São Paulo – Businesswoman Raquel Cruz has always liked creams. So much so, that they were never lacking on her desk, when she was an executive secretary. As time went by, her appreciation for the product grew so much that she decided to change her area, and to share her passion for cosmetics with consumers. But not any cosmetics. The foundations had been laid for Feitiços Aromáticos (Aromatic Spells), Raquel’s company, with a factory in the city of São Paulo, and sales all over Brazil, with exports to Angola, Spain and Portugal.
"All our cosmetics have a concept, a why," explained the entrepreneur. The company’s catalogue includes items like body cream, cologne, oil, environmental aromatics, salts and liquid soap, among others. "They are products that may help relax, give energy and seduce," said Raquel. "All according to customer desires, supplying people that wanted the same as I did when I opened the company," she said.
That is how, between creams and perfumes, the businesswoman managed to reach over 2,000 points of sale in the country. The brand’s most sold items? “Cologne Feitiço do Amor (Love Spell), made with a mixture of essences and strawberry massage oil and champagne," said Raquel.
Access in the foreign market, currently responsible for 10% of company revenues, was due to the support of the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae). "I participated in program ‘Planning to internationalise’, which helped me much," explained the entrepreneur, who is negotiating with Colombia and Italy. The countries in the Middle East are also targeted. "We know how Arab women appreciate taking care of their appearance and like cosmetics. They are markets that interest us much," she said.
Attention in finishing
While Feitiços Aromáticos found space in such a disputed a sector as hygiene and beauty, costume jewellery producer Bruna Semijóias, from Bauru, in the interior of São Paulo state, has also grown and established itself by offering differentials to buyers. "We stood out due to design and finishing," said Valter Amaral, the company’s Foreign Trade manager.
She explained that, apart from careful polishing work on the items before gold plating, there are many other phases, with cleaning and plating, guaranteeing greater durability to the gild on the semi-jewels. "The competition normally uses a volume of gold that is proportional to the weight of each item," said Amaral. "But we work with several layers of plating, even in lighter products."
The concern with gloss and design "that accompanies fashion", says Amaral, resulted in the earrings, rings and bracelets made by Bruna Semijóias reaching markets like Benin, Chile, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama and Venezuela. "Exports represent 30% of our revenues," she said.
According to the executive, the advance in foreign sales is also connected to another of the company’s characteristics: agility in supply. "We try to maintain a certain volume in stock to be able to supply orders faster," said Amaral, who says he does not snooze when it is time to send glossy Bruna semi-jewels wherever they may be wanted.
*Translated by Mark Ament
