Food Export Association of the Midwest USA (Food Export - Midwest) provides small U.S. companies the technical and logistical assistance they need to be more prepared and effective exhibitors, through their Food Show PLUS! service. They also provide opportunities for Midwest companies to meet with pre-qualified buyers and gain one-on-one feedback about their product's exporting potential through Buyers Missions.
In 2006, because of funding from FAS, the number of services Food Export - Midwest offers small U.S. companies increased and the kinds of services provide more targeted exporting assistance. The increased funds have enabled Food Export - Midwest to provide services that focus on specialty areas, such as private labels, food ingredients, specialty foods, natural products, etc. "FAS funds enable us to execute our long-term plans in a more expeditious way and meet the needs of the industry," explained Teresa Miller, Food Export - Midwest Generic Program Manager.
For example, in the past Food Export - Midwest held one event for natural products in a year. With additional FAS funding in 2006, Food Export - Midwest was able to allocate more funds to this booming sector of the industry, including Natural Products Expo Asia Food Show PLUS! in Hong Kong and Tokyo and Natural Products Expo East and West Buyers Missions. And the results are phenomenal:
Food Show PLUS!, offered at the Natural Products Expo Asia in Hong Kong, included a detailed exhibitor briefing on the Hong Kong and Southern China market; translation of up to two pages of each company's brochure and profile into traditional and simplified Chinese; Chinese speaking interpreters at each show booth during show hours; a Supermarket, Health Food, Drug Store, and Convenience Store Self-Guide Book (Hong Kong Market); an import analysis and competitive store check for each company's products; and scheduling for up to three one-on-one meetings with importer/buyers at the show. Natural Products Asia Food Show PLUS! totaled $704,800 in actual sales, over $5.5 million in projected sales, 214 new buyer contacts, and 11 new distributorships!
Food Export Association of the Midwest USA's MarketBuilder program helps companies research and identify potential markets for their products and connects companies with marketing experts in international markets who'll introduce them to the right importers and distributors.
Park Farms participated in the Mexico MarketBuilder program to confirm their research of the market, ensuring Mexico was a good fit for their product. The MarketScan report that Food Export Association of the Midwest USA (Food Export - Midwest) performed for the Ohio Company confirmed that their quick-frozen products had potential in Mexico. According to John Evans, Park Farms Account Manager for Export and New Markets, "The MarketScan report helped identify this quick-frozen niche for us in the Mexican market."
As a result of attending the MarketBuilder in Mexico and meeting with several supermarkets, the company is currently in negotiations with one of the largest chains to supply all of their individually quick-frozen chicken products. If projections in the individually quick-frozen product category are correct, this could mean $30 - 40 million in sales over the next year, doubling Park Farms business in only a year! The company plans to add another shift and devote an entire part of the plant to this business if everything goes as projected. "This all happened because of the connections we made in Mexico through Food Export - Midwest's marketing expert provided through the MarketBuilder program. It was more than worth the small cost-it couldn't have gone any better!" added Evans.
Food Export - Midwest not only helped Park Farms with researching their product in the market and connecting them with a country marketing expert, they provided transportation and translations and coordinated all the distributor meetings during the Mexico MarketBuilder. Evans explained, "All I had to do was walk out of my hotel and the marketing expert arranged everything. This service is invaluable. I positively know that I would not have gotten close to accomplishing what we accomplished without Food Export - Midwest's help. You don't have to recreate the wheel. They have connections in these places, why not use their knowledge and information."
Park Farms also plans to use Food Export - Midwest's MarketBuilder service to help them break into Costa Rico. "We'll continue to use Food Export - Midwest's service for every new market we enter-I wouldn't go into a new market without this service!"
Park Farms has been committed to providing the highest quality poultry and meat products to local grocers and restaurants since 1946. Park Farms is a vertically integrated poultry operation. They control everything from the hatching of the chicks through the cut-up, packaging, and shipping process. Their chicken products are fresh and natural, with no additional hormones or steroids. In fact, they are the only USDA Grade A processing facility in Ohio.
Food Export Association of the Midwest USA and Food Export USA - Northeast are private, non-profit associations of Midwestern and Northeastern state agricultural promotion agencies that use federal, state, and industry resources to promote the export of Midwestern and Northeastern food and agricultural products. The organizations administer some of their services through the Market Access Program (MAP) funding from the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
|
