Sandy. Five feet of water flooded the factory, and business had to shut down for over six months so workers could dismantle and then reassemble machine parts. Many thought that IceStone was completely over, but its employees were able to fix the machines, and eventually business was able to continue.

IceStone is NSF and Cradle to Cradle Silver certified and is also a founding B Corporation member that operates under a triple bottom line: People, Planet, and Profit. IceStone takes great pride in the fact that it operates and manufactures its product in the United States, and more specifically, in Brooklyn. 

On Friday, September 15, 2017 business-owning family members from around the NYC area will gather for a full day with eight rich, practical sessions led by eight outstanding faculty members to learn and share in a private setting with plenty of time for Q&A and networking. 

Mitzi Perdue will open the day talking about how to keep the business in the family and the keys to making families highly functional.

NYCFEC Family Business Day is designed to be a high impact, cost and time efficient day for very busy NYC area family business owners and their family members. All programs are designed to provide a wonderful, neutral, and safe learning environment and experience to empower everyone to better understand their roles, plan and work together, as well as build healthy relationships. The 2017 NYCFEC Family Business Day include a full range of very important sessions for business-owning families:

How to Make Your Family Business Last

Ownership Models for Family-Owned Businesses: Who’s Really in Control

Advanced Ownership Options

Working and Communicating with Family Members

Constructing a Family Constitution

Family Business Boards

Effective Board Committees and Independent Directors

Understanding Family Business Trusts and Trusteeship

Spouses, family board members, family management and family trustees are welcome to attend Family Business Day. Take at least one day out your year to join us to empower yourself and join our NYCFEC’s community!

The day includes breakfast, lunch, and a reception, plus any attendee will get free NYCFEC Initial Annual Membership. Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce members receive a discount with the code BCC050. If you are a small family business owner with revenues of less than $10 million, please contact us at [email protected] with your information to see if you are eligible to attend at a low cost scholarship. Limited availability. 

Brooklyn is home to thousands of wonderful family-owned business. Some are first generation businesses who were founded by entrepreneurial individuals, couples or a group of relatives, while others have adapted, grown and successfully transitioned across many generations. Business-owning families want to do the best job that they can for their families, businesses, customers, employees, and the communities they work and live in, but they all face a variety of challenges.

The NYC Family Enterprise Center (NYCFEC) is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to helping educate and inspire New York City family enterprises and their families to build long-term, sustainable enterprises and healthy family relationships. Educational sessions are led by experienced faculty members, who consist of experts, practitioners and leading members of family businesses. All NYCFEC programs are designed to be convenient and inclusive, while providing a confidential and respectful learning environment for all attendees. No advisors, commercial influence, consultants, or solicitation are permitted.

Additional Fall programs include: Raising Family Business Children,

Building a Rising Generation Family Team, Preventing and Managing Conflict in Family Enterprises: The Basics,

Recruiting Family Business Leaders, and Exit Planning.

If you are interested in learning more about NYCFEC programs for the Fall or joining as a member, please visit

www.nycfec.com

or email NYCFEC at

[email protected]

Did you know that a Virtual Assistant can reduce work hours by knowing what areas to tackle to benefit your work life or business? A Virtual Assistant is an outsourced solution for administrative support for any business owner or individual with project and daily tasks done remotely. How can a Virtual Assistant benefit your work life?

BUSINESS ORGANIZATION

Without organization, how can businesses function? Virtual Assistants can help businesses be organized through methods such as:

Time management: Virtual Assistants will be the first ones to get the job done.

Bookkeeping: Virtual Bookkeepers can organize businesses by managing cash flow, inventory, accounts payable and receivable, sales, and purchases. They can also payroll accounting books by tracking business owners’ receipts and purchases, making sure all transactions are recorded in the right categories by entering and downloading current transactions online to accounting software and bank records. This will help pay employees’ and vendors’ taxes and more.

Administrative Support: Virtual Assistants can act as remote administrative assistants. They can complete the same tasks as administrative assistants, including data entry, document and spreadsheet creation, mailing services and research.

Concierge Services: Virtual Assistants can make last-minute arrangements, such as ordering flowers, making reservations, or running errands.

Travel Arrangements: Most business owners do not have the time to search the internet for the best travel deals on hotels and flights. Some Virtual Assistants specialize in travel arrangements. They can have currency converted. They can build complete itineraries, and check in and out of hotel reservations and flight reservations, and handle baggage. If a business owner’s passport is expired, virtual assistants can schedule appointments at passport stations, and email required documents ahead of time.

