The pitch goes like this: Toss back a two-ounce shot of caffeine and vitamins and you'll be alert for the rest of the day.

Hoping that consumers will ditch coffee and traditional energy drinks for miniature power shots, more than a dozen beverage makers pushed this message at the 12th annual Americas Food & Beverage Show, being held at the Miami Beach Convention Center this week.

The show features more than 6,000 buyers, 250 exhibitors, international dishes and intense chef battles. But with brightly colored booths and scantily clad models handing out free power drinks, energy shots were one of the most visible new products.

``I think the energy shot segment of the energy drink market is going to at least meet, if not exceed the full size beverage, fully carbonated side of it,'' said Mario Melton, owner of Miami-based DolceShot.

``The reason I think that is because America is a 24-7 country, people are staying up longer more often. They look for convenience -- not everyone can finish a 16-ounce, fully carbonated beverage.''

Energy shots are set to ring in sales of $700 million this year, up from $370 million in 2008, according to Information Resources, a market research firm.

After last year's show, which featured a large supply of full-sized energy drinks, producers decided to give twice as much floor space to the ``Beverage Pavilion.'' The real estate was quickly picked up by companies with new energy shot products, organizers said.

Mike Fabiano, who distributes the energy shot Redline out of Davie, said he was looking to attract interest from Latin America and the Caribbean.

``We heard there is a pretty strong international presence here,'' he said. ``We're hoping to spread into the international market.''

Hosted by the Miami World Trade Center, the Food & Beverage show is marketed as an international bazaar, where buyers from six continents can sample food from all over the world and exhibitors can connect with international importers, said Charlotte Gallogly, director of the trade center's Miami branch.

This year, newcomers Tenerife in the Canary Islands and Algeria joined delegations from Brazil, Argentina and Jamaica serving up samples of produce, snacks, meat, soft drinks, spices and more. The show's attendance figures were up more than 10 percent over last year, something organizers attributed to solid planning and the beginnings of an upswing in the economy.

Organizers had a year to monitor the economy and plan for the show, luring international exhibitors with deep airfare discounts through a partnership with American Airlines and offering pre-arranged meetings with buyers, said Jelena Meisel, the show's director.

``They want to meet the buyers,'' she said. ``They want to make connections, so it's really all about putting the right people together. And we have different tools on the trade show floor to make that happen -- like one-on-one meetings and pre-scheduled meetings.''

Food and beverage companies from international locales are looking to the Miami market to access new consumers in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean, said Dewitt Ashby, director of trade shows for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

``The mere fact that the show is being held here and you have so many exhibitors from so many different countries is in some ways a promotion of Miami in itself,'' he said.

Alan Ogilvie and business partner Allen Shiao came from Taiwan to promote bottled alkaline ionized water, which they say staves off high-blood pressure and some diseases. Relatively unheard of in the West, the water has almost 20 percent market share in Japan, Ogilvie said.

``People drink it and it's like a jolt,'' he said. ``They always say, `I've never tasted anything like it.' Now we're just looking to expand into the U.S. market.''

A few booths away in the Beverage Pavilion, John Langan was attempting to convince a potential buyer that his three-ounce energy shot, FUEL, was more efficient than the full-sized drinks currently dominating the market.

``Talk to a truck driver,'' he said. ``He can take this and keep going. He doesn't have to stop and find a restroom somewhere.''

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