From participation in BIOFACH to signing contracts worth half a million euros: the journey of organic producer Eco Berry

Eco Berry is an organic farm located in the ecologically clean region near the Carpathian Mountains in the west of Ukraine. The company’s own fields cover 300 hectares where it grows various types of berries: strawberries, alpine strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blueberries, blackberries, and currants.

Representatives of Eco Berry at the National Pavilion of Ukraine at BIOFACH 2023

The company also collects cultivated (garden) and wild-grow products, namely, cherries, plums, wild blueberries, cranberries, elderberries, rose hips, mushrooms, onions, chokeberries, lingonberries, rowanberries, and apples. These raw materials are processed at company’s own plant where they are sorted and prepared to produce a final product.

"We have our own facilities and work only with reliable and modern equipment from the world’s leading manufacturers. We use the latest technologies for freezing, sorting, and packaging products. Our plant allows us to process more than 100 tonnes of produce per day," says Svitlana Halushchak, Sales Director of Eco Berry Farming Enterprise.

Organic producer Eco Berry has successfully passed quality control and has been certified organic by Organic Standard, as well as FSSC 22000, FDA (US Food and Drug Administration), BRC (British Retail Consortium), which helps to maintain consumer confidence and bring products to the international market.

In fact, 90% of the finished product is exported to the European countries. The main customers are located in Italy, Poland, France, Bulgaria, and Serbia. Currently, Eco Berry is actively working on entering the US and Canadian markets but does not plan to limit itself to these markets in the future.

How was the preparation for the BIOFACH going?

The main goal of Eco Berry Farm is to show Europe and the world that Ukrainian organic value-added products can be a worthy competitor on the European market with a good price and high quality of the final product.

“We understand that we have to work tirelessly on our reputation and recognition, which is why we actively participate in various image-building fairs. Participation in the leading international trade fair of organic products BIOFACH 2023 in Nuremberg was definitely a positive experience for us. Each fair is not without results and always brings its own benefits for the company. First of all, it is an exchange of experience between producers and competitors, feedback from new customers and established partners, which can only be ahieved through communication and cooperation,” says Svitlana Halushchak, Sales Director of Eco Berry Farming Enterprise.

Participation in the National Pavilion of Ukraine included coverage of all costs (except for logistics, accommodation, and meals), an equipped workspace, posting of company information on the trade fair portal, and organisational support in planning individual B2B meetings with foreign partners.

"The lion's share of organisational issues is taken care of by the pavilion organisers. This is really support that inspires you to move forward! We believe that for young companies that are participating in international fairs for the first time and are just trying themselves, a helping hand in financial terms is very important, it is very valuable," Svitlana Halushchak shared her experience.

At the trade fair, the company is not trying only to present itself but also to prove that Ukraine is a strong player in international business. As a result of BIOFACH 2023, the company managed to establish contacts with many traders, producers, and processors.

Three traders with extensive experience on the European market, recognisable names and an established professional image have become regular partners. Another major contract was signed with an Italian trader and a German jam processor (for the supply of blueberries) with branches in Poland.

Since 2019, the company had been exporting around 2,000 tonnes of products per year; after participating in the fair, as of 2023, it increased sales to 6,500 tonnes of products and reached a new level. A significant contribution to this was signing of 10 contracts worth more than €500,000 with the European companies — 4 traders and 2 processors.

"For me, every trade fair is a platform for new contacts and profitable partnerships, as well as for presenting our products and the company as a whole at the international level. An interesting discovery for us was how versatile our products are for different processing sectors. We are becoming more and more interesting not only for producers of jams, ice cream, yoghurt fillers, and freeze-dried products, but also for cosmetologists and pharmacists. Each time we learn a lot of different tricks, some interesting new points for ourselves and the company, which we use for planning within the company — where we are going next, why and what awaits us. It's new knowledge every time. That is probably the biggest thing we can take away from it. And experience, of course," says Svitlana Halushchak.

Trade fairs are an important tool for finding partners, signing new contracts, reaching new levels of cooperation, and strengthening the company’s international presence. Participation in exhibitions undoubtedly has a positive impact on the company’s image and recognition.

"Thanks to trade fairs, we are recognised: at the last exhibition in Dubai, we met a buyer from Asia who knows us. And before that, we had been at the joint Ukrainian stand at BIOFACH in 2023. And she recognised us thanks to our visualisation, promotional materials, and videos, which is very nice. The world is a big place, but with great opportunities. Therefore, every trade fair is an opportunity to make yourself and your product known. For me, as a sales director, the main task is to show a great product and sell it. It's an opportunity to find contacts that you can only get at the trade fair," says Eco Berry's Sales Director.

It’s also worth noting that last year the company received a lot of interesting enquiries from cosmetic companies and pharmacists who were looking for very specific products such as raspberry seed oil, powder that is a by-product of berry processing, etc.

This year, the farming enterprise had its own stand at BIOFACH 2024. As a result, some products were discussed with potential international partners.

Eco Berry stand at BIOFACH 2024

Here are some tips from Eco Berry team for preparing your own stand at BIOFACH

1. Thoroughly study the list of exhibitors and prepare an analysis: how the company can be useful for partnership and cooperation, what product is better to come with, what can be improved.
2. Prepare presentation materials, promotional materials and videos about the company and products so that companies interested in cooperation receive enough information about you and you can demonstrate all the advantages of your business compared to competitors.
3. Identify the top 3 products that the company focuses on. If possible, include intermediate products or related products. These can be additional raw materials or complementary products that support or expand the range of the company’s main products.
4. Organise meetings with potential partners before the exhibition using an online platform. Before the exhibition itself, it is important to make a list of companies you would like to meet in advance.
5. Create a team of 2-3 employees to work at the stand and collect additional information at the exhibition. Positive attitude, comfortable shoes.
6. Ensure comfortable cooperation with European partners — from concluding a contract to unloading the products.
7. Participation in the exhibition should be beneficial, in particular, in terms of your company’s image.

The next step is to evaluate the company’s image after participating in the trade fair and determine further development plans.

According to Eco Berry, these are the main useful tips that can help newcomers to present their products at BIOFACH, attract new partners, increase company awareness, and expand their market.

For more information about the National Pavilion of Ukraine at BIOFACH 2023, please follow the link.

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.