São Paulo – Soon, supermarkets in Jordan should start selling mineral and coconut water, juice and soft drinks made by Brazilian brand Vittal. Up to the end of the month, the company should ship a container to the Arab country for a market test. The contact with importers took place in May, during business meetings promoted by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), at the Apas fair, in São Paulo.
"We hope for good return," said the trader at the company, Khalil Fraig. According to him, the product labels are already in Arabic, which makes things easier for consumers. Apart from Arabic, the cans and plastic bottles also include labels in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Vittal is also negotiating with Saudi Arabia and the Untied Arab Emirates. "The Arab countries have a great consumer market and quality is helping win them over," said Fraig, who is also starting to export to the United States. "This year we are going to participate in Anuga, in Germany, which is the largest fair in the food sector in the world," he added.
According to the trader, the soft drink that pleases the Arabs the most is guaraná. "It is a new product for them and it needs to be promoted," said Fraig. In the case of Saudi Arabia, for example, the importer is only negotiating purchases of that soft drink. One of the advantages of the company is that it has its own source of water, Santa Amélia spring, and it is used for the production of all beverages, except for coconut water, which comes from the northeast of the country.
"Extraction of water developed by the company itself is one of our main differentials with regard to price and flavour," said the trader. According to him, Vittal coconut water is also well accepted by foreigners, as it is 100% natural.
For 2010, the company plans to expand its production capacity by 30%. "The target is to turn 60% of production to the foreign market, in coming years," said Fraig, who prefers not to disclose company production figures. "We are investing heavily in marketing to reach these figures. We are currently just starting our work on the foreign market," he added.
Last week, Fraig made contact with Arab buyers who participated in business roundtables organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce at the Equipotel fair. The trader met with importers from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates and found the talks very productive.
The company is known for brand Xereta, in Brazil, used with some products sold nationally. Abroad, however, the products are sold under brand Vittal.
Contact:
Vittal
Site: www.refrigerantesxereta.com.br
Tel. (+55 15) 3282-9800
E-mail: khalil@refrigerantesxereta.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
