São Paulo – Established three years ago, Boutique de Aromas (Boutique of Aromas), an enterprise based in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, is setting out to export. After undergoing a training program of the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), the company has already closed its first deal abroad, and in a while it may also be present in the Arab market.
Carla Van Ass, the director of the company, explains that while attending the House & Gift Fair, in São Paulo, she was visited by a representative of a trading company that works for an importer from the United Arab Emirates. "She mentioned that she was interested in Brazilian products," says the executive, adding that now she is going to keep in touch with the trading company.
She claims that the company decided to export when it realized the export potential for sales of cosmetics made from typical Brazilian products. Carla says that she saw several Brazilian products get sold because they used plants from the Amazon, and she concluded that she could export her cosmetics from plants native to the region in which the Boutique is based, in Panambi, in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The company, which manufactures glycerine-based soaps, exfoliating soaps, hydrating creams, liquid soaps and other cosmetics from fruits such as pitanga, green apple and peach, for instance, has already closed its first sales deal to Angola, worth US$ 20,000, and is now negotiation two other with Mozambique.
"We placed an emphasis on extracts from the local biodiversity that attract attention abroad," she says. In the domestic market, the company’s flagship products are its aromatic sprays. Among those she believes may be the most successful outside the country, Carla highlights "Flora Brazil," an aromatic spray of woody, floral and leafy scent.
Sales to African countries resulted from a mission to the region in which Carla took part, and which included South Africa as well. The executive also claims that in order to start selling to the foreign market, the company had to invest in improving the quality of its producs. "We did research and improved our level very much in order to export," she says, explaining that the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has specific requirements for cosmetics exports. Boutique de Aromas has nine employees, and posted 350,000 Brazilian reals (US$ 199,000) in revenues in 2009.
Contact
Boutique de Aromas
Tel.: (+55 55) 3375-3264
E-mail: carla@boutiquedearomas.com.br
Site: www.boutiquedearomas.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
