NEW YORK STATE--New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball highlighted milestones the Taste NY program reached during its 10th anniversary year, 2023, as the state celebrated with a series of events and special promotions. Taste NY Welcome Centers and several other Market locations welcomed over 2.3 million visitors through their doors and reported net sales of over $5 million in 2023. Since its launch in 2013, the Taste NY program has grown significantly, bringing over $100 million in economic impact to New York state agricultural producers across the state during its ten years.
Commissioner Ball stated, “We traveled far and wide across the Empire State in 2023 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Taste NY program and it was certainly a memorable year. Taste NY’s goal is to promote our state’s farmers and food and beverage producers. It’s wonderful to see that come to fruition through over $5 million in sales at our Welcome Centers and Markets last year – and counting – in addition to over two million visitors who were introduced to the best of New York state by shopping local at Taste NY. I thank all the market staff members, partners, and of course, our producers, who have participated in the program and helped us to celebrate Taste Turns 10. We look forward to another decade of supporting New York’s small agricultural businesses through Taste NY.”
In 2023, the state’s 11 Welcome Centers and Taste NY Market locations welcomed over 2.3 million visitors through their doors, showcasing the reach the program gives to its small business participants. These Taste NY locations additionally reported net sales of New York state products totaling over $5.1 million dollars for the year; that number is projected to grow with several locations still calculating final numbers for November and December. Additionally, several Welcome Centers celebrated their own milestones in 2023, with the Adirondacks Welcome Center reaching one million visitors since its opening in 2018 and the Central New York Welcome Center hitting the 1.5 million mark since its 2017 opening.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Taste NY, Ball held nine open house events at Welcome Centers and Taste NY Market locations, traveling nearly 3,000 miles across the state — greater than the driving distance from the New York State Museum to the California State Museum — to highlight the program and the diverse farmers and food and beverage producers that are its backbone. At each of these events, which took place in the Finger Lakes, Long Island, the North Country, the Capital Region, the Southern Tier, the Mohawk Valley, the Olana State Historic Site, the Hudson Valley/Catskills, Western New York, and Central New York, local producers were invited to sell and sample their products for guests. A total of 71 different businesses attended the Taste Turns 10 events over the course of the year, introducing local products from vegetables, cheese, and juice to maple syrup, salt, soap, pretzels, marshmallows, jam, chocolates, and many more to hundreds of guests and visitors.
Several Welcome Centers additionally hit sales milestones of their own this year, with the Long Island Welcome Center and the Capital Region Welcome Center each generating over $1 million in sales in 2023 alone and the Western New York Welcome Center reaching the $1 million mark since its opening in 2018.
In addition to the Taste NY anniversary open house events across the state, several other events highlighted Taste NY this year. In May, the PGA tour in Rochester featured The New York State Tasting Yard, presented by Taste NY and I LOVE NY, an outdoor, patio-style food and beverage sampling experience at Oak Hill. The Tasting Yard featured a rotating array of food and beverages from more than 100 New York state wineries, craft breweries, cideries, meaderies, distilleries, and food producers. This experience gave championship visitors a taste of New York’s world-class agricultural products and cuisine, and a glimpse into the diversity of the farms, vineyards, craft breweries, and attractions across the state.
During the summer, Taste NY also hosted a special Tasting Yard at The Great New York State Fair, featuring seven local breweries, at the fair’s suburban park. This outdoor, patio-style food and beverage experience featured a rotating selection of seven New York state craft breweries over the course of the Fair. County fairs across the state offered a “Find Me at the Fair” New York state-themed selfie station that fairgoers were able to interact with.
Taste NY has grown significantly since its launch and products can now be found at nearly 70 locations across New York state. Over the last decade, Taste NY has also partnered with major sports venues, such as MVP Arena and the Blue Cross Arena, and formed partnerships with event organizers to bring Taste NY products to major sporting events such as the 2023 FISU World University Games and the Saratoga RaceCourse.
Commissioner Ball stated, “We traveled far and wide across the Empire State in 2023 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Taste NY program and it was certainly a memorable year. Taste NY’s goal is to promote our state’s farmers and food and beverage producers. It’s wonderful to see that come to fruition through over $5 million in sales at our Welcome Centers and Markets last year – and counting – in addition to over two million visitors who were introduced to the best of New York state by shopping local at Taste NY. I thank all the market staff members, partners, and of course, our producers, who have participated in the program and helped us to celebrate Taste Turns 10. We look forward to another decade of supporting New York’s small agricultural businesses through Taste NY.”
In 2023, the state’s 11 Welcome Centers and Taste NY Market locations welcomed over 2.3 million visitors through their doors, showcasing the reach the program gives to its small business participants. These Taste NY locations additionally reported net sales of New York state products totaling over $5.1 million dollars for the year; that number is projected to grow with several locations still calculating final numbers for November and December. Additionally, several Welcome Centers celebrated their own milestones in 2023, with the Adirondacks Welcome Center reaching one million visitors since its opening in 2018 and the Central New York Welcome Center hitting the 1.5 million mark since its 2017 opening.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Taste NY, Ball held nine open house events at Welcome Centers and Taste NY Market locations, traveling nearly 3,000 miles across the state — greater than the driving distance from the New York State Museum to the California State Museum — to highlight the program and the diverse farmers and food and beverage producers that are its backbone. At each of these events, which took place in the Finger Lakes, Long Island, the North Country, the Capital Region, the Southern Tier, the Mohawk Valley, the Olana State Historic Site, the Hudson Valley/Catskills, Western New York, and Central New York, local producers were invited to sell and sample their products for guests. A total of 71 different businesses attended the Taste Turns 10 events over the course of the year, introducing local products from vegetables, cheese, and juice to maple syrup, salt, soap, pretzels, marshmallows, jam, chocolates, and many more to hundreds of guests and visitors.
Several Welcome Centers additionally hit sales milestones of their own this year, with the Long Island Welcome Center and the Capital Region Welcome Center each generating over $1 million in sales in 2023 alone and the Western New York Welcome Center reaching the $1 million mark since its opening in 2018.
In addition to the Taste NY anniversary open house events across the state, several other events highlighted Taste NY this year. In May, the PGA tour in Rochester featured The New York State Tasting Yard, presented by Taste NY and I LOVE NY, an outdoor, patio-style food and beverage sampling experience at Oak Hill. The Tasting Yard featured a rotating array of food and beverages from more than 100 New York state wineries, craft breweries, cideries, meaderies, distilleries, and food producers. This experience gave championship visitors a taste of New York’s world-class agricultural products and cuisine, and a glimpse into the diversity of the farms, vineyards, craft breweries, and attractions across the state.
During the summer, Taste NY also hosted a special Tasting Yard at The Great New York State Fair, featuring seven local breweries, at the fair’s suburban park. This outdoor, patio-style food and beverage experience featured a rotating selection of seven New York state craft breweries over the course of the Fair. County fairs across the state offered a “Find Me at the Fair” New York state-themed selfie station that fairgoers were able to interact with.
Taste NY has grown significantly since its launch and products can now be found at nearly 70 locations across New York state. Over the last decade, Taste NY has also partnered with major sports venues, such as MVP Arena and the Blue Cross Arena, and formed partnerships with event organizers to bring Taste NY products to major sporting events such as the 2023 FISU World University Games and the Saratoga RaceCourse.
