The UK is an exporting colossus: last year, exports totalled £813bn, with the EU accounting for a 42% share. Yet, when it comes to growing a business, it’s all too easy for small-business owners to dismiss the idea of exporting, figuring it to be too complicated, costly or risky. But for small and medium businesses, exporting can bring remarkable benefits, such as becoming, in general, more competitive and profitable.
The good news for UK businesses hoping to sell abroad is that opportunities abound. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and its global network of specialists, has been working with governments around the world – including in the high-growth Asia-Pacific region – to dismantle trade barriers faced by UK businesses. For instance, the UK has signed trade agreements with more than 70 countries, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore, plus the EU.
We spoke to three small-business leaders exporting to new markets to find out how to succeed at selling to the other side of the globe.
Baby booming
Shnuggle came about in 2009 after Sinéad and Adam Murphy had their first child. Noticing a gap in the market for functional but aesthetically pleasing and reasonably priced baby products, the pair designed just one item: a hypoallergenic, modern Moses basket, which received rave reviews. After running the business for two years alongside their full-time jobs (Sinéad worked in the not-for-profit sector and Adam as an engineer), the Murphys now work full-time on Shnuggle, expanding its product range from their base in Newtownards, County Down.
“We first realised that we could think about exporting after looking at Shnuggle’s web traffic – we noticed lots of visitors from the Netherlands and America in particular,” says Sinéad. The pair reached out to Invest Northern Ireland, which put Shnuggle forward for a trade mission to the Netherlands. “We were given an Amsterdam-based adviser who helped do market research for us, as well as reaching out to potential customers and setting up various meetings,” says Sinéad.
Pitching their product, with an adviser on hand to answer queries and offer direct support, turned out to be surprisingly successful. “All the potential distributors we pitched to were keen. It was much easier because we were part of a like-minded group with an adviser to run things past, rather than going alone – I’m not sure I could have done it solo.”
The Murphys applied that same methodology to other countries, and now about 50% of their overall business comes from overseas, with Shnuggle selling in 45 markets. “Half of that is Asia-Pacific (South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan). One of our top markets is South Korea – our baby and toddler baths are really popular there due to apartment living; our baths are great for smaller homes without baths.”
The experience has taught the duo plenty, says Sinéad. “I’ve learned there’s a huge amount of support available if you ask for it – until you speak to an adviser, you might not realise just how much. To date, we’ve had a serious amount of help in terms of grants and funding towards flights, trade missions and visiting potential customers in new markets as well as market research done on our behalf, which has helped open up many new markets for us.”
“Don’t be scared of exporting,” she advises. “It’s a lot easier than you might think. Even language barriers aren’t an issue – there are specific services to help with say, package labelling, for example.”
Betting the pharm
Micropore Technologies launched in 2003 as a spin-out business from the Chemical Engineering department at Loughborough University. It creates injectable drug delivery formulations, and works with clients in the pharma and biopharma sectors to help develop the safe, efficient manufacturing of drug delivery systems.
Today the company, based in Redcar, North Yorkshire, exports around 85% of its products. “The pharmaceutical market is a truly worldwide market, so we simply have to export in order to survive,” says Dai Hayward, Micropore Technologies’ CEO. He is no stranger to exporting, having done so in a previous role – and in 2019 was honoured with an MBE for his services to international trade and the north-east chemical industry. Now 15 years into its export journey, Micropore’s products go to locations in Europe, Canada, the US, South Korea, India, Japan and Australia.
“DBT helped us in all of these areas and is extremely helpful when it comes to enabling companies to find their confidence when it comes to exporting,” says Hayward. “There are things to make sure you get right, but the department works with you to identify whether a country is a suitable export market or not.”
In Micropore’s case, DBT arranged a series of trade missions to India, gathering together a small group of companies from the UK to visit under a common theme (in this instance, pharmaceuticals). “It arranged multiple meetings for us, and has in-country experts who can put you in touch with companies already involved in those markets.” The department can also guide you through administrative hoops and connect you with recruiters, adds Hayward. “DBT was instrumental in our decision, firstly, to start trading in India and, secondly, to incorporate a subsidiary there. Its knowledge and insights about the market were utterly invaluable.”
Micropore’s close relationship with its DBT international trade adviser (ITA) has been integral to its success, says Hayward, and it has also benefited from the chargeable Overseas Market Introduction Services (OMIS). “We did two OMIS engagements for the Japanese market. The first was to assess whether there was a market. The team in Japan arranged for me to visit a number of potential customers to do a market assessment. This led to the second overseas engagement to find a distributor, which we successfully did.”
It’s important to recognise that exporting is a long-term activity, says Hayward. “It isn’t a quick-fix for falling sales. Making sure you can commit to exporting long term is key. You must visit a potential export market in order to understand how it works, but learning how other cultures work and what makes them tick informs you about other parts of the business. It can be tremendously rewarding, both from a business and personal perspective.”
Saucing up sales
Entrepreneur and self-taught chef Will Chew’s business journey began while studying at the University of Sheffield, where he would regularly recreate his mother’s much-loved Malaysian dishes in a bid to feel less homesick. Encouraged by friends to start selling his delicious homemade pastes and sauces, Chew made an appearance on Dragons’ Den in 2019, winning a £50,000 investment from Dragon Sara Davies, which saw his business Mak Tok start to grow exponentially.
Now supplying to the hotel and hospitality industry, he currently exports to mainland Europe, Hong Kong, the UAE and New Zealand, and is hoping to launch in Malaysia shortly. “Malaysians are very adventurous when it comes to food and are always looking to try products from new and exciting brands. Our appearances on Dragons’ Den and Come Dine with Me have really skyrocketed demand too,” he says.
But exporting was a concern initially, with Chew unsure whether the move was right for Mak Tok. “People told me: ‘Make sure you have a strong base here before you think about exporting.’ But then an industry friend said: ‘You should fish where the fish are!’ By this, she meant that as entrepreneurs, we need to be agile and flexible in finding new opportunities and look for markets that have an appetite for the type of products we create.”
In Chew’s case, his contact introduced him to her own ITA, from whom he “learned about the various processes, regulations and systems that need to be in place to export”. This kind of specialist advice has helped him to chart the best course: “My initial plan for Malaysia was to manufacture and ship everything to our distributor there. But after realising this would significantly increase our consumers’ premium, she advised we partner with a Malaysian manufacturer and license our brand to them instead, which not only decreased the cost but the overall carbon footprint too.”
Mak Tok’s relationship with DBT has brought about plenty of wins, he says. “DBT was brilliant throughout and has supported me in ways I could not imagine. On a recent trade mission to Dubai, we were given the chance to share a stand at the Gulfood exhibition, which would typically cost thousands. Similarly, it organised networking events with local retailers so we could pitch to them – which for a small business without much of a budget is brilliant. Often the hardest part is getting your foot in the door, and those connections have proved invaluable.”
“[Exporting] has been incredibly impactful for our small business because the cost-of-living crisis has made sales more difficult recently, and the export side of Mak Tok covers 40% of our total sales, which is significant.”
For anyone considering exporting, Chew advises: “Talk to somebody who has done it before – ideally a similar-sized business within the same industry. And get in touch with your local ITA – they really are the best people to speak to in terms of practical advice.”
Wherever you are on your exporting journey, the Department for Business and Trade can help. Access a wide range of free support and find out how your business can sell to the world at great.gov.uk.
