A plug-and-play export pathway helps regional brands reach Asia without building overseas operations
Updated
February 26, 2026 4:29 PM
Coupang headquarters in Silicon Valley. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
Two western Pennsylvania companies — Kate’s Real Food and Healthy Origins — are expanding beyond the U.S. through a partnership with Coupang.
Coupang, a U.S.-technology and Fortune 150 company, operates one of the largest e-commerce platforms in South Korea. It allows American sellers to reach customers overseas without setting up their own distribution networks. Businesses ship products to a domestic Coupang logistics facility. From there, the company manages storage, fulfillment and delivery directly to customers abroad.
For Kate’s Real Food and Healthy Origins, this system opens the door to new markets without requiring on-the-ground operations. Kate’s Real Food makes organic energy and protein bars. Healthy Origins is a family-owned supplements business based near Pittsburgh. Both are now selling to customers in South Korea and in Healthy Origins’ case, Taiwan as well.
That structure addresses a practical gap for growing brands: how to access international demand without building international operations. Instead of navigating foreign warehousing and retail partnerships independently, sellers plug into an existing marketplace and logistics system.
“At Coupang, we’re proud to help thousands of American small and medium-sized businesses, agricultural producers and larger brands sell their goods to customers around the world”, said Coupang vice president Bill Anaya. “We’ve built an innovative, AI-driven export engine that enables great American entrepreneurs — like those who created Kate’s Real Food and Healthy Origins — to expand their horizons, find new revenue abroad and keep growing their local teams".
For Kate’s Real Food, the move marks its entry into South Korea for the first time. For Healthy Origins, the results have been measurable. The company reports that sales of its products on the platform have increased more than 50% year over year since partnering with Coupang. It has also expanded into Taiwan.
“Partnering with Coupang has been a significant step forward for our business”, said Bret Eby, CEO of Healthy Origins. “Coupang makes it easier to deliver a great shopping experience and we’ve appreciated the collaboration and support throughout the process. Its scale, efficiency and consumer reach in Korea are unmatched and launching on Coupang allowed us to elevate our presence and connect with customers in a much more impactful and direct way”.
The broader relevance lies in the model itself. Digital marketplaces are building integrated cross-border infrastructure. That shift changes what international expansion requires. Smaller regional brands no longer need to replicate warehousing, logistics and retail partnerships in every new market. Instead, they can plug into an existing system and reach customers abroad.
In this case, two Pennsylvania companies are doing exactly that. Their expansion illustrates how platform-led trade is reshaping the path from local operations to global reach.
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CES 2026 and the move toward wearable robots you don’t wear all day.
Updated
January 28, 2026 5:53 PM
The π6 exoskeleton from VIGX. PHOTO: VIGX
CES 2026 highlighted how robotics is taking many different forms. VIGX, a wearable robotics company, used the event to introduce the π6, a portable exoskeleton robot designed to be carried and worn only when needed. Unveiled in Las Vegas, the device reflects a broader shift at CES toward robotics that move with people rather than staying fixed in industrial or clinical settings.
Exoskeletons have existed for years, most commonly in controlled environments such as factories, rehabilitation facilities and specialised research settings. In these contexts, they have tended to be large, fixed systems intended for long sessions of supervised use rather than something a person could deploy on their own.
Against that backdrop, the π6 explores a more personal and flexible approach to assistance. Instead of treating an exoskeleton as permanent equipment, it is designed to be something users carry with them and wear only when a task or situation calls for extra support.
The π6 weighs 1.9 kilograms and folds down to a size that fits into a bag. When worn, it sits around the waist and legs, providing mechanical assistance during activities such as walking, climbing or extended movement. Rather than altering how people move, the system adds controlled rotational force at key joints to reduce physical strain over time.
According to the company, the device delivers up to 800 watts of peak power and 16 Nm of rotational force. In practical terms, this means the system is designed to help users sustain effort for longer periods, especially during physically demanding activities_ by easing the body's load rather than pushing it beyond normal limits.
The π6 is designed to support users weighing between 45 kilograms and 120 kilograms and is intended for intermittent use. This reinforces its role as a wearable companion — something taken out when needed and set aside when not — rather than a device meant to be worn continuously.
Another aspect of the system is how it responds to different environments. Using onboard sensors and processing, the exoskeleton can detect changes such as slopes or uneven ground and adjust the level of assistance accordingly. This reduces the need for manual adjustments and helps maintain a consistent walking experience across varied terrain, with software fine-tuning how assistance is applied rather than directing movement itself.
The hardware design follows a similar logic. The power belt contains a detachable battery, allowing users to remove or swap it without handling the entire system. This keeps the wearable components lighter and makes the exoskeleton easier to transport. The battery can also be used as a general power source for small electronic devices, adding a layer of practicality beyond the exoskeleton’s core function.
VIGX frames its work around accessibility rather than industrial automation. “To empower ordinary people,” said founder Bob Yu, explaining why the company chose to focus on exoskeleton robotics. “VIGX is dedicated to expanding the physical limits of humans, enabling deeper outdoor adventures, making running and cycling easier and more enjoyable and allowing people to sustain their outdoor pursuits regardless of age.”
Placed within the wider context of CES, the π6 sits alongside a growing number of portable robots and wearable systems that prioritise convenience, mobility and personal use. By reducing the physical and practical barriers to wearing an exoskeleton, VIGX is testing whether assistive robotics can move beyond niche environments and into everyday life. If that experiment succeeds, wearable robots may become less about dramatic augmentation and more about quiet support — present when needed and easy to put away when not.