Creating Good Jobs in Ethiopia

2022-11-24T08:46:24+00:00November 22nd, 2022|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Export and Business Development for Ethiopian Agribusinesses The backbone of the Ethiopian economy is agriculture, which provides employment for approximately 68% of the working population and represents 30% of GDP. With over 40% of the Ethiopian population being under the age of 15, the Ethiopian government must facilitate the creation of millions of jobs a year to ensure the reduction in the labour surplus. Consequently, and for the past two decades, the Ethiopian government’s strategy for economic development is the structural transformation of the economy from low- to high-productivity agriculture, value-addition and industrialisation. In conjunction with the GIZ project, [Read more]

2021 Sustainable Beauty Trends: Why sustainably sourced natural ingredients for cosmetics are more important than ever

2021-11-25T09:41:13+00:00November 25th, 2021|Tags: , , , , , , , |

  We’ve asked our consultants Nicolás Caso and Jolanda van Hal to share the main sustainable beauty trends of 2021 and why sustainably sourced natural ingredients for cosmetics are more important than ever. In this article, the two consultants share the main 2021 trends, how sustainability certifications are becoming essential to succeed in international markets, and how to meet the growing demands of international buyers. 2021 Sustainable Beauty Trends: Why sustainably sourced natural ingredients for cosmetics are more important than ever 2021 has also been an important year in terms of sustainability in the cosmetic sector. Sustainable sourcing [Read more]

Impacts of COVID-19 on the natural ingredients for cosmetics market

2021-11-25T07:10:13+00:00June 18th, 2020|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Not a homogenous impact within the cosmetics industry: The coronavirus pandemic has forced nearly one-third of the world’s population into lockdown. During this time, consumer demand for cosmetics has decreased in general. However, if you take a closer look within the segments some are booming! While decorative cosmetics experienced a dip in demand, essential oils, hygiene and skin care segments are thriving as consumers try to improve their immunity. But what are the impacts of the COVID-19 on the natural ingredients for cosmetics market? In Europe, where the COVID 19 outbreak has made most of the victims in March [Read more]

Focus on one of the key trends in natural ingredients for cosmetics: Sustainable beauty

2021-11-25T07:24:15+00:00June 18th, 2020|Tags: , , , , , |

Sustainability remains key for European buyers of cosmetic ingredients. The same goes for consumers. European consumers are more informed about issues such as global warming and environmental threats. This trend has led organic, vegan, fair-trade, sustainable and ethically sourced cosmetics to become more mainstream. A review of Science Direct in 2019 concluded that sustainability impacts occur through all phases of a cosmetic product’s life cycle. But selection of raw materials deserves more attention as information on this topic remains scattered and diffuse. A situation that is still relevant in 2020. COVID-19 as a disruptor of the market The COVID-19 [Read more]

Training South African health ingredients companies

2016-11-01T16:28:08+00:00December 3rd, 2015|Tags: , , |

Effective export marketing requires planning: knowing how you are going to position yourself on the market and what that involves in terms of product development, distribution, pricing and promotion. This requires that you understand both your company and the market, and that you can connect the two. It also involves making choices on corporate social responsibility: what are the commitments your company wants to make and how should that be reflected in export marketing? Once this is done, companies need to make an action plan and consider which financial and human resources they need to put it into practice. IN2NI [Read more]

Unlocking the potential of South Africa

2019-04-16T14:50:31+00:00November 30th, 2015|Tags: , , , |

South Africa is known for its unique biodiversity and natural resources. ProFound looked into the opportunities on the European market for these products, to support our sector development activities in South Africa, together with CBI. We analysed the potential of South African MAPs (medicinal and aromatic plants) and their extracts, essential oils and vegetable oils as natural ingredients in cosmetic and health products. Moreover, we developed a profile of the sector, looking into the potential to produce and export natural ingredients, South Africa's image on the international market and marketing strategies. The analysis was commissioned by CBI and can be found on [Read more]

Market orientation: EU health ingredients

2016-10-11T13:27:03+00:00May 12th, 2015|Tags: , , , |

Robbie Hogervorst and CBI health ingredient expert Klaus Dürbeck travelled to Vitafoods in the beginning of May for a Market Orientation mission with South African producers of natural ingredients. During this mission, companies verified their market entry strategy with classroom trainings. They met with potential buyers and came to a better understanding what they need to enter the EU market.  Not only did the trade fair show them potential customers, but also their competitors. Key in this work was to acquaint the companies with documentation: using company contact forms for effective decision making and follow up. Visiting retail outlets showed [Read more]

Facilitating the South African natural ingredients sector

2016-10-11T12:40:23+00:00April 2nd, 2015|Tags: , , , , |

South Africa has a great potential to become a leader in Natural Ingredients. Unfortunately, the business environment is not enabling the sector to take full advantage of the country´s position. For that reason, Robbie Hogervorst went to South Africa, together with CBI´s institutional expert Jim Tersteeg to visit stakeholders that could play a key role in improving a business enabling environment. During this mission, forward actions were discussed. South Africa has a sound foundation to develop and market high quality and innovative ingredients for the health, cosmetics and food sectors. This foundation is built on the country’s biodiversity, diversity in [Read more]

Natural Ingredients mission to Egypt

2014-09-18T15:42:30+00:00September 18th, 2014|Tags: , , , , |

The Egyptian natural ingredients sector finds itself at a crossroads. On the one hand, increasing quality requirements in the health and cosmetics sector put pressure on producers to step up; adding value to their products through quality improvement processing, documentation and certification. On the other hand, the weak organisation of the sector and the lack of awareness of value addition opportunities and market trends limits innovation. Ground water and soil contamination with pesticides and plastics adds to their difficulties. Within this context, ProFound natural ingredient consultant Robbie Hogervorst organised and facilitated a mission to Egypt for CBI in close coordination [Read more]

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