DATCP: International Marketing Help Offered To Wisconsin Firms

Contact: Lisa Stout 608-224-5126

MADISON – From Canada to Japan, Wisconsin foods are in demand worldwide, with sales last year to more than 100 countries.

Those sales are made a little easier by the Food Export Association of the Midwest’s Branded Program, which helps small companies promote brand-name food and agricultural products abroad.

Approved participants could receive up to 50-percent reimbursement for marketing efforts such as:

Exhibits at international and some approved domestic trade shows
Advertising and public relations
In-store promotions and product demonstrations in other nations
Producing literature in other languages and modifying labels and packaging
Freight cost for samples

Eligible products include specialty foods and beverages, cheese and dairy products, pet food, supplements, flavorings and ingredients, feed companies, and other value-added food and agricultural products.

Midwest participants collectively receive close to $6 million annually in reimbursements. The Branded Program reimburses eligible companies between $2,500 and $300,000 for eligible marketing activities. “Wisconsin companies that haven’t yet applied for branded funds are missing a great opportunity to expand their marketing and sales to international markets,” said Lisa Stout, agricultural marketing consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

For information about qualifications, marketing plans, eligible reimbursements, and the application process, call Stout at 608-224-5126; Food Export – Midwest at 312-334-9200; or go to www.brandedprogram.org.

Food Export Association of the Midwest USA (www.foodexport.org) is a private, non-profit association of Midwestern state agricultural promotion agencies that use federal, state, and industry resources to promote the export of Midwestern food and agricultural products.