The Vice-President of the Government revealed in Ponta Delgada that the sales volume of Azores Brand products registered "an increase of 27 percent last year according to a survey of companies," which also shows that "97% of companies were fully satisfied with the strategy and investment in the Azores Brand."
 
Sérgio Ávila pointed out that this is the result of the efforts undertaken over the last years for the promotion of Azorean products.
 
The Vice-President spoke at the opening of the Azores Fair, which runs until May 27, an event promoted by the Continente retail chain. On the occasion, he stated that this event will "promote more than 500 Azorean products, being a practical demonstration of this reality."
 
In this regard, the government official mentioned that "Azorean consumers and companies have followed a very positive path towards the promotion of Azorean products in recent years. This is not only evident in the diversity and innovation of product, but also in the large sales volume of Azores Brand products, whose growth has largely exceeded our expectations; it stood at 27% last year."
 
"The perception of this large retailer is that the tourists visiting us are looking for Azorean products," said Sérgio Ávila.
 
This means that "we have managed not only to grow in the domestic market due to the growth of domestic consumption, but also to grow in the domestic market due to tourism growth and, particularly, tourists' appetite for Azorean products."
 
The Vice-President stated that the Azores Brand now faces two challenges, namely "the increase of production quantities," stressing that, in this regard, "most companies already need to increase their production quantities to meet the increase in demand." The other challenge concerns "the constant innovation of both products and their presentation."
 
Accordingly, the government official stressed the importance of using "endogenous resources, through greater diversity of products and greater innovation," considering that "companies have strongly invested in innovation, as is the case of this fair."