São Paulo – Brazilian sweet maker Mavalério aims to increase its share of the Arab market with coloured sugar, granulated chocolate, sweets and dozens of other products, which currently arrive in Yemen and Kuwait. Sales to the countries of the Middle East are still small, but the company sees good perspectives in business with the region.
“It is a very good market, an enormous market. The countries of the League of Arab States have very large populations and are still a market that is unexplored by us,” said André Bettin, Foreign Trade coordinator. According to him, the company sees potential in sales to all countries of the region, but believes that the United Arab Emirates is the nation with greatest chance of expansion. “They have very high buying power and have been growing very much,” he said.
The executive explains that sales to the Arabs are through distributors. “They sell to bakeries, restaurants, confectioneries and ice-cream parlours. A small share goes to retail,” he says. “They buy almost the entire line, with over 100 products,” he added.
According to Bettin, Mavalério product packages have text in English, Spanish and Arabic. “We started putting the Arabic on the packages last year. We are doing it little by little,” he says.
Sales to Yemen started eight years ago, whereas the market in Kuwait was won in 2012, with the first Mavalério participation in Gulfood, the food sector fair that took place in February, in Dubai, in the Emirates. “The fair was very good. It attracts visitors from practically all Arab countries,” pointed out Bettin. The company should participate in the event again. It also participates in fairs in the United States, Germany, Bolivia and Chile.
Mavalério production is 2,000 tonnes of sweets a month. Of this total, 10% is exported, but the company plans to increase this percentage. “We hope to reach 20% over the next five years,” said Bettin. Currently, the factory sells to 25 countries. The main markets are the United States and the countries of South America.
Headquartered in Itatiba, in the interior of São Paulo, Mavalério was established in 1969 and has 450 employees.
Contact
Mavalério
Tel.: (+55 11) 4534-9271
E-mail: andre@mavalerio.com.br
Site: www.mavalerio.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
