Pair of local firms eye expansion into US markets during recent trade mission

A recent trip to the Windy City was a prime opportunity for two local businesses to expand into international markets.
BioProspecting NB Inc. of Sackville and South Shore Trading Company of Port Elgin were among the Team Canada Atlantic delegation to travel to Chicago last month, both on a mission to secure business deals and develop their export markets in the US Midwest.
Ken Keirstead, CEO and president of BioProspecting, said he and other company representatives faced a heavy schedule in Chicago, meeting with a variety of potential agents, brokers, distributors and strategic partners they had lined up over the three-day trade mission. He said they are following up on several leads now that they've returned home.
"There's no guarantee, of course, but nevertheless we had a very good reception and people were interested in the technology that is coming out of Sackville and they were intrigued with the science that is being done here," said Keirstead.
BioProspecting is a Sackville biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel peptides for cancer and chronic pain treatment. The local firm was featured as part of Team Canada Atlantic's Technology Partnering Initiative during the trip.
Keirstead explained the main objective for his company during the trade mission was to determine the business climate in Chicago "as it pertains to co-development and to early drug discovery, and to possibilities of financing, which is always an issue particularly in these hard times."
"In New Brunswick we don't have a lot of pharmaceutical companies. So you have to really reach outside to learn from people who have equal experience, maybe in different fields, and gain their perspectives and advice," he said.
This year's delegation was one of the largest to participate in a TCA trade mission to date, and their third visit to Chicago.
Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, and the four Atlantic provincial ministers responsible for trade, led the delegation.
"The tri-State area of Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri is a major distribution centre for the United States and the world," said MacKay. "The experience we have gained from previous trade missions proves that Chicago is a good market for Atlantic Canadian companies. Our goal is to build on that success with this mission."
And Keirstead said he would certainly agree that these trade missions can be very successful for Atlantic Canadian companies.
"I think they have to be very carefully orchestrated in terms of the timing and the preparation, which we did," he said.
"We definitely gained some new insight. There's just a huge amount of capability in the Chicago area, it's very competitive. But we felt the technology is strong enough that it will stand up to the competition as well as the potential downturns of the economy."
South Shore Trading Company, headquartered in Port Elgin, is Canada's leading processor, distributor and exporter of fresh water eels and was featured during the Taste of Atlantic Canada Showcase - a key draw for US participants and a highly-successful event for the TCA trade missions.
The event showcases Atlantic Canada's best agri-food and seafood products to more than 300 key US buyers and distributors.