In 2019 Lillie’s Q participated in six of Food Export’s Buyers Mission events where sponsored international buyers to come to the U.S. and meet one-on-one with U.S. suppliers including: the Northeast Buyers Mission, Natural Products Buyers Mission at Natural Products Expo West, Food Service Buyers Missions at the National Restaurant Association, Sweets and Snacks Buyers Mission at the Sweets and Snacks Expo, the Specialty Food Buyers Mission at the Summer Fancy Food Show, and the Midwest Buyers Mission. As a result of their efforts at these missions they met with over 50 new international buyers and gained over $145,000 in new export sales with $180,000 in projected sales to come. They also participated in a Focused Trade Mission to Dubai, the Food Export Helpline, the Online Product Catalog, and a new service partnering with Alibaba.com

In just a few short years Lillie’s Q has done a great job of navigating the variety of programs and services that Food Export offers to take advantage of the ones that are a best fit for them and their products.

Named after the founder’s Grandmother Lillie, Lillie’s Q Sauces and Rubs LLC is a producer of a wide variety of barbecue rubs and sauces as well as having a retail store location in the heart of Chicago. Their goal has always been to create a Southern-inspired BBQ experience that’s true to regional traditions and reimagined into unique, authentic and delicious flavors.

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.

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