Invest in Skåne
The personal care company from Skåne that boosted its international sales
This past year has been one of major growth for Beconfident, a Skåne-based company that creates personal care products — most of them for dental whitening and oral hygiene. The company has raised its profile, expanded production, and added employees. Beconfident has also boosted its international sales by sinking its teeth into markets outside Sweden with help from Invest in Skåne.
The company’s recent success is probably best embodied by its new headquarters, which will house under one roof: corporate operations, logistics, customer support, packaging, and all production
“We have significantly increased our visibility in the Nordic region during the last year, which has also attracted the attention of actors in other countries,” says Torvald Ramsten, Sales Manager at Beconfident
Corporate partners and vendors had previously handled Beconfident’s manufacturing, so bringing production in-house was a significant move that included setting up class 8 clean rooms. According to Torvald Ramsten, the company’s Europe Sales Director, the high production standards weren’t required but are still important to Beconfident’s long-term plan.
“We want greater control and higher quality of both production and service and to offer more tailored products,” Ramsten explains. “We also want to appear as a clear Swedish and European alternative that both develops and produces its own products under its own auspices.”
A year of increased visibility
Although the company and its products gained significant public awareness from 2020 to 2021, Beconfident has been building its market presence since 2012.
“We started by selling peroxide-free teeth whitening products,” says Ramsten, “but we now also sell quality electric toothbrushes, multifunctional whitening toothpastes, braces, acne products and other skincare products.”
Beconfident’s primarily focuses on the Nordic and European markets, with drug stores and pharmacies as its main sales channels. Ramsten says the company had about two employees in 2020 but is set to have eight as 2021 draws to a close.
Ramsten estimates that approximately 65% of Beconfident’s sales are exports. He cites the company’s own direct contacts for some of its international sales, but also gives credit to Invest in Skåne. The official agency for promoting trade and investment in the region had provided Beconfident with contacts of potential export partners, even though its relationship with the company was brand new.
How Invest in Skåne helped
According to Ramsten, Invest in Skåne helped Beconfident connect with people who could introduce the company to new markets, gave solid data and reports for crafting strategies, and even guidance on export subsidies the company could apply for.
A major part of Invest in Skåne’s assistance came through the agency’s membership in the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). The largest network of its kind, the EEN helps small and medium-sized enterprises through the advice, expertise, and contacts shared between its member organisations, of which there are more than 600 in over 60 countries.
“They have supplied stakeholders via the EEN,” says Ramsten, “which has been of great help, and also practical support in developing contact persons with various prospectuses.”
Beconfident seems ready to continue the progress of the previous year. The company is intent on expanding to more markets in Europe, but also beyond. “We will focus next on the UK, Benelux and France,” says Ramsten, “but various contacts have also led us to the Middle East, China, Vietnam, Australia and Spain to name a few.”