Kurt Kuehn, CFO for UPS, Patricia West, and |
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Ganache for Lips Captures International Sales and an Export Award
On June 6, UPS and U.S. Commercial Service hosted “Exporting for Growth,” a seminar that offered small and medium-sized businesses the tools needed to grow their business internationally. Patricia West was presented an Export Achievement Award at the seminar for her successes with her company, Ganache for Lips™.
When Patricia West of Berkeley, California began receiving inquiries from abroad from prospective wholesalers looking for new products, she was excited about the new business, but was also worried because she knew nothing about starting out in foreign markets.
She says it was a stroke of genius when she contacted the U.S. Commercial Service in San Francisco for help developing an international sales strategy. Ganache for Lips quickly expanded to sell multiple kinds of balm in Japan, Germany, Australia, Spain, Canada, Taiwan and the Philippines. Her Japanese distributor then introduced the product to South Korea, but he and West soon became baffled by that government’s import regulations. West went back to the Commercial Service in San Francisco who contacted colleagues in Seoul who spelled out what was required, opening the market to West. Attracted by the prospect of a billion plus lips, next up is Hong Kong and mainland China, and again the Commercial Service will help lead the way.
West is also very pleased that the Commercial Service and UPS are partnering to make international sales easier for companies like hers. “One of the big lessons for me in going global is the great tools and people who can enable a small company like mine to do big things.” West particularly likes the UPS online customer tool that enables her to complete all documentation for international shipments and calculate the cost of getting her product to the buyers in different countries.
With its network of offices across the United States and in more than 80 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. For more information, visit www.export.gov.