Success Stories

Utilizing the Market Access Program (MAP) funded Branded Program through Food Export since 2009 has helped City Foods, Inc. dba Bea’s Best expand their exports to Bermuda, Panama, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and Trinidad & Tobago. Using their allocated funding to defer costs of attending international trade shows, ship samples and make label/packaging modifications has been key to helping this Chicago based supplier gain brand recognition and sales abroad.

In 2017, Knouse Foods, Inc., located in Peach Glen, Pennsylvania, in the 4th Congressional District, applied for funding from the Market Access Program (MAP) funded Branded Program with Food Export. They were accepted into the program where they were eligible to receive 50% cost reimbursement for a wide variety of international marketing activities to assist companies in breaking into new markets.

Family-owned Schafer Fisheries, in Thomson, Illinois, could probably teach a thing or two about the value of persistence. USDA MAP-funding support made it possible for the company to exhibit at Seafood Expo Global, in 2017.

Diamond V Mills, a part of Diamond V Mills, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the 2nd Congressional District, has used the Branded Market Access Program (MAP) for 10 years to increase export sales in Spain, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Brazil.

In 2017, Graminex LLC, located in Saginaw, Michigan, in the 5th Congressional District, participated in Food Export’s Market Access Program (MAP) funded Branded Program where they were able to gain new export sales to Germany.

In January, Herbal Mist Beverages, located in Vineland, New Jersey in the 2nd Congressional District, attended Food Export’s Northeast Buyers Mission in Philadelphia with interest in increasing their exports to markets in the Caribbean.

Based in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, LD Distribution Services LLC is a global company that focuses on the distribution of a wide range of food, beverages and candy products to clients around the world. In 2016 LD Distribution began working with Food Export to expand and enhance their export markets.

In 2017, The Edlong Corporation, located in Chicago, Illinois, in the 8th Congressional District, participated in Food Export’s Branded Program that helped them gain over $2,400,000 in new export sales to Canada, Australia, and Germany.

In 2017, Chicago American Sweets & Snacks Inc. (formerly Brandventure Group), located in Chicago, Illinois, in the 5th Congressional District, participated in Food Export’s Branded Program. The Market Access Program (MAP) funded program helped them make 9 new foreign contacts and gain one new agent relationship in Sweden. In February, the supplier was able to report projected sales of $30,000 anticipated over the next twelve months.

In 2017 Ethel’s Baking Company, located in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan, of the 10th Congressional District, participated in Food Export Association of the Midwest’s Focused Trade Mission to Toronto for Specialty and Natural Products. The trade mission helped the business connect with Canadian buyers and stores in addition to Food Export staff. As a result, Ethel’s made their first ever export sale to the Canadian market of $20,000 and made a new connection with a broker.

Lillie’s Q started in Chicago in 2010 after Chef Charlie McKenna honed his skills in top restaurants. Named for his Grandmother Lillie, who taught him the art of southern cooking back home in Greenville, South Carolina, Lillie’s Q produces and distributes award-winning barbeque sauces and snack chips.

Started in 2012, Biena LLC from Boston, Massachusetts developed a unique way to roast chickpeas, making light and crispy while still being healthy and flavorful. Quickly becoming one of the “most award winning healthy snacks on the market”, woman-owned Biena snacks grew their domestic presence to over 15,000 retail locations.

In 2017, EquiTrade Group located in Chicago, Illinois, in the 7th Congressional District, participated in Food Export’s Branded Program that helped them gain $300,000 in new export sales to Mexico. This past February, the supplier was able to report these new sales and also projected to complete $400,000 in sales over the next twelve months. They also made four new foreign contacts and gained 1 new agent relationship while utilizing their allocated Market Access Program (MAP) funds.

Long Road Distillers, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the 3rd Congressional District, has had great market success with the help of Food Export Association of the Midwest and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s International Marketing Program.

In 2017, Blackwood Pet Food, LLC located in Lisbon, Ohio, in the 6th Congressional District, participated in Food Export’s Branded Program where they utilized $150,000 of the Market Access Program funding to help them create export sales over $3,450,000 in Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Israel and Canada.

In 2017, American Pharmaceutical Innovations Company (AmPharma), located in Downers Grove, Illinois, in the 6th Congressional District, participated in Food Export’s Branded Program that helped them gain $2,750,000 in new export sales to Thailand and Egypt. In February, the supplier was able to report these new sales and also projected to complete $150,000 in sales over the next twelve months while also making 102 new contacts and gaining 2 new agent relationships. This was AmPharma’s first time exporting to Thailand.

In 2017, DEW - Drink Eat Well, LLC dba Hilary's Eat Well, located in Lawrence, Kansas in the 2nd Congressional District, continued to show tremendous export sales. This can be accredited to Food Export’s Market Access Program (MAP) funded Branded Program.

In September 2017, Cozy Harbor Seafood, located in Portland, Maine, in the 1st Congressional District, attended the USA Seafood Trade Mission to Southeast Asia where they participated in seafood market tours and met with buyers from Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. As a result of their meetings, a buyer from Thailand has placed a first-time order of nearly 8,800 pounds (4,000 kgs) of various frozen lobster products. Not only was this a new buyer for Cozy Harbor, but a first time sale to the Thailand market.

Exhibiting at the 2016 Summer Fancy Foods Show with assistance from Food Export’s Branded Program funding, Cracked Candy LLC, a Brooklyn, New York Supplier, began contact with a buyer from Costa Rica. Interested in the unique, natural, sugar-free candy, the buyer and Flora Pringle, Founder of Cracked Candy, began interacting with the hope of exporting the candy to Costa Rica.

In September of 2017, Osage Food Products, located in Washington, Missouri, in the 3rd Congressional District, attended Food Export’s Focused Trade Mission to Mexico for Food Ingredients. While there, they interacted with multiple Mexican Buyers during prearranged meetings and had the opportunity to tour a production facility. In February 2018, just a few months later, they reported two new agent relationships and a successful sale of dairy ingredient products worth $200,000 as a result of the Trade Mission.