It is no secret that Nordex Food is a successful company that customers really want to do business with. In 2012, they had a turnover of DKK 850 million. DKK and annually allocates approx. 32,000 white cheese, of which 25,000 tonnes are in-house production, which places them in the group of medium-sized food companies. They have 30 years of experience in exporting and are thus one of the seasoned players on the market.

THE FACTS

Nordex Food A/S employs 250 employees in departments around the world. They supply white cheese and other dairy products to retail, industrial and catering customers across most of the world.

www.nordexfood.dk

- Our export market is global, and we are looking for new opportunities in the countries where there is an opening. We do not have a limit to how many countries we want to trade with. And we can do that because we are so experienced. We know what is required in terms of administration, production and management in order to export. I would never recommend a company that wants to start exporting to invest globally in the first place. You should start in the local markets, where you understand each other and where the culture, rules, procedures etc. are similar to our own. The experience you build up in local markets can be used to think globally, says Erik Christensen, who has been sales director at Nordex Food since 2011.

The ethnic specialty market

In addition to exporting to a large number of countries globally, since 1990 Nordex Food has specialized in exporting to the Turkish segment in Western Europe, where their products are on the shelves of ethnic stores.

- We are dealing with a very different segment here. They have their own rhythm. Payment procedures and distribution conditions are different from here at home, and you have to be able to handle that in order to be successful. We have established sales offices and warehouses in Germany, and we have Turkish salespeople employed. We believe that success has come because we have managed to adapt our products, but also because we have put in a lot of effort and not given up. Our salespeople know the customers "by heart", and our many years of experience with exports is of course also part of the reason, Erik Christensen assesses.

In order to meet the cultural differences that can make the business processes knotty, Nordex Food has, among other things, streamlined their IT systems so that they are the same in all their sales offices, and this is just one of the measures they are taking to make collaboration easier.

- We are constantly working to accommodate the differences and clashes that naturally arise when we trade in foreign markets and with other cultures, as well as when we have colleagues in other parts of the world. The most important thing is that we have control over our own systems and workflows so that we can adjust and adapt to those of others. And we must always be willing to compromise, and we find that our customers and business partners are too, says Erik Christensen.

Beware of betting it all on one market

When dealing with foreign markets, there are many things that play a role in export success. The company can be hit by things that you cannot predict, and this has also happened to Nordex Food. Like other Danish companies, they were hit by the Muhammad crisis in 2006, when the Arab countries boycotted goods from Denmark because of the controversial Muhammad drawings.

-We exported 8000 tons of white cheese to the Middle East at the time, and over one weekend the export was equal to zero. It was shocking, but we pulled through because we hadn't put all our money on that horse, so to speak. If possible, you should trade with several markets at the same time, otherwise you risk losing everything if things go wrong on one market, concludes Erik Christensen.

Product safety gives Denmark an advantage

Danish companies generally have a very good reputation around the world, and Nordex Food experiences time and time again that customers are very satisfied and willing to cooperate. The Danish food companies also get a big helping hand on foreign markets from the Danish authorities, and according to Erik Christensen, it is indispensable that the authorities go out into the world and spread the word about Danish food safety.

-We feel the effect of the authorities being with us and speaking our case, i.a. when Denmark has special status in the veterinary field in Russia compared to other EU countries, and when we experience that the Chinese come to little Denmark to learn about food safety. It is clearly an advantage for us that we have, for example, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration to spread knowledge about the good Danish veterinary conditions, says Erik Christensen.

Product development with innovation and a strong tradition

In addition to the fact that Danish food generally has a high status in the world, the strength of Nordex Food is that they have the largest selection of white cheeses in the world and that they manage to adapt them to the needs of the various customer segments. But it can also be difficult to innovate when you have so many years of experience and when tradition is strong.

- Our product development takes place in close collaboration with our network, with whom we share knowledge. It can be knowledge about the texture of the cheese and which segments prefer soft cheeses over hard ones. It may be knowledge of the shape of the cheese – here at home we introduced the small cubes that we know as feta, and the Turks want their cheeses in blocks, either round or square. We recently had an innovation consultant come over to look at where we could innovate and more specifically at how we could stand out from the crowd in the ethnic stores. The process was an eye-opener, and we found out, very paradoxically, that our biggest obstacle to development is our strong product tradition. So now we have learned to use the best from that combined with new innovation tools, says Erik Christensen.

The export markets are constantly in motion and require full attention from the company so that it can keep up with developments and thus adapt the products. According to Erik Christensen, it can be difficult for companies that have only recently ventured into exporting.

-One piece of advice for those who want to start exporting could be to ally with an export house that can help monitor the market. And it can also help you move on from local markets to markets further away. The security that lies in the cooperation with an export house is good at the start, and they are also good at handling and guiding in relation to foreign cultures, recommends Erik Christensen in conclusion.

Last updated 21 September 2022