Bridging the Gap: Keeping a STEP Awardee's European Launch on Schedule Despite a Federal Funding Delay

The State Trade Expansion Program (STEP)  Sample Client Scenario, Illustrative Engagement

The following is an illustrative example based on a common challenge many small exporters faced last year, when the federally funded State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Grants were not awarded. This example serves to highlight an approach and methodology Parapet Advisors may implement along with the types of outcomes Parapet Advisors could help a client could pursue. 

Bridging the Gap: Keeping a STEP Awardee's European Launch on Schedule Despite a Federal Funding Delay

Client Snapshot: A specialty food and beverage manufacturer in the U.S., exporting for the first time.

The Challenge

A company was approved as a state STEP sub-awardee and built its European market entry plan around that support. The company intended to use the grant to offset the cost of participation in a key European trade show, and towards product certification and labeling required for the EU market. When the federal disbursement for the STEP award cycle was delayed, the company faced a hard choice: postpone its export launch by up to a year and lose its trade show slot, or find a way to move forward without the funding it planned the launch around.

The Parapet Approach

Parapet Advisors would develop an approach that prioritized keeping the company’s launch on schedule while the grant timeline remained uncertain. 

Parapet's methodology would include:

• Running a market access assessment to prioritize the EU markets that offered the fastest path to compliant, profitable entry, narrowing the launch instead of spreading resources across every target market.

• Mapping the EU regulatory and labeling requirements for the client's product category and sequencing work so the highest-cost certification steps came only after buyer interest was confirmed.

• Securing the client's trade show placement and preparing them for buyer meetings with market-specific positioning and pricing guidance.

• Developing a phased budget that allowed the client to self- fund the certification and treating the eventual STEP reimbursement as a cost offset rather than a precondition for moving forward.

The Outcome

Using Parapet’s guidance, and by targeting two EU countries rather than the entire market, the client may be able to offset costs recovered through sales, improving the program's net return rather than delaying the launch.