In November 2020, Caroline Liault was on the verge of throwing in the towel. The entrepreneur, who founded Mé Mé in 2018, suffered the full consequences of the second birth, when her first had already weighed on her business. Its drinks made from tea and tree sap find no more
stores
, due to the closure of restaurants and hotels, which account for about 40% of its sales. “We were really sick, so I threw all possible bottles overboard,” admits the businesswoman, who has even turned to traders in her region, to find new perspectives, without success.
Always looking for solutions to relaunch her business, she is interested public support schemes, and I came across the Business France site by chance. At that time, the organization offered to promote French products at the request of entrepreneurs. Caroline Liault fills up like this
its digital showcase
with its products. Months go by, to the point that his participation in the plan slips his mind.
Snowball effect
A few months later, the entrepreneur started receiving solicitations from many countries of the world. He then started discussions with several wholesalers. Quite quickly, she found herself exporting her products to many countries. “We have had many opportunities and have developed business relationships with customers in countries such as Swedenthe Swiss or the Belgium thanks to our Business France showcase,” says the entrepreneur.
During the first months, Caroline Liault acted very instinctively, without having a well-defined strategy towards her
export goals
. But before finding the right countries to develop her business, Caroline Liault tried hard, far from the borders of France. She, for example, exported her drinks to Japan, before retracting: “After a few months we took stock. It was not profitable to devote one day a week to solving all the problems that exporting our products to Japan might pose. It was a lot of work for little volume, and we weren’t strong enough yet,” she explains.
Choose the right goals
The same step backwards compared to Germany, a market that favors its own products, and on which Mé Mé had too many competitors. Today he has greatly rationalized his goals and does not hesitate to export far, if the game is worth the candle. This is the case with the
South Korea
Country where consumers particularly appreciate its sugary drinks.
“Today exports represent 20% of our turnover “, continues the entrepreneur, specifying that the latter is around one million euros per year, for a total of 12 employees. Caroline Liault does not rule out prospecting in new countries in the medium term, while specifying that it requires a lotpower. Above all, the entrepreneur wants expand its product rangeand develop its points of sale on French territory, so as not to skip stages.