martes, 16 de abril de 2013

Don't be fooled by the price



It has taken few months in the market to feel first hand (as distributors) what are the two main characteristics about olive oils and the olive oils distribution... Not in vain today (less than one year after its global launch) Kaltur can be found more and more in restaurants, stores, groceries... you name it in Spain, the UK and Russia. And we are getting in contact with wholesalers in the Central European area who are giving us feedback about the very same market. Two are then these characteristics:

EVOO is a healthy product to be consumed dairy: Indeed there are plenty of studies which demonstrate it and thousands of references in the media every day for people interested to learn why you should always have a bottle of extra virgin olive oil for you and your family. More people consume it worldwide each year.

Doubts about the real stuff inside the bottle: It is common to find products out there which claim to be EVOO which actually they are not. Many people distrust the product because it is not rare to find fake products in the market.

So, that is the reality we all find in the market whether we want to sell (unfair competence which make real EVOO almost to be impossible to sell because its higher cost) or to buy (cheating products that offer no warranties to be consumed).

Today I found this link in LinkedIn The Unadulterated Truth About Olive Oil which makes reference to this book: "Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil" that deepens into the topic.

I would like to say that we have found ourselves very often in discussions with our prospects (retailers and wholesalers) about price but not about quality. These ones know better than we do their own clients and they say that what people want is price and not quality. I think that the solution to end with fake products is in ourselves as EVOO buyers. Pure EVOO has a production cost and if we ever think that we can buy the same product for less money is just because we are buying a totally different product. When I buy soft drinks, chocolate, beer... I pay attention to the brand in order to get what I want. The same goes with olive oils. You, as buyer, can find great EVOO in Europe and America so is up to you to trust a brand and pay for it. When it comes to the food we all should be willing to pay enough to be calm that we buy what we want.

When we behave like that the retailers and wholesalers will start to pay more attention not only to the price but to the product quality also.

viernes, 12 de abril de 2013

Getting some use of Comtrade



One of the sources where you can find information about international trading is UN Comtrade Database (check the external links on the right). This is an international trading information repository that can be used to make queries about good transactions between two countries. It helps to get information about the goods and markets where you want to trade. If you have to make any business decision about any market, Comtrade will give you more info to be used by you to better base your choices.

Since we do produce and exports olive oils, this site was one that we started to use to get information about these goods trading numbers. You can find out the amount of goods and their value in dollars traded in between two countries or imported/exported to and by one only country. For example today I used UN Comtrade to get information about the olive oils that Germany has imported in the last years, and this is what I found out:

Year    Process            Countries                    Code   Amount ($)          Amount (Kg)
2008    Import             Germany                     1509    $283,621,000     51,561,070     
2008    Export             Spain   Germany         1509    $27,135,654       6,018,465       
2008    Export             Italy    Germany          1509    $206,218,369     35,559,721     

2009    Import             Germany                     1509    $252,070,000    54,186,912
2009    Export             Spain   Germany         1509    $24,275,187      6,409,446       
2009    Export             Italy    Germany          1509    $180,343,619    36,731,754     

2010    Import             Germany                     1509    $236,453,162    58,505,800
2010    Export             Spain   Germany         1509    $25,027,587      7,197,907       
2010    Export             Italy    Germany          1509    $183,123,130    40,082,950     

2011    Import             Germany                     1509    $273,710,898   64,671,779     
2011    Export             Spain   Germany         1509    $24,148,753     6,970,664       
2011    Export             Italy    Germany          1509    $211,035,350   43,750,886     

That is the info I got. I checked the amount in kg of olive oil imported by Germany during the years 2008 to 2011, I also got the amount exported by Spain (because is the country where we produce our product) and Italy (because is where the most olive oils come from in Germany). This numbers tell me that the olive oil consumption rises in time in Germany, and that Italy takes advantage of it sending more and more product over there. Spanish olive oils do not get more market share.

When we think about what is going on in Germany and the production statistics published by the International Olive Oil Council  I can not but wander myself how comes that being Spain the main olive oil producer, it has that small market share in Germany when compared with the Italian one. I have been surrounded by olive groves all my live and today I can see the heavy factories working in olive oil production, but commercialization and international distribution is a whole different sector where Italian companies have got the result of the great work done in the past. The same history repeated… Spanish companies (with few exceptions) need to risk resources to go to commercialize their products abroad. This is a new task where most of the companies in all sectors are getting involved in; we will see in the future how it goes.     

miércoles, 10 de abril de 2013

Presentation



In this blog I’m going to share my opinions and experiences about the food distribution sector. I am going to try to share as much as possible in the future about what is going to happening to me in this new sector that I put myself in last year.

Right now I am contacting FMCG professionals in Central Europe in the aim of coming to the point where I can get myself a business date to present the products that we deliver to wholesalers and distribution companies over there.

I will transmit my experience in the art of sales and communication skills, controlling our evolutions with sales metrics. I also will talk about project management which I think is very interesting in the task of developing new products and business. I will also share news and opinions about IT tech and CRM systems. You will also find me here paying attention to the new trends in logistics and exporting sector due to the fact that I will be selling products in other countries.
 
This is what you will find in the blog. Keep in mind that I am about to start my second year in the sector and that even though I am Spanish this site will be in English because of the global scope I would like to specialize myself in.