With ITA Support, J. Rieger & Co. Introduces American Spirits To Caribbean Customers

J. Rieger & Co. (Rieger) is a Kansas City-based distillery with fewer than 100 employees. After graduating from the ITA-supported Heartland Export Accelerator (HEA), Emily Gafford, Director of International Market Development, worked closely with the ITA team to expand its markets with a 1 ½ -pallet shipment of “Made in U.S.A.” spirits to Barbados. More and larger shipments are planned. ITA’s Commercial Service, led by its Kansas City office, coordinated closely with Rieger on the Caribbean product launch.

How ITA and Others Helped with HEA Training

HEA requires participation in all course sections by at least two key officials per firm. Topics like trade finance are crucial to success. How U.S. firms get paid is often different for export sales. For example, HEA participants learn about options like factoring, forfaiting, export financing options, and export credit insurance. HEA participation culminates with each firm creating an export plan.

Rieger sent its HEA-inspired export plan for review by World Trade Center Kansas City (WTC-KC, owned by MDCP award recipient Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City), Missouri Department of Economic Development, the Small Business Development Centers of Kansas and Missouri, and ITA’s Commercial Service office in Kansas City. Reviewers’ comments helped Rieger hone the plan. HEA participation is valued at $5,000. But with underwriting from ITA’s Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) and other sponsors, each firm paid only $495.

Export Plan in Hand, Time to Launch

ITA’s assistance went well beyond support of the HEA. For J. Rieger, its local ITA office, Commercial Service (CS) Kansas City, led the federal effort. CS Kansas City’s Josh Kaplan and Pinki Thakker helped support Gafford with introductions in the Caribbean and beyond and comments to improve the HEA-inspired export plan. This plan was revised by the World Trade Center Kansas City.

CS Kansas City and WTC-KC helped the firm launch an event with a new bar & restaurant, The Rhum Stop, within the Sun Group Hotels in Barbados. While ITA’s CS has more than 70 international offices, Barbados is not one of them. CS Kansas City Director Joshua Kaplan facilitated an introduction to ITA’s U.S. Commercial Service Dominican Republic and the U.S. State Department Partner Post Barbados. These federal colleagues of Kaplan helped coordinate the product launch by providing trade counseling, an in-depth market overview of the beverage and hospitality sector, and a summary of the competitive landscape in Barbados and the surrounding Caribbean region.

U.S. Embassy Facilitates Launch in Barbados

Partner Post Barbados colleagues supported the in-country marketing event and helped to amplify the product launch by inviting the American Chamber of Commerce for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, local affluent businesses, buyers, U.S. Embassy Country Officers, the local investment promotion agency, and business associations. The State Department Commercial Team Lead also gave brief remarks at the launch and spoke with media at the event. The launch event was carried on local television, print, and online media.

The event attracted more than 100 people to introduce Rieger’s Kansas City spirits to the market, including featured cocktails, tastings, and giveaway items.

After the launch, Rieger’s marketing specialist Emily Gafford noted “This journey with guidance from the U.S. Commercial Service has been an incredible learning experience, deepening our understanding of global trade.”