COST

One of the reasons why small business owners hire Virtual Assistants is because of the cost. According to Vanet Working, “Virtual Assistants’ hourly rate is more than the employee’s rate in the first place, you save the cost of benefits and overhead that would have to be applied to the new employee’s wage. And, because Virtual Assistants are usually more experienced, more efficient, and better connected than employees, you’ll need to devote far less time to the project to get the same results, only 480 hours a year versus 2,080 for the new employee (1).” You only need to pay virtual assistants by the task at hand, rather than having a full-time staffer. Virtual Assistants work around business owners’ schedules, so overtime is not required.

 SUBCONTRACTING/OUTSOURCING

When clients request a service from a Virtual Assistant that is out of the assistant’s scope, or have a high volume of tasks in general, the assistant subcontracts the work out. There are many tasks that can be outsourced, such as bookkeeping, document creation (word processing, spreadsheets, travel arrangements and PowerPoint presentations), research, and web design management.

TECHNOLOGY

Brooklyn Chamber Executive Board Member Thomas Sorrentino has been appointed as a Commissioner at the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. Sorrentino has been a Chamber board member since 2012, and on the Executive Committee since 2014. Sorrentino is also a member of the Auditing and Finance Committee of the Brooklyn Chamber Board. He is a partner at PKF O’Connor Davies, which has been a Brooklyn Chamber member since 1995.

Sorrentino had a big role in organizing a well-attended Brooklyn Chamber networking event in May that included businesses from the Mill Basin and Bergen Beach areas. He is a well-regarded leader in the neighborhood and is active in volunteering his time to a variety of charitable and civic activities and organizations.

“I am honored, humbled and delighted to be able to serve our great City – as a member of the NYC TLC –and look forward to working diligently and closely with my fellow Commissioners, the TLC staff and constituency groups - to address the various matters that become before the TLC and impact so many people including the individuals and groups who provide an invaluable service to the residents of and visitors to NYC  and to help ensure that  riding public has the most efficient, safest , and accessible means of transportation available on a day to day basis throughout all of the City’s five boroughs. I want to thank the Mayor and the members of the City Council for the confidence they have placed in me and for the opportunity to serve in this role,” Sorrentino said. 

Highbrid Media has played an integral role connecting the New York Cosmos to the Brooklyn community, thanks in part to a Brooklyn Chamber assist.

Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Andrew Hoan introduced Highbrid Media’s Juan C. Perez, a Chamber board member, to the Cosmos. Highbrid has been a member of the Chamber for nearly 10 years.

“Having the Chamber as an advocate is great,” Perez said. “It was extra comforting for the Cosmos to have the Chamber foster the business relationship.” 

Highbrid Media has provided a variety of services to the New York Cosmos, including the deployment of Team Grassroots—a group of people who fan out to community businesses to spread the word—and the identification of a new base of soccer fans in Brooklyn.

Using tablet devices, Team Grassroots was able to capture data for the Cosmos’ sales team. It visited local soccer organizations, bodegas, barber shops and beauty salons, among other businesses. It also marketed the Cosmos at street fairs, festivals and other soccer games.

According to Fitch, the Cosmos were looking for a multicultural, borough-focused agency. Highbrid Media has been particularly helpful in making inroads to the Hispanic community in Brooklyn. Perez said Highbrid Media has had the greatest success with the borough’s Mexican and Salvadorian communities.

“A lot of the soccer fans within the borough are Spanish-speaking first,” Perez said.

Highbrid was able to connect the Cosmos with businesses across the borough more directly, including Chamber members Aviator Sports and Emblem Health. The company has also worked with St. Joseph’s College, St. Francis College, and the Chamber’s tourism department Explore Brooklyn.

By Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services

NYC small business owners, do you want to live in a city where the local economy mirrors the vast diversity of New Yorkers? So do we, but we need your input to make this a reality. Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing to level the playing field for minority and women-owned businesses (M/WBEs) to build a more inclusive local economy that reflects the vibrant fabric of our city. Under the mayor’s leadership, the City of New York made a bold commitment to award $16 billion in City contracts to minority and women-owned businesses by 2025. Over the last two years alone, the percentage of contract dollars awarded to these businesses has nearly doubled and we are on track to hit 30% of all contract dollars by 2021. While the progress is real, there’s always room for growth. That’s why we’re calling in the experts: the small business owners with real-life experience doing business, or seeking to do business, with the City. You have the power to make our contractors look like NYC without even leaving your storefront.

