TIC 2026 Buyer Guide
How to source Caribbean suppliers efficiently at the Trade & Investment Convention — and keep the pipeline flowing after you fly home.
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 TradeAtlas. 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
- What's your minimum order quantity, and what's your typical lead time?
- Which markets are you already exporting to, and what's your capacity ceiling?
- What certifications do you hold (HACCP, ISO, organic, kosher, halal)?
- Can you handle private-label or contract manufacturing?
- What's your USD pricing structure — FOB, CIF, EXW?
- 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 TradeAtlas profile so you can reach them without hunting for the email again.
Sourcing beyond TIC: use TradeAtlas year-round
TradeAtlas is the AI-powered Caribbean marketplace covering 1,202+verified businesses across 26+ nations. 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.