For the fifth consecutive year, ODR Foods Corporation has participated in Food Export–Northeast’s Branded Program to expand the export sales of their wide variety of products. The Geneva, New York-based supplier utilized Market Access Program funding through the Branded Program to increase brand awareness in Canada, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. They used their allocated funding to help offset the costs of promotional activities, including in-store demonstrations, social media videos, and print advertising in these markets.
This past January, ODR Foods reported $35,000 in actual sales and $120,000 in projected sales to the UAE alone. They also established a new distributorship in this market, an accomplishment that they credited to their participation in Food Export’s Focused Trade Mission to Dubai in December 2023; “The Food Export Team provided great support as well as insight on market trends. Overall, it was a great effort, and going brought good results.”
ODR Foods Corporation has been a participant in the Branded Program and other Food Export activities and events since 2019.
Food Export Focused Trade Missions are a premiere activity successfully organized by Food Export for many years. It allows U.S. food companies to travel and experience local markets and its landscape as well as meet potential in-market buyers at one-on-one meetings. Since traveling became almost impossible in March of 2020, Food Export successfully shifted to Virtual Trade Missions which, with the help of technology, allows one-on-one meetings with potential buyers from different markets to be conducted virtually. In 2020 Food Export completed 6 Virtual Trade Missions that received positive feedback both from suppliers and buyers. This year [2021] Food Export has 11 Virtual Trade Missions planned.
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.
