Food Export Midwest Northeast USA logo

Export Sale to China for Chicago Company

Food Export-Midwest's Sweets and Snacks Buyers Mission brings together U.S. Snack Suppliers and international buyers for one-on-one meetings during the biggest national candy trade show each year.

masthead image

In May of 2019, CaramelCrisp LLC dba Garrett Popcorn Shops®, located in Chicago, Illinois, attended Food Export-Midwest’s Sweets & Snacks Buyers Mission, a program designed to bring international buyers together with U.S. based suppliers, where they had a successful meeting with a buyer from China. Just a few month’s after this meeting, the buyer started exporting Garrett’s proprietary popcorn kernels and ingredients to the market.

Garrett Popcorn Shops and the Shanghai-based Chinese buyer, representing one of the largest high-end grocery stores in China, completed a three-week pilot project in Shanghai where a Garrett Popcorn Shop kiosk was installed in the store to offer fresh handmade gourmet Garrett Popcorn to excited Chinese customers.

According to Mark Staublin, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Garrett Popcorn Shops, “As we at Garrett often experience, the brand awareness of the Garrett Popcorn brand precedes introductions. This was exactly what happened as the buyer already knew of Garrett’s premium stature in the snack industry, its high quality and great taste. These qualities as well as the aspirational character of the brand, made Garrett quite suitable for the Chinese market. Meeting at the Buyers Mission was the perfect way to establish a relationship with this important Chinese retailer.  Due to the success of this pilot program, we are very optimistic about future business in the region.”

CaramelCrisp LLC dba Garrett Popcorn Shops also participates in Food Export’s Branded Program and Online Product Catalog, as well as Food Export’s educational webinars and seminars.

Garrett Popcorn Shops offers handcrafted, artisanal popcorn in eight countries and on the garrettpopcorn.com website.

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.

 

 

Food Export Buyers Mission Success

Food Export Buyers Mission Success

check-square-2x

A company headquartered in the U.S.
Midwest Region

Food Export Virtual Activity Success

Top Market for U.S. Agriculture Products

Share your Success

Each year, hundreds of U.S. suppliers participate in the Food Export–Midwest and Food Export–Northeast’s programs. As a result, companies are successful at generating new export sales, establishing new distributorship, expanding their production facilities,
and hiring additional employees. Read the Success Stories to learn more!

If your company has a success to share, email us at info@foodexport.org.

 

Related Success Stories

Lillie’s Q Sauces and Rubs Spreading the Flavor

Lillie’s Q Sauces and Rubs Spreading the Flavor

“Food Export Midwest’s funding allows us to participate in events like Anuga, connecting with buyers from all over the world. Our international presence continues to increase as a result of these programs.”
Read their Story
Growing Exports to China for Wisconsin Dairy Supplier

Growing Exports to China for Wisconsin Dairy Supplier

U.S. Dairy Trade, Inc. was created by farmers to build trust and sales of dairy. Since 2008, the U.S. dairy industry has been working to be a leader in dairy sustainability.
Read their Story
Wisconsin Supplier Grows Exports with Food Export-Midwest’s Branded Program

Wisconsin Supplier Grows Exports with Food Export-Midwest’s Branded Program

“Without the assistance of the Branded Program, growth would have taken much longer to materialize. As a small, growing company we benefit from this support to expose our brand to more markets than we possibly could on our own. The organization makes it easy to administer and they are there every step of the way to help.”
Read their Story

 

Your Connection To Growth®

©2025 Food Export Association of the Midwest USA and Food Export USA–Northeast. All Rights Reserved.


Food Export–Midwest and Food Export–Northeast prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, familial/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations or alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact us. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online https://www.ascr.usda.gov/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer.

Food Export–Midwest and Food Export–Northeast reserve the right to deny services to any firm or individual which, in the sole opinion of Food Export–Midwest and Food Export–Northeast, does not comply with FAS, MAP or Food Export–Midwest and Food Export–Northeast regulations or policies, or otherwise offer the best opportunity to achieve its mission of increasing food and agricultural exports. Submission of any false or misleading information may be grounds for rejection or subsequent revocation of any application or participation. Food Export–Midwest and Food Export–Northeast are equal opportunity employers and providers.