São Paulo – The Brazilian Toiletry, Perfume and Cosmetics Industry Association (Abihpec) hosted a workshop about the United Arab Emirates this Monday (17) in São Paulo, with support from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Tips were given to Brazilian companies interested in doing business in the Gulf country, on topics including Market and Trends, Regulatory Aspects, Foreign Trade, Cultural Aspects, and the BeautyCare Brazil Project.
Arab Chamber international business consultant Karen Mizuta and Abihpec’s Gueisa Silvério discussed partnership actions involving the two organizations. Missions in the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are in the schedule. A tour of the UAE and Egypt, for instance, will take advantage of the fact that Brazilian executives will attend Beautyworld Middle East, from May 31 to June 2 in Dubai, to create additional opportunities for them.
The trip will outlast the trade show by a few days, with technical visits in the sidelines of the event, as well as meetings and visits in Cairo, Egypt. Mizuta said the mission is available both to companies exhibiting at the show or ones just looking to join in for the sideline events. For additional information, please get in touch with the Arab Chamber’s commercial department.
Abihpec and the Arab Chamber will also host the seminar ‘Potential market and regulatory aspects,’ regarding Egypt, at the Arab Chamber headquarters on March 24. On the occasion, the organizations will sign a memorandum to seal their partnership. September 29 to October 1 will see an Arab Chamber mission to BeautyWorld Saudi Arabia, with support from Abihpec.
Also during the workshop, Abihpec market intelligence manager Elaine Gerchon stressed the relevance of cosmetics in the UAE. “The country is the second biggest consumer of cosmetics in the Arab League. We can subdivide the industry into four categories: perfumes, hair care, skin care, and make-up, and each has its own trends,” she said.
Gerchon said products in demand include hair care items made with natural ingredients, premium perfumes, holistic skin care products that emphasize well-being as well as beauty, anti-stress, anti-aging and deep cleansing products. As for make-up, she said the focus in 2019 was on lip products in 2019. All categories are increasingly internet-oriented. “The bloggers influence Arab buyers’ purchase decisions. The people have more information now, and transparency gets more and more important,” said the manager, adding that many Brazilian brands are doing e-commerce in the UAE.
Regarding Cultural Aspects and Negotiation, Arab Chamber market intelligence manager Ana Becker discussed the best ways to approach Arabs, and the pacing of negotiations with businesspeople in those countries.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum