Success Stories

In 2016, US Greens, LLC, located in Larned, Kansas, in the 1st Congressional District, saw great success due to MAP (Market Access Program) funding. They attended trade shows and developed 10 new international customers with help from Food Export’s Branded Program funding. The export buyers they met with were from 9 different countries. They have received orders from five--Belgium, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and Hong Kong. Overall to date, due to MAP, they have sold approximately $211,000 internationally. What success!

Minhas Craft Brewery of Monroe, Wisconsin participated in Food Export’s Midwest Buyers Mission in Madison, Wisconsin in August of 2016. While there, they connected with a Taiwanese buyer and made their first export sale to the buyer with additional assistance through the Food Export Helpline™.

Cooperative Elevator Co. is an agricultural cooperative situated in Michigan's "thumb" - a rich agricultural region offering fertile soils, tiled fields, adequate rainfall, and temperatures moderated by Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay. Since 2005, Cooperative Elevator Co. has been using Food Export’s Branded Program to modify their packaging for the Mexico market. Each year, the packaging must be modified to prevent others from copying the packaging and producing counterfeits

In June 2015, Premium Gold Flax Products, Inc., from Denhoff, North Dakota participated in Food Export’s Specialty Foods Buyers Mission at the 2015 Summer Fancy Food Show. At the Mission they chose to meet with International Buyers from Antigua, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland and Israel.

1-2-3 Gluten Free started using Food Export programs and services in 2004 and is now exporting to six countries. The company’s newest export endeavor stemmed from its participation in the Branded Program for an internationally attended trade show. Founder, Kim Ullner, got her products in front of several international buyers including one from Australia. “The buyer from Australia has committed to purchasing three containers of our baking mixes, which represents well over $93,000 in sales.”

An idea in 2013 helped create Brooklyn, New York-based ProFormance Foods, Inc.’s latest Protes Protein Chips. This revolutionary protein-based chip is the product of two college friends who realized a need for protein-dense snacks that were different from the oversaturated market of protein bars and shakes.

In May of 2016 Schafer Fisheries participated in Food Export’s Food Service Buyers Mission at the National Restaurant Association Show where they met with eight international buyers. The buyers reviewed the Sun Perch, Catfish, Bullhead, Carp, Gar, Bass, Crappie, Troup and Paddlefish products offered by the Illinois Supplier.

In June of 2016, Original Gourmet Food Company, from Salem, New Hampshire, attended Food Export’s Specialty Food Buyers Mission at the 2016 Summer Fancy Food Show where they acquired export sales of $40,000. These sales helped the New Hampshire supplier increase export sales over 20% in two different international markets, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. The supplier also projects another $80,000 in sales over the next twelve months due to the six new buyer contacts they acquired at the mission.

Pennsylvania Company Grovara, of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania achieved huge sales after meeting international buyers at Food Export Natural Products Buyers Mission at the 2016 Natural Products Expo East Show. The mission introduced the Supplier to qualified buyers from Brazil, Canada, Cayman, Hong Kong, Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. After the mission, Grovara was able to report new export sales to Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates for $95,000 and projected another $150,000 in sales over the next twelve months.

Calendar Islands Maine Lobster LLC, located in Portland, Maine, started out in 2009 when Calendar Islands lobstermen decided to join their multigenerational knowledge of Maine lobstering and their love for local lobster recipes into an innovative business venture. Less than a decade later, Calendar Islands Maine Lobster serves as no less than a complete supply chain partnership between lobstering families, talented chefs and dockside lobster processing operations, managing the greatest Maine natural resource from catch to table. Since 2009 Calendar Islands has been marketing a line of value-added lobster products along with conventional whole lobster as well as tails and meat in both retail and foodservice.

Ready Seafood, located in Portland, Maine, was founded by two brothers John and Brendan Ready in 2004. It all started with the brothers deciding to join efforts in leasing a small warehouse space on Portland’s commercial waterfront, versus paying rent for an apartment. They choose to live and work at the warehouse, while growing their business of buying and selling fresh and frozen Maine Lobster.

In August of 2016, Herkner Farms, located in Traverse City, Michigan, in the 1st Congressional District, attended Food Export’s 2016 Midwest Buyers Mission in Lansing, Michigan. They spoke with several buyers from Asian and Central American markets during the one-on-one meetings. Since then, the company has had contact with many potential buyers and is excited for future trade shows and finding more export opportunities.

Agostino Foods, located in Bristol, PA, in the 8th Congressional District, first attended the 2015 Caribbean & Central American Buyers Mission for Retail & Food Service Products, also attended again in 2016. They made connections with buyers from Barbados, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Jamaica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. As a result, Agostino Foods’ first year export sales were projected at $350,000 through these connections. In 2017, they are projected to do $1,000,000.00 in export sales.

Farmwise LLC dba Healthy Life Brands is a family-owned business located in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in the 4th Congressional District. On a mission to get families to eat more veggies, Farmwise’s innovative Veggies Fries® and Veggie Tots™ offer healthier alternatives to traditional frozen French fries and tots. These revolutionary products are made from a blend of farm-grown vegetables, legumes, and potatoes and provide two vegetable servings in every ten fries and twelve tots.

In August of 2016, City Foods, Inc./ Bea's Best, located in Chicago, Illinois in the 3rd Congressional District, attended Food Export’s Midwest Buyers Mission where they had the opportunity to meet food service buyers from around the world in a one on one setting. On site they made a sale of over $20,000 and they have projected $100,000 more in sales over the next twelve months.

In August 2016, East-West International Group, from Moreland Hills, Ohio, participated in Food Export’s Focused Trade Mission to China for Retail and Food Service Products. The Mission began with a market briefing at the ATO Shanghai Office, and then proceeded to a retail tour of Shanghai.

In 2015, Devenish Nutrition located in Fairmont, Minnesota, in the 1st Congressional District, participated in Food Export’s Value-Added Feed Ingredients Buyers Mission at the World Pork Expo. There they met with Buyers from Mexico, Brazil, and El Salvador. During these meetings, they made new sales totaling $40,000 and projected sales of $75,000 in the following year.

Fornazor International, Inc., an exporter of animal feed ingredients and other commodities, offers a wide variety of commodities and feed ingredients such as animal proteins, vegetable proteins, marine proteins, whole grains, forage grasses and equine feeds. Throughout the years Fornazor International has developed relationships with multiple first class feed and grain suppliers throughout North America, enabling their feed ingredients product line to grow as they continue to expand and develop.

American Food Service, Inc. (AFS) from Boonville, New York focuses on exporting American goods into foreign markets. Currently, the company has been able to export all across Europe, as well as other markets such as Asia, Indonesia, and South America. The company has a wide array of products that they update constantly in order to meet the demand of international markets.

In June 2015, Joel Ansh, President of Joel’s Outrageous, located in Midland Park, New Jersey, in the 5th Congressional District, attended the Summer Fancy Food Show with financial assistance from the Branded Program where he met a buyer from Saudi Arabia. They continued discussion after the tradeshow, and Joel sent samples to the buyer a few months later.