Primed for Success Volume 3

“In 2000 we attended the Caribbean Gift and Craft Show (CGCS) in Barbados on our own, it was there that we met officials from the Agency and discussed their services. The following year they included us as one of the companies to showcase at CGCS, and we have been involved with them ever since.” Natmed has showcased at Design Caribbean in 2011 in the Dominican Republic, and benefited from the delivery of training in branding and packaging, export marketing, market intelligence and proposal writing. “The proposal writing training has helped us secure two grants from Caribbean Export, with the first one we were able to register a trade mark, undertake some product testing and develop our website. With this new grant, we plan to increase our visibility and break into more markets.” The company also recently participated in a mission to the French Caribbean and Outermost Regions (FCORs), and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) of the European Union (EU), in addition to business forums with firms from those same territories. “We established quite a few contacts during the mission and the business forum, so the next step is to build on the momentum created with these initiatives.” Drs. Gayle and Carlos attribute much of their success to the passion they have for their field, but they also credit Caribbean Export for providing the much-needed support in reaching the goals. “The Agency assisted us financially and supported us beyond our local market. Their help in tackling overseas markets and exposing us to the requirements to enter them is tremendous and we sincerely appreciate this. The Agency has also helped us focus on mid-term and long-term goals, and expand our reach.” Their extended plan for Natmed is to establish the company as a globally recognized brand that is consistent with their ultimate goal of being the lead manufacturer and distributer of all natural products from the Caribbean.Within the coming months, however, the aim is to register as many products as they can for the EU market. “We really want to take advantage of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and the Caribbean because we have a small distributer in the UK who is doing well. With a contact already there, it’s the next best step. Also, we have potential clients in the FCORs and OCTs and they have the same requirements as the EU markets so it is a strategic move.” The pioneering pair believes that other regional firms can be successful if they differentiate themselves from the

Primed for Success / Vol. 3 / 2014-2015

www.carib-export.com

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