São Paulo – On the foreign market for only four years, professional hair products company Opt-Liss, from São Paulo, Brazil, has already carved out a niche for itself in four Arab countries. Currently, the enterprise has exclusive distributors in Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. These countries import a combined 40% of the company’s output.
“They all sought us out through online research. They were looking for a new brand [to represent] and found us,” says Marlene Ribeiro, in charge of the export department, regarding the Arab distributors.
Libya was the first Arab market the company broke into, in 2011. Now, Opt-Liss sells items such as shampoos, conditioners, hydrating masks, hair straightening products and finishing products to salons in Arab countries. Nearly all of the 16 products in the company’s portfolio are sold to treat Arab women’s hairs.
According to Ribeiro, the Arabs never made specific demands regarding the products; they only requested different packaging sizes and prints. All of the company’s packaging is trilingual, in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. “The usage instructions in Arabic are done by the Arabs themselves,” says the executive regarding the distributors that import the product.
Ribeiro explains that Opt-Liss is an export-oriented company. Mexico was the first country to buy, and single-handedly takes in 40% of output. The company also sells to France, Colombia and Iran.
Presently, Opt-Liss outsources its manufacturing. Approximately 1,000 tons of products are made each month. “Now, we are building a proprietary plant, which we hope will go start operating before the end of the year,” reveals Ribeiro. According to her, with the new plant and ensuing increase in production, the company is expecting higher sales abroad. “We are keenly interested in expanding,” says the executive.
The company has never participated directly in international exhibitions, but its distributors are authorized to represent the brand in these events, and thus the products were exhibited at a fair in Guadalajara, Mexico.
According to Ribeiro, the company keeps in touch with foreign distributors constantly, providing online technical support and getting feedback on sales. “The Arabs tell us their customers really enjoy our products,” she says.
Opt-Liss
Website: www.optliss.com
Email: export@optliss.com
Phone: + 55 11 3911-2888
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
