A guest blog by Howard Carter, Founder and CEO of Incognito, a UK company marketing and distributing insect repellent products globally.
Good Morning Vietnam!
I am writing this guest blog from Ho Chi Minh City (formally Saigon) after a frenetic, successful week on a great UKTI and London Chamber of Commerce & Industry organised trade mission.
Vietnam is one of the most exciting growth markets in the world. Here they bemoan an annual growth rate of 6%! Vietnam is a can-do culture with a friendly, smiley, people and growing middle class. The food is fantastic and there are fantastic opportunities for British businesses especially for a great, natural insect repellent that is incognito (https://www.lessmosquito.com). So it made sense for us to come out here, to evaluate the market, to find out how to enter it and to look for opportunities in the rest of the region.
The trade mission was led by the indefatigable Paul Smith, Chairman of Harvey Nash who first came to Vietnam in 2000. Today the company employ 4500 people with a turnover of hundreds of millions. A fantastic example of what can be achieved in a short space of time.
The service we received on the mission was top class. We were fortunate enough to have Carl Woolf an experience International Trade Advisor with us from UKTI. This is a great resource that UKTI offers; having a representative from the British government with you in meetings increases your stature considerably! We were put in contact with the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce (VCCI) who managed to arrange a meeting with a senior manager from the Ministry of Health who we needed to approve our product. The VCCI also organised an interpreter for us – usually something that is critical when meeting Vietnamese government officials. The Embassies in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi hosted strong briefings for the delegation. Dr Anthony Stokes, the professional Ambassador hosted a business-to-business reception at the official residence. And, we even received local press coverage and were filmed for Vietnamese television.
So, the outcomes from the trip? Apart from two TV interviews I gave, market evaluation and great networking for our brand, we have a potential partner that can submit our registration for the spray and distribute our innovative products. Also, having met the senior official from the MOH we have a clear understanding of what is required for each one of our lines. Lastly, I was able to fit it market research, which confirmed that there is a demand for premium personal insect protection.
Generally speaking, it takes time to do business in Vietnam, however, because I came over here, incognito could get lucky again and be trading within months! When you commit, to a situation or country, opportunities come naturally. This trip was hard work and we have achieved more than our expectations because of that.
As Lord Green said in his last blog and when incognito were a finalist in UKTI’s Exporting For Growth, earlier on this year, UK SME’s “could do much better”. Out here in Asia, like in most of the world, Great Britain is seen as a GREAT, quality, brand; ironically more than in the UK itself! UKTI organise hundreds of trade missions each year and now that SMEs can apply for grants, worth hundreds of pounds, to join trade missions, the opportunities for companies like mine to grow our business internationally is very exciting and is something I would thoroughly recommend.
4 comments
Comment by Nigel Mount posted on
I absolutely agree with Howards comments, I too was on same mission, and would like to thank Paul Smith, chairman of Harvey Smith, for sponsoring the trade mission, Ruma Deb London chamber of London and commerce the mission leader for organising this vist and UKTI for providing the grants for the SME's the combination of which all helps. Much hard work (and fun) and we await to see the results, one has to be very patient with this market.
Comment by Nigel Mount posted on
I absolutely agree with Howards comments, I too was on same mission, and would like to thank Paul Smith, chairman of Harvey Smith, for sponsoring the trade mission, Ruma Deb London chamber of London and commerce the mission leader for organising this vist and UKTI for providing the grants for the SME's the combination of which all helps. Much hard work (and fun) and we await to see the results, one has to be very patient with this market.
Comment by Howard Carter posted on
It was a pleasure meeting you too, Nigel. I am sure all your hard work will be well rewarded in time. Here is a little xmas present to you & all UKTI followers: http://bit.ly/QS5Xho
Comment by Howard Carter posted on
It was a pleasure meeting you too, Nigel. I am sure all your hard work will be well rewarded in time. Here is a little xmas present to you & all UKTI followers: http://bit.ly/QS5Xho