California Agribusiness Celebrates First Export Sale to Canada

LCPT Inc., a C Corporation headquartered in the United States, produces minimum-risk pesticide for all plant types using food-grade and cosmetic-grade ingredients that are non-GMO. The company, which rebranded from its original structure under Plant Protector Inc, has benefitted greatly from the U.S. Commercial Service’s (CS) tailored support in entering the Canadian market.

The journey began with the Commercial Service’s Trade Americas Team, which provided LCPT Inc. with extensive market information and invited the company to participate in a Canada-Mexico mission. Although the company ultimately decided not to attend, the insights gained from the team were invaluable for understanding the opportunities and challenges of these markets.

LCPT Inc. also collaborated with Commercial Specialists at the U.S. Commercial Service in Canada during separate consultations to explore Canadian certifications, market entry strategies, and in-depth market research. These conversations laid the groundwork for the company’s strategic planning. Meanwhile, the local U.S. Export Assistance Center (CS - North Bay, California) maintained consistent communication with LCPT’s co-founder and CFO, offering personalized assistance and demonstrating commitment through site visits.

As a result of these combined efforts, LCPT successfully entered the Canadian market, making its first export sale. Since its launch in Canada, the company has achieved nearly $150,000 in sales, establishing a strong foundation for future growth.

“All the details the Department of Commerce has provided have been very helpful in honing in on where to put our focus for the Canada market and for developing a strategic plan. The data has also informed us where we might consider expanding that we had not considered before. All the people I have spoken with in regard to Canada have been insightful, fast to reply, and thorough in answering my questions—a very pleasant surprise!”

“Since our launch, we’ve done almost $150,000 in sales in Canada. The Department of Commerce has contributed to this by keeping our attention on establishing a strong customer base in the markets we know, instead of spreading ourselves too thin with trying to get into new markets that we are unfamiliar with.”

~ Heather P Smith, LCPT Inc.