If you hear the phrase “ride the wave,” on a typical day in Honolulu, Hawaii, you may think of the ocean and a surfboard. But that was far from the intent Matt Tripodi had when he spoke those words at the Identity Preserved International Summit, hosted by the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) Feb. 18-20.

Tripodi, a Senior Global Territory Director at Euromonitor International, presented to nearly 100 Summit attendees about opportunities for U.S. agriculture, specifically U.S. Identity Preserved agricultural products, in a shifting trade environment.

Tripodi encouraged attendees, including U.S. growers, suppliers and exporters of premium crops, as well as buyers, importers and food manufacturers from 13 Asian countries, to continue to use identity preserved to differentiate and elevate their businesses. Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council Directors Ben Storm and Pat Sullivan, CEO Tom Slunecka and former MSR&PC Chair Keith Schrader were among the attendees. MSR&PC also sponsored the event.

Identity Preserved around the globe

Nearly 40 buyers, importers and food manufacturers from China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Nepal, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and the Philippines traveled to the Crossroads of the Pacific for the event.

While many international guests are in the beginning stages of considering identity preserved grains and oilseeds, several are already purchasing these premium crops for their business. Three of those manufacturers, Jin Yoon of Jinhwa Food in Korea, Gaurav Agrawal with Shree Radne Rani International Trading from Nepal and Sok Hung Chang of Ling Yi Ti Tofu in Cambodia, spoke of their experiences using U.S. Identity Preserved field crops in their food manufacturing.

Aside from presentations, attendees created connections and learned more about the global identity preserved industry through networking, exhibitor tables and tours.

Aloha Tofu Factory hosted tours for nearly 40 Summit attendees and included sampling of soy foods. The 75-year-old business is the largest tofu manufacturer in Hawaii, creating a variety of soy foods with identity preserved soybeans sourced from the Midwest. Attendees ended the three-day conference with a tour of Kualoa Ranch, learning about their agricultural practices while enjoying the island scenery.

Quality starts on the farm

A panel of U.S. growers was another fruitful opportunity for questions and answers. The panel included Sullivan, Mike Koehne from Indiana and Michigan farmer Steve Peach.

Each grower briefly presented about his farm, highlighting the people and practices that help sustain an identity preserved crop. And although farms are all different shapes and sizes, they all agreed that farmers demonstrate integrity and passion for growing a high-quality product.

“For me I love knowing where it ends up. I love knowing that my soybeans go into food,” Koehne said. “I feel I always want to make a difference in the world, and I feel like doing this, I’m making a difference.”

Slunecka spoke about targeted plant breeding, highlighting TruSoya, a heart-healthy soybean variety developed at the University of Minnesota with support from the Minnesota soybean checkoff. Other keynote presenters included Nicole Atchison, CEO of Minnesota-based PURIS, and Paul Maass, CEO of Scoular, presenting perspectives on sustainability, quality, breeding and technology in ag and food

Plans are underway for the 2026 Summit, with the location and date to be announced.