The NYC Department of Small Business Services is asking small business owners to complete an online form as part of a study we commissioned to examine how the City can better utilize M/WBEs as contractors and subcontractors. We want to know where there is a disparity between the percentage of M/WBEs that exist in different industries and the percentage of M/WBEs in these industries that are receiving City contracts. We can’t close the gaps unless we know the gaps.

The disparity study will examine:

The procurement of Construction, Professional Services (including Architecture and Engineering), Standard Services, and Goods for the City;

The subcontracting practices of prime contractors/vendors who do business with the City;

The anecdotal evidence collected from a broad cross section of minority-, women-, and non-minority-owned firms; and

Minority and women-owned business participation in the private sector.

The study is being conducted through a series of community meetings, interviews, and surveys. To achieve an accurate picture, we are asking that those directly affected, including M/WBE and non-M/WBE City contractors, complete a quick online form about their contracting experiences. More information is available at cityofnydisparitystudy.com

Our online form is readily accessible in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Haitian Creole. If you are a business owner who has done business or attempted to do business with the City, I strongly encourage you to make your voice heard. Take advantage of this opportunity to inform real change by completing the online form. By doing so, you will help change City policy for the better.

Renovations have spiked in the borough—in 2016, residential renovations in Brooklyn grew 25 percent, with Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bay Ridge rising the most from the previous year, according to data from renovation matchmaker Sweeten. The top five neighborhoods with the most overall renovation action?  Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights and Kensington.

“Home renovations in NYC are at an all-time high at $6 billion, and there’s no sign of things slowing down,” said Jean Brownhill, founder and CEO of Sweeten.

The concept of creating a free service for homeowners to match them with excellent general contractors was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, when Brownhill, a trained architect, tried to gut renovate her own 19th-century wood-frame house. “It was really hard to find a general contractor—and I’m in the industry!” she said. “I used all of the resources available online—reviews, websites—and still ended up hiring the wrong people. And I couldn’t help but think how hard it would be for someone outside the industry—like my mom—to renovate.”  

She’d discovered her calling, combining trust, transparency and technology to fix an industry many considered “broken.” With Sweeten’s founding in 2011, the company began by narrowing over 15,000 general contractors down to hundreds who had the work quality and customer service standards that met the “Sweeten standard.”

Today, Brooklyn represents a large percentage of Sweeten projects, and the company helps from the very start from budget guides to the all-important contractor match until the project is done. Many clients become repeat customers after completing their residential spaces. “We’ve been expanding our commercial projects because many homeowners who’ve used Sweeten are also small business owners,” Brownhill said. “We started taking on their office spaces, shops and restaurants.”

For Brownhill, it’s all about renovation without intimidation--and individual style. “Our roots are here, and we love sharing Brooklyn renovation stories on our blog,” she said. “We want homeowners and business owners to enjoy the process as much as the result, and it’s our privilege to help create a space just for them.”

Top Renovating Brooklyn Neighborhoods in 2016 Based on Sweeten renovation data

Ana Oliveira, a senior vice president and regional manager at Investors Bank, was honored with a City & State Corporate Responsibility Award this morning at Baruch College. 

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s latest program, the Brooklyn Metal Partnership, recently started the first cohort for metal works training. Ten men and women are training in the fundamentals of welding and shop drawings for 12 weeks, free of charge.

The course seeks to prepare participants for careers in the metal working and welding industries and to seek New York City certifications in those fields. Although certification is not necessary to become a metal worker or welder, it gives people an added credential in a difficult job market.

“This is an opportunity that didn’t exist before,” said Athena Hernandez, who leads the partnership and is the Director of Good Help Services, the Chamber’s recruitment program. “This type of training, that normally costs thousands of dollars, is now available at no cost for a population who wants to learn and train, but wouldn’t necessarily be able to afford it.”

The course consists of several metal working projects, including crafting a cell phone dock and decorative cubes with an open design. Participants will be using AutoCAD, a tech drawing program, to plan out their projects.

The curriculum and skills are taught by local Brooklyn metal shops Argosy Designs, WaxRax, Metal Shop Fantasy Camp, Bott Welding & Consulting, and Lee Spring, all of which are dedicated to training the next generation of metal workers.

Hernandez is looking forward to seeing the progress students will make with their newly learned skills, as well as the joy and confidence they feel from their accomplishments.

