Not too long ago we published a post about how important the human factor is for us in business. It constitutes the basis of the #KeepGivingBack philosophy which we believe is the recipe for long-term success. Today, we’d like to tell you about the fruitful meeting we had with our clients from South Korea, the MEDIFORUM company, aimed at getting the Polish partners familiar with a slew of innovative products from the health and beauty industry. See how Sulma & Sulma effectively connects businesses from different parts of the globe, thus helping all parties involved grow sales.
Working with products actually changing people’s lives for the better provides a special sense of accomplishment. This has been the case here so we decided to give you a little behind the curtain peek at our recent business meetings.
Partner profile
The MEDIFORUM company represented by Mr. Jihoon Noh, General Manager at Foreign Sales & Marketing department and Mr. Yong Seung Shin, Senior Researcher and QC Manager at R&D, has been our client for two years now.
We worked together on a project involving the introduction of one of MEDIFORUM’s products – a kit for detecting HPV to the Polish market. You can read more about it here.
Our actions have resulted in finding a specialist distributor, the BOR-POL company from Gliwice. Currently, we support both of the businesses in growing their sales within Poland. Eventually, to goal is to expand the MEDIFORUM offer to the entire European market.
The MF HPV Q 16 kit and its newer MF HPV QE 16 version aren’t the only products by the Koreans. Their offer also includes cosmetics and dietary supplements. If you happen to be interested in the timeline of our relation with MEDIFORUM, you can trace it here. Now let’s move on to the current affairs.
Arrival to Poland
The goal of Mr. Noh’s and Shin’s visit was primarily to personally get to know people at BOR-POL and one of the distributor’s clients, which is the MediLifeCover company. The key part of the meeting was the transfer of knowledge on products, but let’s put the events into chronological order.
Sebastian picked up our foreign guests at the Balice airport around noon. The travellers were hungry and keen on trying local cuisine, especially since it was their first time in Poland. Mr. Noh opted for żurek (sour rye soup) which he liked so much, he ate it every day, plus some ribs, and Mr. Shin went with schabowy (pork breaded cutlet). And since we’re at it, is there anyone who doesn’t like żurek?
After the meal we went to Krosno, where we had booked the hotel. Once we checked in, we did some sightseeing and had supper in the old market. Plenty of work was scheduled for the next day.
On Tuesday, at 9 AM, we made our way to MediLifeCover where we were welcomed by dr. Beata Niewęgłowska-Guzik and her husband MD Andrzej Guzik, the owners of the clinic. They gave us a tour of the company and showed the lab, where the main part of the visit was supposed to take place. Before we got down to business, we had to wait a little longer for the BOR-POL reps, who were coming over from Gliwice.
Hands-on experience
The transfer of knowledge on the HPV detection kit assumed, among other things, an independent test of 12 samples by 3 individuals – one from MEDIFORUM, BOR-POL, and MediLifeCover each, in order to avoid mistakes and develop best practices.
The entire process took about six hours and frankly, things got tough at times. A special appreciation is due for Mr. Marek Domaradzki (Product Management Director at BORPOL), who thanks to his extensive experience with other products and having insights from the Polish market provided clarification on difficult issues and differences in the process of treatment in both countries.
Sebastian proved to be the catalyst for progress and pushed the difficult talks forward at the right time towards solutions, instead of focusing solely on problems. This allowed us to reach a consensus and all parties were pleased. One can say it was a win-win situation.
After an agreement was reached, the gentlemen from MEDIFORUM invited everyone to a joint dinner which we ate in the Krosno old market.
Making moves on the fly
During product tests in Krosno, Sebastian was more than a mediator. As a person constantly on the run, he confirmed another meeting concerning other products by the Koreans with the MEDYK and IP CLINIQ companies in Rzeszów.
The background for the meeting was that 3 days before flying in, Mr. Noh said they’ll bring some new products as well – Brain One, which improves cognitive functions based on red ginseng extract, and QURElac, which improves the functioning of and cleanses intestines, which in turn boosts metabolism and energy efficiency of the body.
Sebastian’s task was to find eligible prospects whom the products could be shown to in order to elicit valuable feedback. Setting up a meeting in Rzeszów on such a short notice was a challenge but he made it!
IP CLINIQ liked the products and they agreed to take them for testing and then actively sell. It just so happens that IP CLINIQ is grooming the participants of Miss Earth Poland and if the tests of the medication will turn out to be satisfactory, the girls will start taking QUERElac to:
- Improve skin quality
- Improve the physique (the product prevents carbohydrates from being stored as fat)
- Improve overall well-being
Linking the product and the event makes sense since its second stage will be held in the Philippines, which will create an opportunity to promote QUERElac and enter a new market. So far though the tests are in the preliminary stage, so let’s not count the chickens before they hatch.
What’s next?
To sum it all up, the meeting with MEDIFORUM produced the desired results and strengthened the foundation for further actions. Our role in the near future is going to be supporting the finalization of talks, introducing the products to the market, and dynamically growing sales.
After all the meetings were over, we went back to Kraków with the MEDIFORUM reps in order to do some sightseeing, In the evening, Sebastian drove the gentlemen to the Hilton hotel near the airport to facilitate their return to Seoul.
Mr. Noh and Shin were very happy about the visit. Poland charmed them as a country, and the business talks and further cooperation opportunities have proved to be really promising. We’ll see you again and be in touch!
Fly high,
#KeepGivingBack
Sulma & Sulma
