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- Exporting: It's Not as Expensive --or
asDifficult--as You Might Thinkby Kellye Hunter
With all the stipulations, regulations, and legalizations required to bring a product to market here in the United States, the thought of selling overseas might seem overwhelming. But the increasing clamor for hot and spicy products in other countries might convince you to change your mind.
"The Fiery Foods Industry is poised for success in the international marketplace," says Tim Powers, outreach program specialist for the Foreign Agricultural Service. "People are looking for hot sauce all over the world--some of them come into our embassies in places like Columbia and the Middle East asking for hot sauces." Powers says he has also observed that people in countries like the United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan, and Australia are looking for more hot and spicy products and more venues in which to sell them.
"It's time we took advantage of these opportunities," says Powers. "Since Europe is better at teaching their children other languages, the recognition factor for American products is high." He says that Europeans are especially familiar with merchandise from Texas, California and New York, and that Tex-Mex style food is particularly in demand.
On a larger scale, the increasing stream of hot sauce and salsas overseas spells good news for American cash flow in general. Powers explains that the government has a goal of dramatically increasing U.S. exports in the next two and a half years to bring more money into the American economy. "There are 160,000 companies in the U.S. that could be shipping overseas, and only about 3 to 3.5 percent that are," he says. "Our goal is to increase that to 30 percent by the year 2,000." What puts this into perspective for the Fiery Foods Industry is the fact that 95 percent of the world's food buyers are overseas, which means that most U.S. manufacturers are tapping only 5 percent of the available market.
One of the ways that the FAS increases these percentages is by assessing the export potential of companies exhibiting at various trade shows, and this past March they sent a representative to the Ninth Annual National Fiery Foods Show in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The response was so positive that the FAS took booths both at the Texas Fiery Foods Show in August, and at the upcoming Tenth Annual National Fiery Foods Show March 6-8, 1998 in Albuquerque, to inform and assist interested exhibitors. They will also present a seminar on exporting on March 5 at the College of Chile Knowledge. "A lot of companies are real close or ready to export," says Powers. "They're just looking for that little bit of assistance and information that will put them over the edge."
In addition, the FAS is now recruiting buyers from all over the world to attend the Tenth Annual National Fiery Foods Show by contacting Agricultural Trade offices in more than one hundred countries. Although interested buyers must pay their own way, the FAS will send a Foreign Service National with a group of ten or more buyers from a given country. This Foreign Service National is a U.S. government employee who acts as a team leader, interpreter, and trade advisor to interested exhibitors. This person also holds scheduled "office hours" in the FAS booth at the trade show so that exhibitors can ask questions, gather information, and make contacts in an efficient manner.
Powers explains that if you can find a buyer in the U.S., you eliminate the need to travel overseas, and thus avoid the associated expenses. The buyers, who are often also distributors, are anxious to be the first in their own markets with a particular product, and are trying to recoup expenses by selling a lot of product. Because of this, they are motivated to help and educate in any way they can, and will walk you through the process, making sure that details like labeling and shipping procedures are correct--all of which saves you money. "It's a fallacy that exporting is more expensive than shipping domestically," says Powers. "You'd be amazed how little difference there is."
He maintains that the shipping costs can be defrayed by adjusting product prices and also by consolidating your shipment with other people's products. "You pay a little more for this service, but it allows you to sell in smaller bundles," says Powers. Which dispels another misconception: you do not necessarily have to produce in huge volume to be able to export. "While you can't still be making product in your own kitchen, the quantities depend on the buyer," says Powers. "Many of them are going after the specialty markets just to get their foot in the door."
And these doors are going to keep opening wider. Powers emphasizes that the opportunity is there if you are willing to take some time to learn about selling in this expanded market. But don't be intimidated. "If you're afraid of competing overseas, take a look around the grocery store at all the different labels from different countries," he says. "They're already competing with you."
Sources:
Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA
Washington, DC 20250
Contact: Tim Powers
PH: 202-690-2643
e-mail: powerst@fas.usda.gov
Web site: www.fas.usda.gov
This site give a lot of good information about exporting, and will soon have information specifically directed toward the Fiery Foods Industry.
Buyer Alert Announcement, a biweekly newsletter distributed by USDA's overseas offices, can introduce your food, farm, and forest products to foreign buyers around the world. This publication reaches more than 15,000 importers in nearly 60 countries.
Restrictions:
--Only U.S. origin food, farm, and forestry products (no equipment, machinery, chemicals, fertilizers or services) may be advertised.
--You may advertise up to five different products in each issue. You may not advertise the same product more often than once every two months.
Each formatted listing includes: product description, offer terms and information about your company. There is a $15 service fee per announcement, and payment must be included with the order form.
Contact: AgExport Connections, AgBox 1052, USDA/FAS/AGX, Washington, DC 20250-1052. PH: (202) 690-3421; FAX: (202) 690-4374.
Sidebar: A Developing Trend
"Don't rule out developing nations," says Bob Messenger, editor-in-chief of McNeil Specialty Products Company's World Food and Beverage Report at http://www.facilitygroup.com/home.html (Food Trends Newsletter Online).
"While they do present more challenges than other markets, they also represent great opportunity."
He bases this on recent U.S. Department of Commerce trade statistics, which show that U.S. exports to developing nations grew 13.9% in 1995. Additionally, they report that the top five growth markets for U.S. imports are Zaire, Ivory Coast, Suriname, Austria, and Vietnam.