“The enthusiasm is definitely contagious. The program is creating sparks well beyond the arc of welding,” she said.

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce brought its largest-ever delegation to Albany from March 13 to the morning of March 15, 2017, with over 90 businesses represented. The annual trip gives members a chance to meet with a wide range of Brooklyn elected officials and voice both their concerns and the issues brought up in the Chamber’s 2017 State Legislative Agenda. The delegation reached Albany at about 11 a.m. on March 13. After checking into the Renaissance Albany Hotel, they headed to the hotel’s DeWitt Ballroom for a Lunch Reception.

The keynote speaker for the lunch was State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher. Zimpher discussed a variety of issues that currently face higher education in New York State.

She placed special emphasis on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s recent proposal to make SUNY tuition-free for families, which she supports.

After the lunch, the delegation attended legislative meetings with several statewide elected officials. 

This year’s statewide meetings were with a representative from the Office of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs Jihoon Kim.

A smaller group also met with State Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan. The group later met with Assembly Member Joe Lentol. During the meeting, they were surprised by a visits from members of the Brooklyn delegation. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie sent a representative, Executive Counsel to the Speaker Howard Vargas, to the meeting as well. 

After taking the annual group photo, the delegation headed to the famous Blue Room, in which the Governor has his press conferences, to receive a briefing from gubernatorial staff. They heard from three representatives: the deputy secretary for health and human services, the senior policy advisor for transportation, and the deputy secretary for economic development and housing. 

After the briefing, the delegation headed to Brooklyn Night, Albany’s most popular annual party, which was hosted in the Hart Lounge at the Egg. A variety of elected officials attended and spoke throughout the night. Brooklyn Night in Albany, which showcased the great food and culture of Brooklyn and highlighted the incredible economic development and job creation of its local food manufacturers, also featured a fun, first-of-its-kind event:  The inaugural “Five Borough Egg Cream Challenge.” 

The Brooklyn Delegations to the NYS Assembly and NYS Senate challenged their fellow delegations in Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and The Bronx to an egg-cream-making contest. Egg creams are Brooklyn’s most beloved classic beverage, and they were made with Brooklyn-Made Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup!   

Each delegation selected a two-person team (one Assembly Member and one Senator) to take on Brooklyn. Each team was provided with all the ingredients needed to construct the perfect egg cream, and the results were judged in a blind taste test by the sergeant-at-arms of the state assembly. The winner was a tie between Brooklyn and Queens.

The winning team received the first-ever “Egg Cream Cup” trophy (a vintage seltzer bottle) and will be allowed to display it proudly for the next year. The Brooklyn Night after party took place back at the Renaissance Albany Hotel, in The Shelf, another event space.

That night, Albany was hit with Winter Storm Stella, which dumped 20 inches of snow on the capital. The speaker for the next morning’s breakfast had to cancel, and the legislature did not have to go into work, meaning that the scheduled meetings with individual assembly members and state senators were cancelled as well. 

The Chamber recovered by getting Howard Zemsky to speak to the delegation at breakfast, which was again held at the Renaissance Albany Hotel. Zemsky serves jointly as president and CEO of Empire State Development and commissioner of the New York State Department of Economic Development. Zemsky delivered his remarks extemporaneously, speaking largely about the unique needs of Brooklyn and New York City compared to the rest of New York State. He noted that New York City produces most of the state’s revenue. Although the delegation’s formal meetings were cancelled, they were able to meet with a few legislators who were also staying at the hotel.

Coming to you from the city formerly known as Gyeongseong.

Our day started with a meeting with the Seoul Municipal Government.  Seoul’s City Hall is absolutely amazing, a modern, glassy building. We were given three presentations there.

The first one was about a massive regeneration project that’s roughly equivalent to the High Line in New York City.  It will be completed later this year after two years of work.  It is 938 meters long and is located near Seoul station.

The second presentation was about incentives that the local government offers to foreign companies operating in Seoul. Google's first office in Asia was in Seoul.  

The final presentation was about the Urban Biennale that Seoul is planning to host for the first time.  The Biennale will have an exhibition about the production economy, and the hosts reached out to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for material.  They have had initial talks with the Navy Yard’s staff.  We offered to provide them with exhibition materials about our industrial and manufacturing efforts.

We then had a traditional Korean lunch in the rural area north of Seoul.  We sat on the ground to eat our meal.  We continued on to the Sansawon Distillery and Museum, and tasted all kinds of distilled alcohol.  It was highly informative.  

