Geovana Pagel
São Paulo – Biscuit factory Marilan Alimentos S.A, in the business for 46 years, is getting prepared to export to the United Arab Emirates for the first time. Starting in 2004 the company will send a monthly shipment of 30 tons of sweet snacks targeting the kids market.
"We are in the packaging development phase," says José Eduardo Casarin, Marilan foreign trade manager.
According to him, the main demands are related to the language. "We currently have to use an Arabic sticker as some of the countries are requesting information in the language," he explains.
According to Casarin, global export through a department especially established for this purpose began in 2001. Before that, Marilan only exported occasionally, without constant development of new customers. The first contact with the Emirates took place during the ISM 2002 fair in Germany.
Casarin comments that the Arabs are as demanding about product quality as the European Union and Canada, and are also very demanding with regard to prices, as there are many competitive suppliers, some of whom even have logistic advantages.
Expectation
According to him, negotiations with the Emirates and other countries are taking place directly, without intermediaries, and the company intends to expand sales to the region.
"Marilan is certainly interested in prospecting new Arab markets for its products," points out the export manager.
Of yearly Marilan revenues, the global export volume corresponds to 2.5%. It was export that recently made it possible for the company to hire 200 employees and a have a 30% production increase. Production is currently at 6,000 tons of biscuits per month.
Among the main buyers are China, the United States, Porto Rico, Italy, Portugal, and South Africa. The first shipment to the Emirates has not even left, but Casarin is optimistic.
"Expected sales growth to the Arab market in 2004 is between 10% and 20 %," he evaluates.
The industry
Apart from being among the largest biscuit producers in Latin America, Marilan is one of the four largest producers in Brazil. The company produces over 70 products, including sweet biscuits, cookies, savory snacks, chocolate-coated products, and toasted products.
The manual processes of the beginning of company operation, when production was 2,000 to 3,000 kilograms/day have been replaced by a modern technology production plant with completely automatic equipment.
Partnership with the supermarket sector, the company main sales vehicle, has made it possible to increase distribution channels to small retailers (bakeries, grocery stores, convenience stores, etc). The main domestic markets are the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Rio de Janeiro.
Apart from the head office in the city of Marília, interior of the southeastern state of São Paulo, the company has three warehouses and an exclusive delivery structure, through the Belem branch (in the northern state of Pará), the Vitória da Conquista branch (in the northeastern state of Bahia) and the Recife branch (in the northeastern state of Pernambuco). The company has 1,300 direct employees, and 300 third party service workers.
Contact
Marilan Alimentos S.A
www.marilan.com
