Working with the state Department of Agriculture Food and Forestry, Griffin Foods is one of several businesses that have found a market in the land of knackwurst and Wiener Schnitzel.

When a German grocery store representative on the lookout for distinctly southern products ventured to the Sooner State and tried Griffin’s syrup about five years ago, she was hooked. Barbara Charlet, international market developer for the DOA, says the syrup outpaces all other Oklahoma products sent to Germany.

Griffin has made its signature syrup since 1908 in Muskogee.

“Syrup was how we started,” says D.C. Smith, Midwest sales director for Griffin Foods, noting that the company ships its products about 500 miles each direction from Muskogee. Germany is currently the only international market.

Oklahoma products initially popped up in the high-end KaDeWe department store in Berlin about 10 years ago. Store displays frequently feature Western motifs and Route 66 themes as they have grown in popularity. The items also provide a taste many Americans take for granted, especially with syrup.

“Syrup is an American thing,” Smith says. “It was a flavor they weren’t used to.”

At first, the products were only available in the gourmet food section alongside other American favorites such as Hershey’s syrup, Kraft macaroni and cheese, and Paul Newman’s salad dressings. As the products have found a following, Charlet says they are now available at grocery stores throughout Germany.

“We’ve been able to work together and source additional products,” she says.

Other Oklahoma brands, including Ponca City’s Head Country barbecue sauces and Oklahoma City-based Clements Foods peanut butter, have become staples of the American section in many German stores.

Charlet says many of the products on German shelves retail for four times the price they would in the U.S., due to shipping and importing costs. But, she says it is no different from consumers buying gourmet European food products in Oklahoma.

Five years after sending Griffin’s 24-ounce syrup bottles to Germany, Smith says the buyer requested additional items, such as assorted Griffin’s jellies and preserves.

Doing business with Germany hasn’t been a windfall for Griffin’s, but Smith says the international business accounts for about 5% of the company’s annual sales.

“It’s not a huge part of our business, but it complements our business,” he says.