To increase, Brazilian entrepreneurs goal the European market

Farm’s pop up store in the French department store Le Bon Marché, in Paris, where it is for the third year. In July, it opened space at Liberty, in London

It was on a stand at a fair for small fashion and design producers in Rio, in 1997, that then-fashion student Katia Barros, alongside her friend Marcello Bastos, started what has now become a global fashion company. Farm, which had already expanded its operation to the United States in 2019, this year invested in its presence in Paris and, for the first time, opened a pop up store in London, inside the Liberty department store. “It’s my favorite department store in the world and we had a pop up inside at their invitation”, says the founder, who runs her tropical empire from her home in Jardim Botânico.

With the expansion, Farm’s revenue should reach R$ 1.7 billion this year, R$ 500 million of which coming from the international operation. “New York is where we grew the most, with three stores, e-commerce and presence in department stores”, says Kátia Barros. “The next step, naturally, would be Europe.”

Setting up an international operation didn’t just consist of exporting the clothes produced here, but creating a new line of products made outside Brazil and a team formed here, but based in the United States. “At first, we tried to hire an American team, but the culture is very different. Brazilians are more flexible and already understand the culture.”

The product has also been rethought. “In Brazil, Farm is in a price and quality range that, if we did the same abroad, we would compete with fast fashion”, says Barros. The way out, then, was to create a more elaborate product, with better quality fabrics and target an audience that is willing to spend more. While in Brazil Farm’s consumer is mainly among the younger public, abroad the brand sells to women between 35 and 55 years old🇧🇷 The appeal, however, is the same. Lots of nature prints, strong colors and a very carioca way of dressing. “After two years of the pandemic, people want something light and colorful. The dopamine fad helped us get through that period.”

Pantys invests BRL 2.5 million in internationalization

Like Barros, other Brazilian entrepreneurs are taking their successful ideas to the local market to gain space in the United States and Europe as a way for businesses to grow and gain relevance. The panty panty brand Pantys opened a store in Paris and two in Holland, in addition to having points of sale in England, Ireland and Switzerland. The customer profile is much more concerned with sustainability and social impact. This is mandatory in Europe”, says Maria Eduarda Camargo, co-founder of Pantys alongside Emily Ewell, CEO of the company. “People want to know if it was made in China, for example. So we are proud to do everything in Brazil and value our workforce.”

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Pantys, which manufactures absorbent panties and other menstrual products, a market that has been growing in Brazil and in the world, and has a customer base of 1.5 million people, in physical stores, online and points of sale🇧🇷 “We innovated in the fashion market and in the health market”, says Camargo. For now, international sales represent 5% of the brand’s revenue, but the idea is to grow 20% by the end of next year. “Europe is our strategic focus because it is a large and potential market and with similarities in terms of menstrual consumption behavior with Brazil”, says Ewell.

Simple Organic takes clean beauty to Portugal in 2023

The brand created by entrepreneur Patricia Lima just five years ago brought the concept of clean beauty to more people when it was bought by the Hypera Pharma retail group. With that, the international expansion gained momentum and, after going to the United States, it is preparing two stores in Portugal, one of them in the franchise system. “We were the first relevant brand in this niche to reach a large number of pharmacies in Brazil”, says Lima, who was invited to speak about its production line at COP 27. The company grew 300% last year with just the channels digital and earned BRL 34 million in 2021.”For 2022, the expectation is to grow another 150% via e-commerce alone.”

Source: Forbes