Photo: Dan Sharif (center), CEO of Enescorp International LLC, believes food can spark dialogue and promote cultural understanding.
It all started in 2007 when Dan Sharif was selected to attend the Youth Responses to Globalization Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark. There, he found himself among a diverse group of young leaders. It was at this forum that Dan first glimpsed the power of cross-cultural collaboration and realized the immense potential of a globally connected world.
After completing his studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dan returned to Malaysia, where he quickly rose through the ranks. He took leadership roles, including Executive Director of the National Entrepreneurship Institute and Senior Director of an entrepreneurial development organization.
In 2016, when Dan attended the Specialty Food Show in New York for the first time, he identified an untapped opportunity in the U.S. market: a growing demand for unique, hard-to-find halal-certified food products.
"The United States has a diverse population, and people are continuously looking to explore new things," Dan explains. Inspired by this insight, he founded Enescorp International LLC in a mini warehouse in Hillsborough, NJ, in 2018.
Since then, the company has grown and now operates from a facility in Northampton, PA. Enescorp imports specialty food products from Malaysia and beyond, meeting the growing demand for diverse offerings in the U.S. market.
“We want to use food to start conversations and get to know each other better. Food is universal—it brings people together, helps bridge cultures, and opens the door for deeper understanding,” he says.
Enescorp collaborates with more than 30 HACCP-, GMP-, and Halal-certified manufacturers to ensure regulatory compliance and meet U.S. standards.
“We serve a broad customer base, including the mainstream market, specialty food stores, and ethnic retail outlets,” he explains.
This year marks the fourth consecutive year Enescorp is participating in the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York.
Enescorp’s participation this year is partly supported by the Malaysian Agriculture Counselor’s Office in Washington, D.C., part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and SME Corporation Malaysia, an agency under the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Cooperatives Development.
Dan is not only introducing products to the U.S. market but also promoting people-to-people connections through specialty food—an idea he embraced at a youth conference in Denmark almost 20 years ago!
Enescorp International LLC is a proud member of the Specialty Food Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. For more information, visit www.enescorp.org or stop by Booth #2552 during the Summer Fancy Food Show 2025.