PROBAR joined the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association’s FundMatch program in 2019. Based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, the company specializes in healthy, plant-based meal replacement bars. The FundMatch program, which is funded by the USDA’s Market Access Program, has helped the company via 50% reimbursement for packaging that meets each foreign countries’ requirements. With their country-compliant packaging, they have been able to meet market specific needs and reach consumers in their native languages, nearly doubling their global reach since joining. They are now exporting their products to 28 countries including Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Germany, to name a few.
In 2022, PROBAR gained 2 new distributorships, entered 2 new markets, created 2 new product lines, and introduced 9 new products to their international product line up which increased their export sales by more than 60%. “WUSATA allowed us to expand product lines at a more rapid rate to meet the needs of the consumers in non-English speaking countries by lowering the cost barrier of entry to new markets...making the initial investment less daunting” said Jeannie Richards, Project Manager at PROBAR. Due to the increase of international sales, the company has increased their purchase of raw materials, expanded manufacturing schedules, maintained higher staff counts, and have dedicated multiple days a month solely to the production of international products. The product line expansions have also had a positive impact outside the company as it has increased the purchases PROBAR makes from their packaging suppliers perfectly illustrating of the positive domestic economic impact that comes from the export of U.S. products.
Looking to the future, PROBAR plans to continue their participation in the FundMatch program and will be utilizing the reimbursement to attend trade shows as well as continuing to develop and create in-language packaging for new export markets. In 2023, they also plan to attend inbound trade missions that are coordinated through WUSATA’s Global Connect program to create new international relationships with buyers while continuing to focus on their mission of providing innovative and delicious plant-based choices for all their customers’ daily adventures.
