Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1920-04-01


prepared by the United States Depart
ment Of Agriculture.)
There may be nothing in name, but
there is lot in brand, especially
in the export trade. Practically all ex-
port business of food products'is han
died on basis of branded goods. To
a much greater extent than the Ameri
can producer realizes foreign buyers
make use Of brands in purchasing
products by cable, and importers in
foreign lands depend upon brands in
judging the quality of the products
they handle.
There are three ways of buying
goods for export. One way is by the |
use of samples Of standard products,
another by orders, often cabled, giving |
instructions to agents to buy specified |
quantities of certain branded prod
ucts; the third method, by far the
least used, is for an importer to visit |
products wanted.
Advantages Of Brands.
In the United States the use of
standard and Of many copyrighted
brands on domestic products has
helped sell goods of various kinds and
trade-marked goods of quality have en-
joyed wider distribution than nom
standard, unbranded products Many
concerns that have not developed any
export business own copyrighted trade
marks on products sold in home mar
kets which they value among the chief
assets of their business.
OF course it is not enough merely to
use brands, but their use today is COM
ing more and more to be backed up
by quality in the goods so labeled. Es-
| pecially is this true where products
are widely advertised. There are some
| commodities for which brand is in
| itself an advertisement and when this
| brand becomes known among buyers
as a guaranty of quality or grade, it
serves to expedite the sale of the prod
uct.
Take butter, for example, Of which
the United States exported over
\ 100000 pounds during the first ten
months Of 1919. A large amount Of
| American butter is shipped without
inspection or grading; it is not han
| died so that foreign buyers know what
! they are receiving and as a result 1t
does not sell as we'll in foreign mar
kets' as butter from countries where
inspection and branding are practiced.
Investigators in the dairy market
ing division of the federal bureau of
markets has found that unbranded but
ter from the United States, while sell
ing freely during the present scarcity
of butter in other countries, Is not like
ly to retain hold on foreign buyers
after other countries resume exporta-
ton. In this fact is an important les
son not only for dairy interests but
other producers DESTROYS Of expanding
their trade abroad Creamery men
cannot expect to develop foreign
market for their products unless they
establish regulations for their goods
Just as manufacturers in other lines
have done-and. standards or brands
are great aid in such business devel-
Opment.
Building a Foreign Trade.
Before the war Denmark was large
factor in the international trade In
butter. She has been famous for her
dairy products for years, not only on
the continent, but in South America,
where even in out-of-the-way corners
of the tropics travellers found the only
butter available came in cans with a
Danish label. New Zealand has built
up a trade with Europe in butter
through a government inspection serv.
ice, and butter must measure up TIC
certain standards before the inspectors
will place their stamp upon 1t.
Inspection Service.
This idea OF inspected and branded
butter is not new in the United States
for the federal department Of agricul
ture has been inspecting interstate ant
Canal zone shipments of butter fol
some time. This inspection, however
is not compulsory, and has not as ye
been applied to export trade to any
great extent. Recently large purchase
of butter for export was inspected b.
United States government inspector
at the request of the purchaser wh'
bought the butter subject to inspection
This is said to be the first time tina
inspection by any government has beer
asked for on any large amount Of but
ter exports. Exporters in the Unitet
States who ship to Central Americ'
usually use brands on their butter ant