After 2 years at the helm of Prince Edward Aqua Farms Inc., General Manager Jerry Bidgood can only grin at the news that one of his Ontario customers recently found a pearl not in one of his cultured oysters but in one of his mussels.
"I always knew," he laughs, "that our products were precious, but not that precious." Precious indeed. With 28 full-time employees, Bidgood's operation - which grows and harvests mussels, hard-shell and soft-shell clams, and oysters - is making a name for itself in markets both far and wide. Prince Edward Aqua Farms Inc. currently sells 40 per cent of its product lines to U.S. customers.
In November 2002, Bidgood joined nine other small business owners from Prince Edward Island in a Team Canada Atlantic trade mission to New York City. That followed a highly successful foray there the previous May.
Combined, Bidgood estimates the business he has managed to generate exceeds $250,000 (CDN). "We've certainly had an extremely positive response from both trade missions," he says. "We've been able to acquire customers on both occasions."
According to the Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, "The Team Canada missions have introduced dozens of export-oriented entrepreneurs in the Atlantic provinces to the business possibilities that lie beyond their immediate horizons."
"There has been tremendous opportunity in the New York area and, to date, trade missions have been key for participating Island businesses such as Prince Edward Aqua Farms Inc.," said the Honourable Michael Currie, Minister responsible for the PEI Department of Development and Technology. "Team Canada Atlantic trade missions have resulted in Prince Edward Aqua Farms Inc. reaching new levels of success in exporting their superior product."
For his part, Bidgood is a self-professed fan of the trade mission approach. "It's a much better way to show what you can do, what you can offer, than the trade fair approach. You are put in front of the people who really want to know what you have to sell. As a result, deals are done."
Bidgood's deals include those with New York distributors to restaurants and some supermarkets. But what excites him is the promise of more: "Once you've cracked the exporting door open, the opportunities are tremendous. If you can keep your eye on the ball, you can really take your business anywhere."
As for the pearl?
Jerry Bidgood is as clear as he is good-humoured: "This business is just like shell fish: You never know what you're going to find once you're on the inside."
The Team Canada Atlantic trade mission to New York City took place from November 4-7, 2002. Team Canada Atlantic is a cooperative effort between the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the four Atlantic Provinces, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Industry Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.