Greetings from the birthplace of K-pop.

Our first meeting was with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We met with Chul Min Yoon, Director, International Cooperation Team, and David Chung, Manager, International Cooperation Team. The Korea Chamber owns its own building, and it was astonishing how modern the building is.  The Brooklyn Chamber’s programs and services are very similar to the Korea Chamber’s, and they offered to connect our companies with their relevant members.  Korean businesses are required by law to join the Korea Chamber, which is why the Chamber has the funds to develop its own skyscraper.  However, businesses are not penalized if they do not join, so the national system relies on good faith. 

We then met with the Korea International Trade Association, or KITA. We met with KITA’s Americas Department, which is led by Austin Chang. KITA’s office is located in Seoul's World Trade Center complex, which it developed.  KITA’s conference room view is spectacular (just like ours!).  They articulated that the industries present in the room are critical trade items.  They then took us on a tour of COEX conference center, the Korean equivalent of the Javits Center.  The G-20 Summit of 2010 took place there, and we stood on the same stage that Barrack Obama did during the Summit. 

We sneaked a little time to Gangnam Style!

The group then had lunch at Devil's Door Brewery, which is housed in a former bus depot.  Ethan Cox from Community Beer Works got to meet one of the brewers, and was able to give the brewer a can of his beer.  The group then took tours of various supermarkets, shopping malls, and street vendors.  Korean supermarkets are amazing! They’re full of free samples and you can find anything you want. 

Greetings from the 2010 World Design Capital!  Today was full of cultural excursions. The delegation headed off to the grandest and largest of Seoul's Five Grand Palaces. Gyeongbokgung Palace was built in 1395 during the Joseon Dynasty. We watched the traditional changing of the guards! The period costume was very nice to see in person.

We then had a wonderful lunch of bibimbap, which is a traditional Korean dish of Korean mixed rice, meat and assorted vegetables. We explored the neighborhood of Insadong, which is a known for their galleries, antiques, and souvenir shops.

The group then walked through Bukchon Hanok Village. It is a preserved traditional Korean village that is still residential in character. The area housed nobility during the Joseon Dynasty. The group took part in dyeing printed cloths using "Jjock" or as we call Indigo dye. We ended our day by visiting a site that defines the Seoul skyline. The N Seoul Tower is a communication and observation tower located on Namsan Mountain. At 774 Ft, it is the highest point in the city.

Today was jam-packed with meetings. We met with the Agricultural Trade Office, or ATO, at 8:30 a.m., where we were given a presentation by Daniel Lew, the KL of Seoul. Then, Sangyong Oh, a marketing specialist at ATO, gave a presentation on Korea food market trends.

The delegation split up for each member’s individual meetings.

Sasha Dung of Common Good met with HMG Korea, which distributes his products in South Korea. After a tour with HMG Korea, he went to the Hyundai Department Store in Samsung-dong and the SSG Food Market in Cheongdam. Then, he returned for a meeting at the HMG Korea office.

Ethan Cox of Community Beer Works first met with Liquid Assets Korea, an import distributor of alcoholic beverages. Then, he met with ATL Korea, a craft beer import distributor, and Joon Trading International, another craft beer import distributor.

Mike Zieba of Zieba Knives began with a tour of the Knife Museum in Seoul. Then, he made three site visits; one to the Singsegae Department Store and Namdemum Market, one to the Lotte Department Store and Homeplus, and one to Kalesma, a knife specialty shop.

Daric Schlesselman of Van Brunt Stillhouse also met with Liquid Assets Korea and Joon Trading International, both import distributors of alcohol. He met with two other alcohol import distributors: Hant Co. LTD and Indulge Korea.

Al Rosu of Famous Famiglia met with several import distributors of processed foods, including Rosco Fine Foods and Globis Alliance. He also met with Lotte Food Inc., one of Korea’s largest manufacturers of processed foods. Later, he met with Samsung Welstory, a leading Korean food service company, and the Choheung Corporation, another processed food company. The latter produces cheese and other pizza ingredients.

At the end of the day, we had dinner at our hotel with four interesting representatives of business in Korea. Homin Kang, vice president of international affairs at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, joined us, as did Ken Yang, the president of Korea Business Services, Inc. We were also joined by Joonghyun Jough, who is head of the International Cooperation Office of the Korea Importers Association, and the Korean chef and food blogger Minjung Lee, author of JD’s Lifestyle.

Varun