Geostar, one of Georgia’s leading distribution companies, is moving to the next stage of its development by introducing new, high recognition brands of regional scale in Georgia.
The company also plans to develop the HoReCa (an abbreviation for the food service industry) direction.
“In this regard we are going to strengthen our sales team and increase the coverage area of our units. I am sure our clients will be very happy with the quality of service we will offer as it will become faster and more diverse,” said Nino Razmadze, Business Development Manager of Geostar.
Founded in 1995, Geostar is famous on the Georgian market for importing high quality, ecologically-clean, premium category products of international brands.
Geostar today is an official and exclusive importer and distributor of world famous brands such as BIC, Molfix, Molped, Papia, Familia, Bingo, Avedov, Zlato, Bonduelle, Pagani, SISI, Filodoro, Pompea and many others.
Of these brands, Papia, Avedov and Bonduelle have each won a Golden Brand award themselves. Over 100 experts and 2,000 surveyed customers together named Papia the No1 hygiene paper; Avedov the No1 foreign oil; and Bonduelle No1 foreign processed vegetables.
Q. This year three of Geostar’s imported brands received Golden Brand awards. Please tell us the success stories of all three of these brands and how they gained recognition from customers?
A. First of all we want to thank our loyal customers who have great confidence in, and awareness of, our brands. We are delighted that the number of our customers has been growing day to day and today our customers make up the largest part of the Georgian population.
As for the winning brands, Avedov oil has been positioned on the Georgian market since 2005 as a premium category, high quality and ecologically clean product. Avedov oil is made according to a centuries-old tradition, which makes the brand exceptional in terms of its taste as well as the high quality of excitation and distillation that takes place over seven stages.
Meanwhile, Bonduelle is a French brand which is recognised by the expert in the field of vegetable growing and processing. Bonduelle first appeared on the Georgian market in 2006 with the highest quality canned vegetables. What makes Bonduelle unique is that its products are canned just 4 hours after the vegetables are harvested. This gives Bonduelle canned vegetables a natural taste and the best nutritional properties. 4 hours is not just an indicator of time, it translates to a vibrant flavour of the most tasty and best quality vegetables.
And finally there’s Papia. This brand only entered the Georgian market in 2009, therefore it was astonishing to many that Papia managed to become a leader on the market in such a short period of time. The correct strategy and functionality of the brand played a major role in the success of the product, and today Papia is already considered the highest quality hygiene paper in Georgia.
Finally, I want to say that it is a great honour for us to get a Golden Brand award and at the same time it is a great responsibility and challenge to fully justify such trust and support. This award is recognition of the many years of hard work that our team has put in. We are very proud of it.
Q. Geostar was established in 1995. How did the company develop to become one of the leading companies in the country’s distribution market?
A. Geostar was founded in 1995, at a time when the market economy and the distribution business in particular were just making their initial steps towards development. Despite some very trying years which were related to difficult economic, social and political processes within the country, the company has always developed from year to year, attracting new brands (BIC; Papia; Avedov; Bonduelle; Merci; Rogachev; Rumo; SISI; Filodoro, etc.) and growing constantly.
International brand manufacturers always try to choose such distribution companies that develop their brands in a particular market. This can only be managed by a company with great experience and highly qualified staff.
Initially the company acquired the distribution network of Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi, and then expanded in to the regions of the country. Quantitative as well as qualitative indicators of distribution were improving gradually. All of this is down to the merit of the team that is working daily for the company’s progress and success.
Q. What would you say about the competition in your sector, and how fast growing is the Georgian market?
A. The Georgian market is a leader in the region in terms of the high level of competition. As a company involved in the distribution business, the competition creates challenges for us of course, but the higher the competition level is, the higher our motivation is. And most importantly, the customers reap the benefits from this process.
As for the market growth, the share of our brands is growing on the market. It is difficult to say exactly what the market-share of each of the individual brands is, but I can assure you that our leading brands Papia, Avedov and Bonduelle are the leaders of their categories on the market.
Q. Could you please summarise the year 2018?
A. In 2018 we had significant progress in the direction of non-food as well as grocery brands, which was confirmed by the Golden Brand Award win.
In total Geostar experienced 15 percent growth in sales compared to 2017, which is a big achievement taking into account the existing competition.
