A Northumberland health company is set for global expansion, just two years after it was formed.
Ashington-based Viveca Biomed manufacture an innovative health product called Contrelle Activgard, which has been designed to reduce or stop bladder leaks caused by Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI), a condition which affects one in three women in their lifetime.
The product, which has the support of leading urologists and gynaecologists, is to be launched on high street health and beauty firm Boots’ website soon – but it is the overseas markets that are proving most lucrative.
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Contrelle Activgard is set to be exported in significant numbers in the next 12 months, bringing in between £2m to £3m in overseas sales and triggering a doubling of the firm’s three-strong workforce as production ramps up.
The business has been supported by the Department for International Trade (DIT), helping it to successfully break into markets in Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany, with further distribution agreements already in place.
Managing director Andrew Tasker expects that exports will make up approximately 50% of the company’s business this year, which is set to expand further as Viveca Biomed explores opportunities in the Middle East.
The product was already established in Scandinavian markets when Viveca Biomed purchased it, and Mr Tasker and his team of four have transported all of the manufacturing equipment to the 海角视频, creating a new production plant in Ashington.
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He said: “This is a really exciting time for Viveca Biomed and the culmination of a great deal of hard work over the past two years.
“Setting up a new business has its own unique challenges, but setting up during a pandemic saw us having to overcome things we could never have anticipated when we started out. It has been an incredibly interesting year. Viveca Biomed has fantastic clinical backing. We have an established brand and have created a fantastic £4m manufacturing plant in Ashington, and we’re now exploring markets all over the world.”
The company accessed support from the DIT to attend the Medica trade show in Germany, the Arab Health exhibition in the Middle East and a trade mission to the US. It is also taking DIT guidance on Free Trade Agreements.
Mr Tasker added: “We are shortly launching on Boots.com and having really productive conversations with the NHS in the 海角视频, but overseas markets are really buying into the product and securing that presence in the Swiss market was key for us. We secured a special medical partnership and relaunching into Denmark and Sweden, where the product has been extensively used and is recommended by leading women’s health clinics.
"We have an absolutely fantastic product and working with world class and leading clinicians is really helping us to establish ourselves quickly and successfully in overseas markets.
“We have plans for future development, including setting up our own subsidiary in one specific European market, and by the end of this year, we are going to be successfully exporting between £2-3m of product into at least six countries.”
DIT Northern Powerhouse regional team, head of North East region, Victoria Gemmill, said: “Viveca Biomed was created amid the turmoil of a pandemic, but Andrew and his team never wavered in their belief that there was not only a demand for this product, but a real need for it in the feminine hygiene market.
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“It is fantastic to be able to play a supporting role in Viveca’s incredible success in rapidly establishing itself in a range of different countries and global regions. Given the wealth of knowledge and experience at the business and its fantastic products, I have no doubt it will go from strength to strength and become a genuine North East success story and real asset to our excellent business community.”
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