For years, Eli Prosciutti, a family-run maker of Italian ham, stuck close to home. The Parma-based maker of buttery-soft San Daniele prosciutto barely ventured abroad, daunted by the thicket of health regulations and unwilling to share profits with importers who could help penetrate foreign supermarkets and high-end restaurants.

But now recession-weary Italian shoppers are scrimping, while hard-pressed supermarkets are squeezing suppliers. So after three years of losses, Eli Prosciutti has finally ventured overseas, pushing...