Market research in Poland and Greece Project Team Georgios Ziaragkas, Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece Margarida Farracho, Faculdade de Economia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal Aristotela Katsoulou, Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece Eunyung Lee, Kyungpook National Univer- sity, South Korea Lia Leppänen, Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Finland Iwona Strzepek, University of Economics in Cracow, Poland Client Bioforce AG, Roggwil Bruno Weber, Exports Manager www.bioforce.ch Coach Karin Pfister, MBA Head of International Office Company Bioforce AG, one of the largest manufactu- rers of phyto pharmaceuticals and health food products on the Swiss market, ope- rates in 35 countries worldwide. The com- pany was established by the natural health pioneer, Alfred Vogel, in 1963 in Roggwil and now has production plants in Holland, France, India and South Africa. Initial position Bioforce AG entered the Greek and Polish markets selling selected products via local distributors but, due to a lack of success in Poland, it stopped these activities. In 2007, the Polish pharmaceutical market was entered again via a new partner, Magna- pharma. In Greece, Bioforce AG acts on both the pharmaceutical and the bio-food market with the help of ICP, a new pharmaceutical partner, and BIOVITA, a bio-food partner. «The project gave us the unique opportunity to put our skills and knowledge into prac- tice. Working in a multicultu- ral team enabled us to become aware of and deal with diffe- rent cultural and educational backgrounds. This was a very useful and unforgettable ex- perience.» www.fhsg.ch Member of the University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland
Transcript
M a r k e t r e s e a r c h i n P o l a n d a n d G r e e c e
Project TeamGeorgios Ziaragkas, Athens University of Economics and Business, GreeceMargarida Farracho, Faculdade de Economia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal Aristotela Katsoulou, Athens University of Economics and Business, GreeceEunyung Lee, Kyungpook National Univer-sity, South KoreaLia Leppänen, Laurea University of Applied Sciences, FinlandIwona Strzepek, University of Economics in Cracow, Poland
CoachKarin Pfister, MBAHead of International Office
CompanyBioforce AG, one of the largest manufactu-rers of phyto pharmaceuticals and health food products on the Swiss market, ope-rates in 35 countries worldwide. The com-pany was established by the natural health
pioneer, Alfred Vogel, in 1963 in Roggwil and now has production plants in Holland, France, India and South Africa.
Initial positionBioforce AG entered the Greek and Polish markets selling selected products via local distributors but, due to a lack of success in Poland, it stopped these activities. In 2007, the Polish pharmaceutical market was entered again via a new partner, Magna-pharma. In Greece, Bioforce AG acts on both the pharmaceutical and the bio-food market with the help of ICP, a new pharmaceutical partner, and BIOVITA, a bio-food partner.
«The project gave us the unique opportunity to put our skills and knowledge into prac-tice. Working in a multicultu-ral team enabled us to become aware of and deal with diffe-rent cultural and educational backgrounds. This was a very useful and unforgettable ex-perience.»
www.fhsg.chMember of the University of
Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland
»«
comments from business
Bruno Weber«Bioforce wanted to know whether we had the right partners. Consequently, the team focused clearly on our requirements and re-gularly provided us with feedback about the progress made. As suggested by the team, the project’s valuable results will be discussed with our Greek and Polish part-ners during the launch of food products in Poland.»
B S c i n B u s i n e s s A d m i n i s t r a t i o nI n t e r n a t i o n a l M a n a g e m e n t
Goal and TasksThe aim of the project was to present a de-tailed market overview of the Polish and Greek pharmaceutical and bio-food sectors. As a result, a SWOT-analysis and a marke-ting-mix were specified for successful market penetration in both countries and sectors.
ApproachIn the preliminary stages, detailed desk re-search was conducted and distributors in both countries were interviewed in order to gain insight into the research problem. Du-ring the field research, questionnaires were created for both sectors and distributed to selected pharmacies and bio food stores in both countries.
ResultsA detailed competitor analysis, a SWOT analysis and a marketing mix for successful
market penetration in both countries and sectors were presented to the company. The best promotional techniques for A. Vogel herbal and bio-food products were identi-fied and described. Moreover, product ca-tegories which could be introduced into the Polish market were selected. The research revealed that the bio food market in Po-land is growing rapidly. Consequently, the group recommends that Bioforce AG should consider entering this market. Moreover, it was discovered that in Greece, brand awa-reness of A. Vogel herbal and bio-food pro-ducts is rather low. Furthermore, both sec-tors are highly competitive and the number of A. Vogel’s selling points is very limited. Intense in-store promotion, advertisements in health magazines and a Greek A. Vogel website are thus strongly recommended.
Karin Pfister«The group conducted research in Greece and Poland and was able to gather in depth information about the bio-food sec-tor as well as the pharmaceutical market in the two countries. The rather limited time available (14 weeks) and working in an in-tercultural team created various challenges that the group skillfully managed to over-come.»
