Agroindustrial Group Arnika (Arnika Organic) is one of the largest producers and exporters of organic agricultural products in Ukraine, as well as one of the largest organic holdings in Europe in terms of certified land bank. The company has been participating in BIOFACH trade fair as a visitor and exhibitor for more than 6 years, bringing home more and more achievements every year.

In 2023, the company presented the following products at the trade fair: organic corn, soybeans, sunflower, flax, mustard, and hemp. Thanks to the careful preparation of the team and its active work within the National Pavilion of Ukraine, Arnika Organic managed to hold successful negotiations and sign contracts with leading European companies. As a result of these negotiations, the brand has contracted about 20,000 tonnes of organic products.

Company evolution at the international trade fair BIOFACH

Agroindustrial Group Arnika was founded in 2000 as an agricultural company with conventional farming technology. The year 2012 was a milestone for the company, as Andriy Pylypchenko, the founder, owner, and CEO, made a strategic decision to convert the company into organic business and implement a sustainable management system. Since then, Arnika has become the second largest organic brand in Europe with a certified land bank of over 18,000 hectares. In addition, the company is a steady supplier of organic soybeans and corn to the EU and Swiss markets (almost 50% of soybeans exported from Ukraine to the EU countries come from Arnika).

"Organic production is a value that we bring through our daily work. It is about responsibility and a conscious choice in favour of the current and future generations of Ukrainians who will live and work on this land. This is the vision around which the entire Arnika ecosystem is built. For me, as the owner, founder and CEO of the company, it is important to consider what kind of legacy we should leave behind, how our present affects our future. And I am grateful to the team that shares these values and understanding, and together with me develops a business that is integrated into the philosophy of conscious and sustainable land use," says Andriy Pylypchenko, founder, owner and CEO of Agroindustrial Group Arnika.

Arnika's team first attended the trade fair in 2015 as a visitor. The experience gained showed how important it is to prepare the company and its team for participation in international trade fairs.

"We knew that we were ready to represent Ukraine at large-scale trade fairs, but we also realised that to become an exhibitor, we needed to make painstaking and serious preparations. During our first visit to BIOFACH, we already received our first acquaintances and contacts from companies from around the world. For us, this communication was the first and necessary impetus to strengthen our international presence, in particular at trade fairs. The very next year, we planned our participation as an exhibitor in the National Pavilion of Ukraine. The preparation was long, thorough, and required the efforts of various team members. We also managed to schedule meetings with potential partners in advance, which gave us the maximum result from participation in the trade fair," says Viktoriia Vasylchenko, Head of Foreign Economic Activity at Arnika.

Trade fairs are an important tool for companies to explore potential market niches, find partners, and establish exports. However, it is important to have a specific goal, a strategy, a prepared team and extensive work in advance that will help achieve the necessary results during the exhibition.

The company's results after participation in BIOFACH 2023 as part of the National Pavilion of Ukraine

The company sees participation in BIOFACH primarily as an opportunity to negotiate with potential and existing partners. The company's team always carefully plans meetings, which take place either at the National Pavilion or at the invitation of partner companies' stalls. In addition, the company takes an active part in the conference part of the trade fair, both as a listener and speaker at specialised events. The preparation process begins 3-4 months before the exhibition. This is to ensure that you spend 3 days at BIOFACH productively and achieve maximum results. Employees believe that without such preparation, the effectiveness of the event may be lost.

Representatives of the company note that important strategic goals for production are set at BIOFACH: contracts are concluded, crop rotation and plans for the marketing year are planned, priorities are set, trends in the organic industry are identified, market hypotheses are confirmed or refuted, and various information is accumulated. "While Arnika specialises in growing organic soybeans, sunflower and corn, the company is open to suggestions from its customers on growing niche crops (beans, lentils, chickpeas, mustard, flax, millet). For example, during the trade fair, the company discussed the possibility of growing and supplying black mustard with one of its customers – the company accepted the challenge and started working with the new crop.

"We are ready for new proposals for sowing niche crops, as our areas allow us to do so, and we have developed agricultural technologies. We have never sown black mustard, but our team is always ready for new challenges and new experience, so now the client is waiting for the shipment of the goods," sums up Victoriia Vasylchenko, Head of Foreign Economic Activity at Arnika.

Thanks to the team's painstaking preparation for negotiations with the largest players in the organic market at BIOFACH 2023, Arnika managed to achieve a powerful result – the company contracted about 20,000 tonnes of organic products.

In 2022, Ukraine exported about 220,000 tonnes of organic products to the EU under extremely difficult military conditions. One fifth of the exported products, or about 40,000 tonnes, were exported by Arnika.

A large share of exports goes to Austria, Germany and Switzerland, countries known for their high demands on product quality and sustainability. The Swiss market requires a serious approach to product quality and the fulfilment of contracts on time: Arnika supplies about 90% of its imported soybeans to one of the largest processing plants in Switzerland. In addition to European countries, Arnika cooperates with companies from Japan and is working on entering the Middle East market.

"The year 2022 proved that sustainability is not a theory or a popular saying. By our own example, we proved to our customers from all over the world the sustainability of organic business, its steadfastness and commitment to the values of reliability. Despite all the circumstances that accompanied exports last year and this year, our company fulfils its contractual obligations, exports on time and in the declared quality. This is our value to our customers, our sustainability as a producer and exporter and our reliability as a partner," says Anastasiia Bilych, Head of Marketing.

Arnika's participation in the trade fair also helped to make a strong statement about the company in the Swiss and German media: bioPress, Handelszeitung, LID.CH, Food innovation.

Preparation is 50% of success, or top tips from the Arnika team for successful participation in the trade fair

"Participation in international trade fairs means working 24/7 before, during and even after the event. After all, such events are a great opportunity to understand where the market is heading, what products are currently in demand, get feedback from customers, sign contracts and find new clients. All the key players in the organic market gather here, and no other trade fair offers such opportunities as BIOFACH. Our goal is to hold effective negotiations at the event, to attract new contacts, which are increasing every year," says Anastasiia Bilych, Head of Marketing at Arnika Organic.

According to Anastasiia, thorough preparation for the exhibition is a prerequisite for success, which involves coordinating the work of all the company's specialists, but it is especially important to pay attention to

• the work of the export and logistics department. After all, specialists have to make appointments with existing and new clients throughout the trade fair;
• training of an English- or German-speaking specialist from the company's team to represent the exhibitor at the stand. Such a person should be prepared in advance for a dialogue with visitors and know the answers to questions about the organic market, the situation in the company itself, and expectations from new collaborations. It is also important to present the company's promotional materials, which will allow all visitors to your stand to easily get acquainted with the brand's products;
• the company's marketer, who actively participates in conferences and various professional events included in the exhibition programme. It is important to note that a good solution is to comprehensively represent not only the interests and capabilities of the brand at events outside the exhibition hall, but also organic Ukraine – Its potential, prospects and reliability. Even if the event is not a core business for the company, being an active listener is an equally important mission.

For reference:

• The National Pavilion of Ukraine at BIOFACH 2023 was organized by the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office and national project Diia.Business in partnership with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Organic Ukraine NGO, Ukrainian Berries Association, and Organic Initiative.

Supported by:

• The European Union and German Government within the “EU4Business: SME Competitiveness and Internationalisation” programme implemented by the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH;
• EBRD and funded by Switzerland through the EBRD's Small Business Impact Fund (donors to the SBIF are Italy, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA, Taiwan Business - EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund and Norway);
• Switzerland within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian Programs “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP) and “Organic Trade for Development in Eastern Europe” (OT4D);
• The project «German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture» (COA) that is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.