How SMEs can export from Day One

Q. How did international expansion of Cobra Beer begin and what were the biggest hurdles you came across?
A. Every business needs to think globally from day one. After starting Cobra, importing it from Bangalore in India and distributing and selling it to the Indian restaurants in the UK, we very quickly started exporting the beer. Initially we went to countries in Europe and soon after to Canada. The challenge was always to find the right importer and distributor who would not only be credit worthy but have the ability and keenness to sell your brand in their market.

Q. How did you ensure you remained competitive against firms internationally?
A. Although being a brand of Indian origin, the fact Cobra is headquartered in the UK is a huge advantage. Cobra’s success in the UK, one of the most respected markets in the world, gives the brand enormous credibility globally.

We have found that in countries which have a good number of Indian restaurants Cobra has gained traction almost instantly and thereafter it gains listings in supermarket chains – for  example in Spain, in El Corte Inglés.

Q. If a small business was thinking about exporting for the first time, what advice would you give?
A. I would advise any small business exporting to take full advantage of the British High Commissions and Embassies around the world which all have promoting British exports as top priority. They can help in many ways, including conducting market entry search, making introductions to local partners / distributors as well as providing excellent venues for product launches for example.

Q. Where did you get advice from? 
A. As a small growing business, you have to leverage all the advice and networks you can. It helps to follow a partnership model where you treat all your stakeholders, suppliers, customers, accountants, lawyers, advertising agencies, public relations companies…. as partners. This type of relationship is so much more fruitful.

Q. Where do you think the UK government could better support firms to expand internationally?
A. The UK government has made great efforts to encourage and help UK companies to export. But over the years other countries have offered exemptions of tax on profits from exported goods. The government could do this or go even further in helping to incentivise exporters and provide finance to companies for exports.

Britain historically has always been a great trading nation. It is one of the most open markets and economies in the world. British goods and services have a reputation globally of being the best of the best world class quality. This gives British exporters a huge headstart and advantage globally. The ‘Great Britain’ campaign has done an excellent job in portraying Britain’s excellence in virtually every field, globally.

Q. If you were starting again, what would you do differently?
A. Staring with £20,000 of student debt to pay off and not even having enough funds to afford branded beer glasses, we built up the brand through grassroots and word of mouth. People discovered Cobra and recommended it to their friends. This built up an almost cult like following with loyal brand champions – who have remained loyal to this day. Would I have rather have a million pounds in the bank when we started? With hindsight, no!

Lord Bilimoria is opening the Festival of Enterprise at Birmingham's NEC on 23 October - and CBI Head of Innovation Alissa Dhaliwal has a speaking slot the following day. To find out more about how you can grow your business, get your complimentary tickets here.