19/03/2018
Prin noua sa strategie Bioveta se extinde pe piețele din Asia de sud-est
Publicat în Animal Pharm - 23.02.2018 de Malcom Flanagan
Bioveta moves on Southeast Asia markets with new strategy
Published in Animal Pharm – 23.2.2018 by Malcom Flanagan
https://animalpharm.agribusinessintelligence.informa.com/
Bioveta has made a gradual sales trek eastwards from central Europe. Animal Pharm analyst Malcolm Flanagan spoke to Eastern Europe's third-largest animal health company about its latest strategic moves in Asia.
Ivanovice-headquartered Bioveta considers Asia a growth area for its swine and companion animal products. The former state-owned company had initially targeted the Philippines and Vietnam with a marketing drive early last year which it said is "already producing solid revenue increases".
Mark Vystavel, marketing director for the company, said since Bioveta became an independent company free of state control in 1995, it has traditionally looked eastwards for new markets outside central Europe.
In the past, this has included Eastern Europe, Russia, Turkey and the Middle East. Now the Far East is on its radar with more markets to come. Speaking to Animal Pharm from his office in Ivanovice, Mr Vystavel said the company initially decided two years ago it was time to expand beyond its traditional markets in Europe and the Middle East to seek out new clients to expand the business.
"As a result of that strategy, we are focusing on companion animals and swine business in Southeast Asia. The countries we are aiming primarily for are Philippines and Vietnam. We expect Thailand to follow quite shortly," said Mr Vystavel.
"We have introduced our Biocan vaccine range for dogs and Biosuis portfolio for pigs in Philippines and Vietnam. The dog vaccine range is also supported by antiparasitic and dermal products with a special focus on bacterial, parasitic and mycotic skin diseases. In the swine segment, we service mainly middle-sized farms in Asia with our respiratory diseases vaccine program assisted by our technical support."
Biovet said the canine Biocan range is a preventative for canine leptospirosis, hepatitis, canine distemper and rabies.
The company is also planning to introduce its new Biocan Novel line in 2018. The Biocan Novel preventative is a vaccine against puppy distemper and parvovirosis. Biosuis products protect against porcine pleuropneumonia, erysipelas, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, porcine parvovirosis and leptospirosis.
Technical support
In order to make progress in Philippines and Vietnam, Bioveta attended a number of local animal exhibitions in early 2017 before sending out salesmen and technical experts to increase their visibility.
Bioveta decidedly early on to focus on cooperation with farmer associations and veterinary practitioner bodies at national and local level in Asia. As a country, the Philippines is highly diverse in terms of culture and farming. It is also fragmented geographically being made up of thousands of islands.
"As a result, the Philippines animal health market is fragmented to a lot of local interests. So it is necessary to prepare unified country marketing but be prepared for a lot of work and modifications on a local level. Vietnam is much more accessible from a geographical perspective," said Mr Vystavel.
"Already our companion animal business is booming in Vietnam. We started with a lot of local marketing campaigns in Vietnam for a dog vaccination program in 2016 and 2017. Our product managers and specialists have visited all corners of Vietnam to promote our products. We plan to continue with the local approach and expand the portfolio of products in 2018."
Bioveta has been able to garner a lot of fresh information from the market through this approach and better understands the needs of Vietnamese and Philippine customers through a carefully crafted approach.
In the Vietnamese swine market, the company has penetrated a niche market organized through a large network of distributors and small- and medium-sized farmers.
"It is not easy to operate in such a wide market as it requires a lot of flexibility on our side but it is possible and definitely doable. Our product portfolio and technical support is organized around our vaccination program against enteric and respiratory diseases," said Mr Vystavel.
New factory
The company will celebrate 100 years since its inception with higher output and an increasing products portfolio, as a result of opening a new production complex last year. As well as upping the manufacturing capacity, the new factory at Ivanovice has allowed for more packing operations and storage space. The company now employs more than 700 staff.
Bioveta invested €15 million ($19 million) in the new production complex. It has a new large-volume freeze drier, a thousand-liter bioreactor and filling machine for ampoules. It was primarily built for increasing demand for the company's vaccines, hormones and parasiticides. The company also engages in private label and contract manufacturing for clients.
Mr Vystavel said exports of branded Bioveta products were up by 22% in 2017, driven mainly by central and eastern Europe plus new markets in Asia. Bioveta is experiencing high demand for its biologicals – the core focus of its product portfolio. As a result, the predominant product lines are Biocan vaccines for dogs, BioBos vaccines for cattle and BioSuis vaccines for pigs. The company currently produces around 150 products altogether.
He said Bioveta products are sold in more than 85 countries around the world. The main markets are the Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, Germany, Ukraine, Japan, Russia and Romania. Mr Vystavel said company ranks third in animal health sales in eastern Europe behind Bulgaria's Huvepharma and Slovenia's Krka.
"Bioveta opened new marketing offices in Hungary and Turkey last year. In addition, the company would like to have more employees as regional representatives in new regions such as Asia, and the Middle East.
"In terms of R&D, the focus is on biologicals. Bioveta is also seeking acquisition opportunities both in terms of companies or product lines. The company had a €57 million ($62 million) turnover in sales for 2016." concluded Mr Vystavel.
