Marketing to New International and Domestic Markets
Preferred learners
- Anywhere
- Academic experience
Categories
Skills
Project scope
- What is the main goal for this project?
-
We are looking for either a single student or a small group of students for this project.
Background
99% of ginseng produced in Southern Ontario is currently sold to customers in China. This industry's demise began with the "Huawei affair". (The Chinese government is punishing Canadians for their government's involvement in the arrest and detainment of Meng Wanzhou).
To further complicate our situation, along came COVID. The traditional Chinese buyers (who want to come to see the product in person before they commit to purchase it) could not travel to Canada. Those who have Canadian representatives that could purchase on their behalf did so, but at a poor price point.
Most sales are secured with a deposit and paid in full only once the shipment is received and traditional Chinese buyers do not offer contracts. Shipping delays in 2020 and again in 2021, prevented much of the product from being able to reach its final destination. In addition, some containers sat in ships just out of port for weeks. The combination of heat and humidity caused the spoilage of numerous containers. Understandably, the "buyers" do not wish to pay for "spoiled goods", leaving some ginseng producers with no recourse.
Goal
To find a way to sell our product domestically and internationally to countries other than China.
In order to accomplish this goal we believe the following questions must be addressed:
- How have other companies tackled this issue in the past? And what methods did they use?
- What countries would be a good fit to export our product?
-How do we make the connection?
- What is the main goal for this project?
-
We are looking for either a single student or a small group of students for this project.
Background
99% of ginseng produced in Southern Ontario is currently sold to customers in China. This industry's demise began with the "Huawei affair". (The Chinese government is punishing Canadians for their government's involvement in the arrest and detainment of Meng Wanzhou).
To further complicate our situation, along came COVID. The traditional Chinese buyers (who want to come to see the product in person before they commit to purchase it) could not travel to Canada. Those who have Canadian representatives that could purchase on their behalf did so, but at a poor price point.
Most sales are secured with a deposit and paid in full only once the shipment is received and traditional Chinese buyers do not offer contracts. Shipping delays in 2020 and again in 2021, prevented much of the product from being able to reach its final destination. In addition, some containers sat in ships just out of port for weeks. The combination of heat and humidity caused the spoilage of numerous containers. Understandably, the "buyers" do not wish to pay for "spoiled goods", leaving some ginseng producers with no recourse.
Goal
To find a way to sell our product domestically and internationally to countries other than China.
In order to accomplish this goal we believe the following questions must be addressed:
- How have other companies tackled this issue in the past? And what methods did they use?
- What countries would be a good fit to export our product?
-How do we make the connection?
- What tasks will learners need to complete to achieve the project goal?
-
No deliverables exist for this project.
- How will you support learners in completing the project?
-
Mentorship is available on a weekly basis as needed.
About the company
- http://www.totafarms.com
- 51 - 200 employees
- Consumer goods & services, Food & beverage, Agriculture, Hospital, health, wellness & medical, Cosmetics & beauty
Tota Farms is a fourth generation family-owned and operated agricultural business located in the heart of Southern Ontario. We specialize in ginseng production. Traditional practice is to sell roots in whole form. Customers are traditional Chinese buyers. Depending on the particular market a buyer has, the roots are handled in two ways. The first is to send them to “grading houses” for hand trimming before being sold into the marketplace. The second is to sell them directly to pharmaceutical companies who further process them (usually into powder or extract). These companies in turn sell this to Nutraceutical producers for further value-adding and subsequent sale to the end user. An example of this is Cold Fx. The maker of Cold Fx use ginseng powder as part of their formula, encapsulate it, bottle it, then sell it to the distributor.