Mix and match brings healthcare manufacturers and pharmacists together to pursue the same goal
One of the many obstacles small local manufacturers face, is to get shelf space in retail outlets. Turning their attention to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, Team Namibia last week organised a lively pitching network session to establish marketing channels between various producers of personal care lines and nine Windhoek pharmacies, a duty-free shop and an airline.
Representatives from Olympia Pharmacy, Mitzi’s Pharmacy, Tauben Glen Pharmacy, Westlane Pharmacy, Tee Kay Pharmacy, Essential Health Pharmacy, Luisen Apotheke, International Pharmacy and City Pharmacy, as well as Paragon and Quatar Airways attended the event to meet the manufacturers and listen to what they had to pitch.
On the opposite side of the table sat the owners of ten small businesses, all hoping to establish a value-added relationship with the retailers so that their products can make it onto their shop shelves.
The hopefuls comprised Ilotu, Desert Secrets, Ecoso Dynamics, Chrisla Essentials, Ousie’s Skin Care, Mediplants, Eden Manufacturers, Elmarie Thompson Incorporated, Kuti Oil and Lexious offering customer service training.
The manufacturers offered products ranging from skin and hair healthcare products to perfumes, medicinal powders, sanitary pads, cosmetic oils and air fresheners. The pharmacists in turn, offered advice and expressed their support for local products.
The retail networking events organised by Team Namibia provide a platform for retailers to look for possible local suppliers during a very short space of time. The purpose is not only to facilitate market access for the manufacturers but also to provide them with effective feedback if they were to fail to meet all requirements for stocking by the respective retailers.
Team Namibia chairperson, Jan Coetzee, said “Supporting local producers will allow them to further evolve and develop their products. Retailers need quality, consistency and quantities, and these can only be achieved through market expansion. With an increase in production, local producers can also start benefiting from economies of scale and bring down their unit costs. This will further provide scope for more purchases as well as higher margins for our retailers.”
Caption: “Just what your patrons need, a body scrub lotion to revitalise a tired body.” Svenja and Bernd Reiners (right) giving Selma Mamina (left) of Tee Kay Pharmacy, a quick run on the many benefits of their range of healtcare products. During a round-robin network event organised by Team Namibia, local manufacturers each had a ten minute window to pitch their products to pharmacy owners in Windhoek.
