HIADEX

HIADEX project's objective was to increase export capability of Estonian and Latvian producers of high added value products for prevention and treatment of digestive system diseases (DSDs) by building marketing intelligence on the Malaysia’s market and implementing early-stage promotion activities.

Early-stage promotion activities:

• Three business missions to target markets with producers from Estonia and Latvia. Backbone of each business mission was being represented at landmark trade fairs with booths: in Vitafoods Asia in Singapore, twice, in September 2017 and September 2018, and in South-East Asian Healthcare and Pharma Show in Kuala Lumpur in May 2018;
• Creating promotional materials for trade fairs, namely printed brochures and video clips;
• Obtaining market intelligence about selected target markets to prepare for business missions and to gain input for compilation of (export) market entry strategy;
• Workshops with target groups (SMEs) and stakeholders such as business support organizations, healthcare professionals and others;
• Creating and developing relevant contact network, both domestic and international, to boost export activities in chosen markets.

The project was designed to combine mutually complementary knowledge and competences of project partners to provide support to SMEs in the programme area for reaching new export market. Taking pharmaceutical and nutritional supplement industry as an example the guidelines for export to Malaysia and Singapore were developed. They are applicable for other industries and increase project partners’ institutional capacity to improve their quality of services to support enterprises for export development.

Project achievements

• Throughout project lifetime number of Estonian and Latvian SMEs were supported. All supported SMEs were active in pharmaceutical and/or food supplement industry, which was the focus of project:

- 11 unique SEMs were involved within three trade missions to selected target markets

- 7 SMEs received support in producing audio-video promotional materials for them

- 40 SMEs took actively part in project activities via workshops, received assistance through project partners know-how or benefitted in some form from project.

• There are at least three companies active on chosen export markets from Latvia and Estonia 1,5 years after end of project.
• Two new collaboration projects running between project partners and/or companies involved in project activities.
• Project outreach among target group exceeded notably initial estimations ranging from +200% to +800% depending on category: SMEs, business support organizations, industry professionals.
• Business contacts established in target markets are still “warm” contacts 2 years after project activities took place.

The project closing event "HIADEX: Singapore and Malaysia – nice dream or real business opportunity?" presentations and links to videos are published by the Tartu Science Park.