Omar Nasser, da Fiep*
São Paulo – The Arabs want to stay in form. Betting on this tendency, Nutrilatina, an industry of supplements for athletes and diet and light foods that is based in the city of Curitiba, capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, has been working on its first shipment to the Middle East. In March this year, for example, a container with samples of 250 items was shipped to Saudi Arabia.
The company board prefers not to talk about figures, but informs that experiments in the Arab market have been taking place since October 2004, when the first exports were made to Kuwait. In April last year, a new shipment was sent to the country. In May came a shipment to Saudi Arabia.
Apart from these Arab countries, others are being tested, like Lebanon, Egypt and Qatar. "The company bets on these markets," stated Igor de Oliveira Correia, who is responsible for the International Business area at the company. The Arab countries, he said, like products that have chocolate or cocoa in their formula. This is the niche in which Nutrilatina sees a great potential. "As these products are diet, they may be consumed without worries, as they are healthy," he explained.
The company products are divided into five lines: Sempre Light, which includes products with low sugar and/or reduced fat levels; Nutra, of cereal bars; Diet Shake, a meal replacer with the objective of reducing or maintaining weight; Mega Gym, a food supplement for amateur athletes; and AGE, a food supplement turned to professional athletes.
Distribution of the products in the countries of the Arabian Gulf is through a local trader, who recently visited Curitiba for a month to visit the company. He already sells similar products made by other companies that operate in the same sector as Nutrilatina. According to Correia, one figure in favour of the industry is the general sympathy that the Arabs have for the country.
Nutrilatina
Telephone: (+55 41) 3356 2423
e-mail: nutrilatina@nutrilatina.com.br
*Federation of Industries of the State of Paraná. Translated by Mark Ament
