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30 WINTER 2024 Steinbach-based Lynn & Liana Designs was launched in 2018 by CEO and co-founder Melissa Funk, her husband Evan and her parents Candice and Mike Cancade. It manufactures and distributes handmade charcuterie boards and serving trays embossed with a special plant-based resin to create a one-of-a-kind design on each board or tray. When the company started six years ago in Funk's basement, its primary market was a network of local markets and giftshops. Today, it has its own manufacturing facility in Steinbach that employs a team of 16 people and produces between 300 and 400 pieces a day, which are distributed to a network of dealers in the U.S. and as far away as Europe and the Middle East. They also supply their products to a number of large corporate clients including major sports teams and well-known tech companies. Lynn & Liana Designs' big break came in the summer of 2018 when one of its U.S. customers suggested Funk's family attend the New York Now wholesale tradeshow in New York City to grow its customer base. Her husband, along with her parents, returned home from the show with 40 new customers and "a ton of orders," she says, laughing. The company's expansion into the U.S. happened almost organically and without incident, according to Funk. Expansion into Europe was far more challenging. Most of the company's European customers wanted their orders to be shipped from within the European Union to avoid any delays or customs issues. ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF INTERNATIONAL SALES LEAPING BEYOND LOCAL CONT. Melissa Funk, CEO and co-founder of Lynn & Liana Designs

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