The business case for BioTrade markets

2018-06-26T12:34:59+00:00October 31st, 2017|Tags: , , , , , |

ProFound’s consultants  Bert-Jan Ottens and Sacha Handgraaf supported a Helvetas training on sustainable certification schemes in the context of the Regional BioTrade Project Southeast Asia with Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation. The Helvetas country teams came together in Bangkok to discuss certification trajectories for the tea, spices and thanaka value chains. This will help the teams to design strong business cases for BioTrade with business support and private sector actors in Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. During the two day-training the teams learned more about: Food safety and sustainability certifications relevant for the international market How to make the link between the BioTrade principles [Read more]

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ProFound supports project formulation for Colombia+Competitiva

2018-06-26T12:39:27+00:00September 26th, 2017|Tags: , , , |

As part of the SECO-funded Colombia+Competitiva programme, ProFound’s Gustavo Ferro was invited by Swisscontact to support Colombian applicants to formulate proposals for cocoa and natural ingredients projects. An expert panel will assess these proposals and choose projects that will be co-funded by the programme. Gustavo travelled to five locations in Colombia, and discussed extensively with project partners. With the organisations, he addressed broad subjects on market developments, access requirements, segmentation and, most importantly, how to translate the problems therein into practical interventions. Gustavo answered questions, shared experiences and assisted the applicants in structuring their thinking into a market systems approach. The Colombia+Competitiva [Read more]

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Training Tunisian producers – How to access the European cosmetics market?

2017-09-22T11:26:52+00:00September 22nd, 2017|Tags: , , |

On behalf of the German Import Promotion Desk (IPD), ProFound’s consultant Robbie Hogervorst provided a two-day training in Tunisia on the European cosmetics sector. During the first day, Robbie brought a group of business support organisations up to speed on European market dynamics and requirements for cosmetic products and ingredients. Based on these insights, the participants developed a storyline for Tunisian cosmetic products on the European market, and translated this into ideas and actions for future trade fair participations.      On the second day, more than 80 participants from the private sector learned about cosmetic market trends and market [Read more]

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Ethiopian honey value chains become stronger

2019-04-16T12:20:33+00:00August 2nd, 2017|Tags: , , , , |

ProFound and its partners SNV, Enclude and EAB are developing solutions together with processors in Ethiopia to improve the quality of their honey. Some solutions only require strict application of Standard Operating Procedures within the processing facility. Other solutions require intense cooperation with beekeepers. See our story on organic honey from Ethiopia to learn more about our work with beekeepers in Ethiopia. During a training by ProFound's consultant Kasper Kerver, processors and supporting institutions such as the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and the Agricultural Transformation Agency learned how honey exporters can set and meet quality expectations of their (international) buyers. [Read more]

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Successful Vitafoods exhibition: 280 new business contacts

2020-07-23T07:41:39+00:00May 31st, 2017|Tags: , , , |

During Vitafoods 2017, ProFound supported seven exporters from South Africa and Pakistan at the CBI stand. We helped the exhibitors launch their products on the global health and nutraceutical ingredients market. The trade fair in Geneva was a success, the companies made 280 new business contacts. They have many potential leads to pursue. ProFound supported the exhibitors in presenting their products and company attractively and professionally. We linked them to buyers from Europe and beyond. Trade fair support and B2B Matchmaking are some of our activities covered by our market entry  solution. The seven companies were well prepared to [Read more]

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ProFound @Vitafoods 2017: CBI stand J116

2017-05-31T11:51:57+00:00April 21st, 2017|Tags: , , , , |

Vitafoods Europe is expecting more than 18,500 visitors and 1,000 exhibitors to its annual trade fair in Geneva, Switzerland. From 9-11 May, the trade fair will bring together companies from the entire global nutraceutical supply chain. CBI will be there to introduce seven natural ingredient suppliers to the market. At the stand, ProFound will offer trade fair support, one of our activities in Market Access (See our Solutions page for more information). You can find ProFound consultant Robbie Hogervorst at CBI stand J116, together with seven companies from Pakistan and South Africa. The exhibitors are all part of CBI’s export [Read more]

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Focus on innovation, natural and sustainability at in-cosmetics

2017-05-31T11:51:26+00:00April 14th, 2017|Tags: , , , , |

In-cosmetics is the world’s most important trade fair for cosmetic ingredients and the place to pick up on the latest trends in cosmetics. From 4-6 April, almost 9,000 visitors came to see the 780 exhibitors at the trade fair in London. ProFound consultant Robbie Hogervorst joined the CBI team with cosmetic ingredient expert Andrew Jones to support 19 companies. These are part of the CBI export coaching programmes in South Africa, Colombia, Peru and Indonesia. Trade Fair Support is one of ProFound’s activities in Market Access (See our Solutions page for more information). “Renowned buyers placed orders with CBI exhibitors at in-cosmetics. R&D, marketing [Read more]

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Eleven Rural Finance Matchmaking Sessions for African entrepreneurs at BioFach 2017

2018-02-22T10:31:03+00:00February 28th, 2017|Tags: , , , |

African suppliers often cannot access the necessary financial services they need; their financial position makes them too large to be targeted by development aid interventions, but too small to qualify for loans from many private banks. This space is known as the ‘missing middle.’ At the same time, social lenders in Europe and North America cannot identify a sufficient number of viable projects to fund and face high risks catering to the needs of the missing middle. ProFound contributes towards bridging this financial gap through organising matchmaking sessions between suppliers and social lenders. “ProFound provides full value chain solutions from [Read more]

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BioFach 2017: The Organic Africa Pavilion celebrates African diversity

2019-04-12T15:11:43+00:00February 24th, 2017|Tags: , , , , |

In the second year of the Organic Africa Pavilion at BioFach, ProFound brought a mix of African culture and professionalism. The pavilion’s 15 exhibitors from Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe and Mozambique displayed high-quality organic ingredients, including baobab, honey, cocoa, coffee, fresh papaya, desert date oil, neem oil and dried mango. Our authentic Ethiopian coffee ceremony, organised with the Ethiopian consulate, attracted visitors and energised business-making. The participants of the Organic Africa Pavilion had excellent visibility at BioFach, and the response from visitors was inspiring. We reached more than 750 business contacts during the 4 days, of which 65% [Read more]

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ProFound launches certification tool at BioFach 2017

2018-01-26T10:20:41+00:00February 22nd, 2017|Tags: , |

Our tool for faster and cheaper certification of sustainable natural ingredients During BioFach 2017, we launched our integrated certification tool for suppliers of wild-collected natural ingredients. This tool helps suppliers to assess and certify their supply chains according to multiple sustainability standards at the same time. It includes all protocols to comply with international standards and certifications such as Good Agricultural Collection Practices (GACP), organic, FairWild and fair trade. Each standard demands different documentation sets, but these often overlap. “Certification is a costly and dreading process for suppliers. We designed this tool to make the certification process cheaper and more convenient for suppliers in emerging [Read more]

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