TIC 2026 Buyer Guide

Why Caribbean sourcing right now

Nearshoring, USMCA and CARICOM trade preferences, and shipping-lane proximity to the Americas make the Caribbean an increasingly serious sourcing region — especially for agri-processing, packaging, specialty food & beverage, and creative services.

Pre-show: build your shortlist

• Map the sectors that matter. TIC is multi-sectoral — you can't walk every booth. Prioritize 2–3 categories.
• Pre-source on Press Markit. Search by category and country. Save a shortlist of 15–20 suppliers. Check which ones are exhibiting.
• Book meetings in advance. The best exhibitors get booked out; walk-ups get 90 seconds.

Questions to ask every exhibitor

1. What's your minimum order quantity, and what's your typical lead time?
2. Which markets are you already exporting to, and what's your capacity ceiling?
3. What certifications do you hold (HACCP, ISO, organic, kosher, halal)?
4. Can you handle private-label or contract manufacturing?
5. What's your USD pricing structure — FOB, CIF, EXW?
6. Who's your logistics partner for shipping out of Trinidad / your home port?

After TIC: don't lose momentum

A stack of business cards in a hotel room is a pipeline that dies on the flight home. Within 72 hours:

• Digitize every contact — country, category, samples requested, next step.
• Send RFQs to your top 3 in each category.
• Add the rest to a follow-up queue for Q2.
• Bookmark or save each supplier's Press Markit profile so you can reach them without hunting for the email again.

Sourcing beyond TIC: use Press Markit year-round

Press Markit is the AI-powered Caribbean marketplace covering verified businesses across the Caribbean. Search in natural language —"specialty rum blenders Barbados", "HACCP-certified sauce co-packer Trinidad","agri-processing partners Guyana" — and the AI surfaces qualified suppliers with response-time signals, ratings, and in-platform chat.