Fragrance maker eyes more distributors

The owner of homegrown fragrance brand Aficionado and Joel Cruz Signatures personal care products is setting his sights into the bigger global market, with P8 million to be spent this year for overseas expansion.

Businessman Joel Cruz told reporters last week that less than 10 distributorships of his fragrance and personal care lines have been operating since last year in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Netherlands and Thailand.

“Our international sales are picking up,” he said.

Cruz said he also eyes exporting to other countries in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the US. He said opportunities abound most especially in the Asean region as the single market by 2015 will allow easier entry of goods into neighboring markets.

“Currently, we are focusing on the international market. We want Aficionado and Joel Cruz Signatures to be well known also in other countries,” he said.

Cruz said P8 million is being allocated this year to register his brands and products in the foreign markets where additional distributorships—mostly in convenience stores —will be put up.

“The registration of products and brand names costs us so much. You have to pay in US dollars [so] it’s quite expensive,” he said.

Beyond the ready market being presented by the huge number of Filipinos abroad, Cruz said his dream is that his brands will also be patronized by other nationalities.