Success Stories

Based in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, Great Lakes Bio Systems, Inc. is “committed to manufacturing natural products that perform consistently”. With these core values and their utilization of Food Export programs and services the company has been gaining export sales since 2016.

In March 2018, Dozers Dental Chews DBA Pure Technology, located in West Henrietta, New York, in the 25th Congressional District, attended Food Export’s 2018 Pet Food Buyers Mission at Global Pet Expo where they interacted with a buyer from New Zealand.

In 2017, JonnyPops, LLC, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the 5th Congressional District, applied for funding from the Market Access Program funded Branded Program with Food Export. They were accepted into the program where they are eligible to receive 50% cost reimbursement for a wide variety of international marketing activities to assist companies in breaking into new markets.

Real Kosher Ice Cream DBA Klein’s Kosher Ice Cream is a kosher ice cream business, located in Brooklyn, New York that utilized Food Export’s Branded Program in 2017. Klein’s Kosher Ice Cream used the Market Access Program (MAP) funded Branded Program to increase their brand awareness and expand their consumer base in the Canadian market while deferring costs of international marketing activities.

TEFCO, an Illinois based Supplier utilized Food Export’s Market Access Program (MAP) funded Branded Program to increase their market share in China in 2017. While already exporting their Oat Milk product to Taiwan with great success, last year TEFCO focused on expanding their product export to other countries in Asia.

In 2017, Lovely Candy Co, from Algonquin, Illinois, participated in Food Export’s Midwest Buyers Mission. During the Mission the Illinois Supplier met with buyers from Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Fiji, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. While introducing their products to all of the buyers, it was the buyer from Australia who took the greatest interest in their candies.

In January of 2017 Total Health Nutritional Foods, Inc., from Minneapolis, Minnesota participated in Food Export’s Specialty Food Buyers Mission at the 2017 Winter Fancy Food Show. At the mission the Minnesota Supplier met with buyers from Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Taiwan to introduce their LutriA products.

In 2014 Olympia Food Industries started using Food Export’s Branded Program to expand their export business. The company developed an export plan to increase sales to Canada and utilized their allocated Branded Program funds tap into potential customers in the market. By increasing their brand awareness and establishing relationships with new distributors and food service contacts they focused on advertising, trade shows, shipping samples and distributing promotional materials to the market.

One of the rewards of working at Food Export is watching a supplier’s export sales grow as they continually use our programs year after year. Seven Sundays, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the 5th Congressional District is a great example of this. Seven Sundays is a small, growing food company that produces muesli for retail distribution. Hannah and Brady Barnstable started Seven Sundays in 2011.

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.