Kontos Foods Inc., a family-owned bakery based in Paterson, New Jersey, has spent more than 60 years crafting authentic Mediterranean flatbreads, fillo products, and specialty foods. With a commitment to quality, tradition, and certified Kosher and Halal production, Kontos has grown from a small filo bakery into a global supplier offering over 60 varieties of hand-stretched flatbreads, naans, wraps, fillo doughs, crepes, and an extensive line of Mediterranean goods.

Since 2013, Kontos Foods has partnered with Food Export to accelerate its export growth and expand into both mature and emerging international markets. Over the past decade, the company has actively utilized a wide range of Food Export services—including the Branded Program, Food Show PLUS!™, Buyers Missions, Focused Trade Missions, the Online Product Catalog, the Export Advisor Program, and Market Builder—to increase global visibility and build lasting buyer relationships.

Food Export’s Branded Program has been central to Kontos’ strategy. In 2021, Branded funding enabled the company to participate in several domestic and international trade shows, resulting in major success in the United Arab Emirates. At Gulfood 2021, Kontos met with 75 potential buyers, secured a distributorship, and generated $600,000 in sales. Additional Food Show PLUS!™ services helped the company achieve another $60,000 in sales and project $500,000 more over the following year.

Kontos continued leveraging Food Export’s services at Gulfood 2023, where they met with buyers from the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and more. These meetings—along with coordinated visits arranged with another U.S. supplier—led directly to sales of Pocket-less Pita® and flatbread products before and after the show, with more sales projected in the months ahead. According to Marketing Director Warren Stoll, these shared market visits “directly resulted in additional orders being placed pre- and post-trade show,” further demonstrating the value of Food Export’s coordinated support.

In 2023, Kontos expanded its efforts into the Australian market through the Branded Program and Food Show PLUS!™ services at Fine Food Australia. Their investment paid off—Kontos reported over $100,000 in sales, gained 12 new foreign buyer contacts, and secured a new distributor. They also projected an additional $250,000 in sales over the next twelve months.

Their momentum continued into 2024, when Kontos used Branded Program funds to build brand awareness in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the UAE. Through PR and social media campaigns, product sampling, and trade show participation, the company achieved $1 million in sales to Canada, as well as $45,000 each in Australia and the UAE. Looking ahead, Kontos anticipates more than $1.4 million in combined new sales across these markets and has already gained more than 20 new foreign buyer contacts.

Through more than a decade of partnership with Food Export, Kontos Foods has steadily transformed its global footprint—expanding into new regions, securing trusted distributor relationships, and increasing international sales year after year. By leveraging Branded Program funding, Food Show PLUS!™ services, trade missions, and Buyers Missions, the family-owned company has strengthened its brand presence in key markets including the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and beyond. Today, Kontos Foods continues to build on its heritage of quality and innovation while reaching new consumers worldwide, demonstrating how strategic export assistance can accelerate long-term, sustainable global growth.

Food Export uses funding from the Market Access Program (MAP) to help America’s small businesses increase their exports of food and agricultural products. As these exports increase, these small businesses are creating jobs and improving the strength and stability of our agricultural economy. Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast are non-profit organizations that work in collaboration with their member state departments of agriculture and the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. They offer a wide range of programs and services that help boost America’s agricultural exports.