The project aimed to produce an export development plan through a collaborative process with the industry, which would act as a model for other horticultural industries to follow in future attempts to identify and create export opportunities. The lettuce industry was chosen for this study because it represented a sector of the vegetable industry with great export potential but poor export performance in the last decade. The project employed a combination of economic analysis, agronomic research, and partnerships with private sector processes, growers and shippers to develop and enact a plan which resulted in new production, packing, handling and exporting technologies being identified and tested.