The Ask:

How can we enter international markets with our spirits?

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The Answer:

First, we had to identify where there was international demand: which countries and which product of ours has the most potential to grow there? Through some research and competitive analysis, we concluded that South Korea had a strong interest in Canadian Whisky. The next step was to tackle the how! With no existing business contacts in South Korea, we decided the best first step was simply to introduce ourselves, the company and product.

 

We became aware of the Seoul Food & Hotel Show of 2023 via our partners at Invest Nova Scotia, and that was the perfect opportunity to do just that. Invest Nova Scotia is a large business development agency that is keen to help local businesses that are export-ready, to expand into international food and beverage markets. They supported us with funding and coordinating international business, connecting us on calls with translators across time zones. We knew that should buyers be eager to place large international orders, our facility and staff had the capacity to produce, bottle and package our whisky. So now it was time to ship just a few cases to the conference overseas and attend the show to make new contacts!

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Results & Learnings:

This B2B conference in Seoul was a total success, especially for our first international business project! In the pictures to the right, you'll see Authentic Seacoast's CEO and Director of Sales meeting potential buyers, offering samples and discussing our whisky. To prepare for this I worked with a translator to produce Korean sell sheets for our products, and we were lucky to have a translator on site at our booth at the show.

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Our team was very pleased to come home with many new contacts, some of who immediately followed up to place orders! These types of conferences are also wonderful entry points to learn about a new market and get feedback about your product. One thing we learned that surprised us - was that Korean women love whisky and particularly love whisky soda ready-to-drink products! This field-report delighted us and is something we started to mockup and explore once we returned!​

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Takeaways include: it's true where there is a will, there is a way. You will find your audience, or they'll find you, trust that. It's beneficial to attend large conferences if your intention is clear and you keep an open mind.