Milhans
Expertise
Dried nuts and fruits
Website
milhans.com
The Company
Milhans is Turkey’s 2nd largest dried nuts and dried fruits producer. Every product they offer is made from locally sourced ingredients that are carefully selected and processed through high technologies. Milhans is the main supplier of BIM and SOK retail chain’s dried nuts and dried fruits under brands of Simbat and Amigo. They offer excellent customer service with flexible pricing and an annual production of 25,000 tons.
Learn more about Milhans here.
The Challenge
In 2019, Milhans’ goal was to expand in Northern & Western Europe. Their plan of entry was to target hard discounters, individual shops, and larger supermarkets. Since many nuts are grown in Turkey, Milhans has a real advantage that they are locally sourced and are in close control of the production chain, all while cutting out the middleman of European resellers.
To succeed their expansion in Europe, it was essential for Milhans to get in front of buyers to present the benefits of a direct partnership. However, with buyers changing positions so often, getting in contact with them was an ongoing challenge.
The Strategy
Milhans identified several strategies to overcome these challenges and conquer new European markets. One key decision Milhans made was to partner with Wabel, a company that puts suppliers in contact with head buyers of international retail groups. Together, Milhans and Wabel came up with a plan:
1. Identify target prospects
Wabel took on the responsibility of finding ideal retailers for Milhans. Out of the hundreds of buyers in the Wabel community, Wabel was able to narrow down the best-fit groups for Milhans based on their needs. They ended up identifying 21 retailers for Milhans, which included retailers in Milhans’s target locations that had already expressed interest in well-priced, quality nuts.
2. Set up a meeting with the decision-maker
Next, Wabel arranged times for Milhans to meet with the head buyers and decision-makers of these groups at one-on-one, 30-minute meetings. Wabel was able to schedule meetings for Milhans with all of their 21 targeted groups within 2 days at the upcoming Wabel Grocery Summit.
3. Let buyers try Milhans’ nuts for themselves
At the Wabel Grocery Summit, Milhans then met with their target groups including Jumbo, Good Choice, Bidfood NL, Kopeyka and many others. The buyers tasted Milhans’ authentic Turkish nuts for themselves. At the Summit, Milhans was also able to display their products to all the other attending grocery buyers.
Results & Future Plans
Milhans is seeing positive results from the Summit. The 30-minute meetings gave Milhans solid relational foundations with their prospects, which made it easier to continue contact with their prospects in the following weeks. They also continue getting exposure all year around from the 1,000+ buyers on the Wabel platform.
« Meeting the buyers in person gave us the opportunity to show them the true value of our products »
Firat Dlkmengil, Export Manager
Over the next year, Milhans plans to continue to help European retailers get Turkish nuts, right from the source. If you are a buyer interested in suppliers like Milhans, contact us to see all the advantages that come with being a buyer in the Wabel Community.
If you are a supplier and would like to meet buyers during private B2B meetings, register now for one of our upcoming summits.
