Joseph G Toenjes was born and raised in the Midwest and traveled extensively throughout Europe and Latin America from an early age. The idea of sharing the quality of U.S. wines, brews and spirits with our neighbors to the South inspired Joseph to found St. Amand.

What gave him the push he needed was the realization that throughout the Latin American and Caribbean markets many opportunities were being lost by the majority of U.S. wineries, craft breweries, and distilleries due to a lack of communication, a cultural gap, and the hesitance to commit the resources needed to produce lasting success in these markets.

Having established a presence in 48 Latin American and Caribbean countries, Joseph turned to untapped geographies for his product suppliers. Through Food Export’s Advisor Program, Joseph was able to work one-on-one with Food Export’s advisor Gary Winget to identify high growth Asian markets for craft beer, wine and spirits.

Armed with this knowledge, Joseph has been able to make new contacts in east Asia through Food Export’s Market Builder service. As a result, Joseph has completed his first order to China - a container of craft beer worth $20,000.

Of his participation in the Advisor Program and Market Builder, Joseph said “My hand was held through the entire process of first identifying markets, then scheduling the visits with buyers, as well as help from the In-Market Representatives to help make it all come together.”

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.