Good Life Foods, Inc. of Lincoln, Nebraska in the 1st Congressional District has used cost-share funding from the Branded Program since 2002 to expand its export management business in numerous international markets. The Branded Program is funded through the Market Access Program and administered by Food Export-Midwest.   It provides reimbursement of 50 percent of many international promotional costs to help small companies increase their export of U.S. agricultural products.

The company has used the Branded Program for everything from exhibiting in tradeshows such as FoodEx Japan, sending samples overseas, advertising and product label modifications to holding in-store demonstrations. The program has helped them to establish the various brands they represent in foreign markets such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, New Zealand and Australia.  According to company president Emil Font, Good Life Foods has realized double digit growth in their overall export sales since joining the Branded Program. “The Branded Program is an invaluable tool for exporters. When you launch a new product overseas there are a lot of up front costs. The Branded Program helps exporters to stretch their limited marketing budgets, particularly during the product launch phase.  The Branded Program played a pivotal role in helping us to establish our brands overseas, thus taking our business to a new level,” he said.

The company currently has four employees but plans to hire another staff member in 2009.

Good Life Foods exports confectionary and related products including chocolate and sugar confections, herbal candies, gummy vitamins, dried fruits and nuts.  The company also recently signed on to represent a manufacturer of artificial sweeteners based in the Midwest United States.

Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-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. Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast administer many services through Market Access Program (MAP) funding from the USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service.