JAPAN | SOUTH KOREA | CHINA
PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF APPROACHING MARKETS
CASE STUDIES FROM THE AGRI-FOOD SECTOR

 

In the past May 4th and 5th, 2 workshops were organized with the objective of supporting and increasing the internationalization efforts of Portuguese companies in the markets of Japan, South Korea and China. In these 2 sessions, some practical aspects of approaching the markets were highlighted, through the analysis of concrete cases in the agri-food industry.

The sessions, which take place online, featured 5 international speakers, players in the featured markets – Mark Kum, founder and digital marketing consultant of 2Advanced; Tetsuya Haraoka of Yusen Logistics; Simone Tanda, sales manager of INFORMA, the organizing company of the Seoul Food & Hotels event, Jean-Paul Schimitz of ASIA ASSIST and Ronnie Leung of AE Cargo.

The guests spoke on topics such as Communication and Marketing, Logistics, and Participation in Trade Shows in the target markets. These themes were complemented with testimonies of case studies of the successful entry into the highlighted markets of Quinta da Aveleda, Conservas Ramirez and Outeirinho.

The first session opened with the testimony of Mark Kum, an expert with more than 20 years of marketing experience, who spoke about the importance of online as a sales channel, whose value in both the Japanese and South Korean markets has been increasing significantly.

In the following panel, held by Tetsuya Haraoka, the longevity of the connection between Japan and Portugal was highlighted, with emphasis on the fact that, currently, Japan is the 5th largest importer of food in the world and imports from Portugal, especially, products such as olive oil, canned fish, wine, frozen vegetables, honey or pasta.

Simone Tanda, in charge of the Seoul Food & Hotels event, spoke about the importance of knowing the market well before starting an internationalization process, and listed several tips for companies to best prepare themselves for this. One of the advices given by him to the companies that intend to participate in this type of international events is to try to participate through participations organized by specialized entities, as is the case of AEP. This intervention also occurred in the workshop the next day.

In his testimony as a company with knowledge of the market, Manuel Moreira, Sales Manager of Ramirez conserves, referred to all the specific work done to demystify the product when it entered the market. For this, it is essential to know the consumer, buying behaviors, eating habits, and the culture itself, he argued.

For this, it is essential to know the consumer, buying behaviors, eating habits, and the culture itself, he argued. The speaker addressed the issue of communication and marketing in China, highlighting its obvious differences compared to the European market, such as the fact that in this market there are several applications and social networks for specific social audiences.

In the realm of logistics issues, Ronnie Leung, highlighted the particularities of the regulatory aspects of this market.

Exports to the Chinese market were also addressed through the practical cases of Outeirinho and Quinta da Aveleda, with the former highlighting the cultural constraints that the internationalization process can entail and the latter referring to the importance of brand positioning in the first years of market penetration.

On both days, the workshops ended with a question and answer session.

See below the complete video of the Workshops.