KZN Businesswomen on a Mission to Seek Market In Russia |
| Two KwaZulu-Natal businesswomen will embark on a mission to seek the export market for their products in Russia when they leave for Moscow at the weekend. Ms Fatima Cele and Ms Sarita Gericke will showcase their products at the World Food Moscow International Exhibition that will take place from 24-27 September 2019.
The duo will be part of the more than 30 businesspeople who will participate in the popular annual trade fair. Their trip is organised and funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) with the aim assisting the South African companies seek the export market for their food and drink products in Russia. For Gericke, the CEO of the Durban-based Energy Supplements company, the trip provides her with an opportunity of adding Russia as the second country that her products are exported to. She participated in the SIAL Food Exhibition in France last year with the help of the dti and clinched a deal to export her products to Chile. Her products include meal replacement shakes, high energy breakfast cereals, snacks and hydrolysed collagen. “We will be exhibiting our products in Russia with the hope of attracting the attention of distributors from different countries who can order our products and distribute them in various markets. I will also be having follow-up discussions with potential clients that I met at another food exhibition in France last where I was also part of the dti delegation. They showed interest in our products and would like us to enter into an exclusive contract that will make them the only distributors of our products in Russia,” says Gericke. Cele, the Director and founder of Royalty Agri-Biz, which is based in Pietermaritzburg, says participating in World Food Moscow will provide her company with exciting prospects of breaking into the international market. “It will be for the first time that we are participating in an international trade exhibition. On our side we are ready to start playing on the international market. Participating in this exhibition will enable us to test if the international market is ready for our products. We are going there to test the market and see how it will respond to our products which consist of a range of honey-based cordial drinks,” says Cele. She adds that the trip will also enable her to network with other businesspeople from around the globe, and to learn more about similar products on the international market. “The cherry on top for us will be finding an agent who can be able to help us introduce our products to the Russian market or anywhere in the world, so that we can start exporting there,” adds Cele. According to the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Nomalungelo Gina, the dti views the World Food Moscow as an ideal platform for South Africa to showcase the country’s food and drink products to international wholesalers, distributors, retailers and restaurateurs. World Food Moscow brings thousands of businesspeople from around the world closer to Russia’s key food and drinks buyers, including retail representatives from Russia’s leading supermarket chains, wholesalers, food manufacturers as well as members of the hotel, restaurant and catering sector. Enquiries: |
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