The managing director of Divine Chocolate gives her top tips on how to make your social enterprise internationally successful.
Sophi Tranchell
Social enterprise
Divine Chocolate Limited is internationally renowned. It has a sister company in America which sells in the US and Canada, and the product is also sold across Scandinavia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Australia, South Korea and Japan.
With global success under her belt, managing director Sophi Tranchell gives her top tips for social enterprises looking for world domination.
1. Make sure you do your market research
You need to audit potential export territories to consider which ones are most compatible with your product and where the local competition does not rule you out – then stick to the one you decide to target. Taking your product overseas will involve all sorts of logistical and legal hoops – so make each territory work before you start expanding to others, otherwise you can quickly be drowned in administrative and (language and legal) compliance issues.
2. Will your product go down well?
Make sure you have great products that are appropriate for the territory both physically and culturally. With chocolate, for example, we were very conscious that taste in chocolate varies from country to country. Our recipe matches tastes in Northern Europe and America more than it does in Continental Europe, and our product needs to be sold in places where it is possible to keep it from getting too hot or too cold. We need to consider if we'll do well in a place where dairy products are still not commonly eaten. Other thoughts to consider: might your product break any taboos? Is it called something rude in another language? Is the fact you are a social enterprise a selling point in the new territory – or not something to include in your unique selling proposition (USP).
3. Recruit a local team
Your team's passion for the business you're running and the product or service you are selling will be a key element of your success. Yet in new territories it's equally important to have a team recruited locally with local knowledge and who can make sure your story translates appropriately to the new audience. You need to ensure they're fired up with the same passion you have – and keep close links.
4. Pick good partners
In new territories you also need good commercial partners who know the local market well. For example, routes to market can be very different, the retail market in America is very different and much more complicated than the UK, so you need some experts working with you.
5. Consider exchange rate exposure
As soon as you step outside your home zone – you are potentially exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange which can sometimes work in your favour, but might be devastating when they work against you particularly when you are in the very early stages of your business venture. Wherever you decide to open for business, you need to become very tuned to changes of exchange rate, you need to manage your exposure, find good sources of information and become as good as you can be at forecasting for the years ahead.
6. Think about cashflow
If you are exporting a product overseas – everything will take longer. So you may need to consider the cashflow implications of holding more stock for longer, caused by longer delivery times (including potential hold-ups in customs etc). You also need to be aware of all costs of entry into this market – for example, listing fees. These can have a considerable impact on your business model. (
http://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2013/sep/16/top-tips-international-success)
Sophi Tranchell is the managing director of Divine Chocolate Limited.
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