The domestic market in Ukraine is collapsing and product demand is falling. But 93% of Ukrainian businesses are resuming their activities despite missile attacks, destroyed logistics, inflation, and blackouts.
Many of them have also started to look to the promising EU market. While Ukrainian companies were cautious and fearful trying to enter this market in the past, today, they are forcing their way in.
Viktor Andrukhiv is a Ukrainian enrepreneur, co-founder of Fibermix and Savex Minerals. His company, which makes polymer fiber, had great ambitions for 2022. They planned to increase production volumes and gain a foothold in the EU market. Clients in Poland, Latvia, and Bulgaria were the first to believe in their polymers.
They had been on the verge of an exciting business adventure…. But the morning of February 24 had other plans, as a full-scale invasion was launched against our country. They lost all understanding of how to work and what and whom to work with. In March, Viktor was mentally preparing to lose his business.
Fortunately, though, now his business has actually grown. 70% of orders come from Europe, and Viktor has found these 5 aspects to consider before selling in Europe. He shared them below:
Certification
Certification and international trademark documents should be taken care of in advance. Without such documents, getting even a single order in the EU market is impossible. Our certification, which we received in late 2021, opened our company to many new opportunities.
Service
Before establishing a partnership with a European client, your company must, first of all, honor its own obligations. It must provide both top product quality and good service without delay. To be honest, our partners are pleasantly surprised by our company’s work ethics, but those are the working conditions we’re accustomed to as a country.
Promoting Ukrainian Products
Our company’s identification with Ukraine helped our cold calling. We designed yellow-and-blue packaging to let our clients see where our goods come from. And that works wonders! Even at a glance, ours can be told apart from other manufacturers’ goods. At the same time, this allows clients to see how many of our products are in stock—and to place a new order.
Speaking the Same Language
Europeans are more willing to work with those of whom they have, at least, heard or are aware. The English version of our website, which was a big project of its own, gave our company the best brand preference. For several years, we meticulously adjusted our targets and took European trends and search algorithms into account. In the end, our website started bringing us new clients, and our second order was enough to cover all the previous expenses.
Building Trust
On the one hand, this aspect is key to opening broad horizons. On the other hand, it is difficult for our businesses to maintain. Most Ukrainian entrepreneurs are facing the hardest time entering local business communities because of the war, which has deprived them of access to exhibitions, forums, and networking abroad. At the same time, preserving live contact with partners and clients is an important business component. This is where various means of communication, which range from video calls to newsletters, come in to help. Although we as a company use remote communications at the moment, we still plan offline business trips and meetings. We had scheduled an extensive business tour for management in 2022, and we intend to make this trip a reality next year finally. We want to be inspired by Europe and continue opening up to new prospects.
To wrap this up, refuse to wait for an opportunity to present itself. Refuse to count on a quick end to the war and market stabilization. Instead, set out to work and look for new opportunities. In March, our company was preparing to go into survival mode. And today, we have made significant progress in other markets. What’s more, we are planning to expand the area of our production facilities.
Frankly speaking, orders from our EU clients helped our company to survive. Ukrainian businesses are sincerely grateful to Europe for its support. Working with us is the best kind of helping hand you can give us!
