Small doesn’t mean inefficient or not ambitious. As long as you could produce enough in the event where your best-case scenario becomes reality on this market of 80 million consumers, we advise you to go ahead. The time is now. Your market share doesn’t depend on your size but on the efficiency of your distributor in Iran!

It is because you have a limited sales force that you should use country specialists to focus on specific high rewards markets to find the best distributor. We offer services for every budget and every step of your market entry in Iran.

As long as you export already outside your continent and you are aiming for a turnover in Iran of minimum 500,000 EUR within few years, we are a good match!

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The Iranian government protects the local manufacturing industry by taxing foreign finished goods with quite high import duties. That is why many of your prospects in Iran will ask you if you are open to an agreement for production under license, or for a local packaging step. As an example, the import duties on olive oil are 60% on bottled products and 20% on bulk. It is therefore interesting to consider a local filling and packaging step in order to be more competitive on the local market.

The import duties laws are complex in Iran and, depending on your products, can have an influence on your go-to-market strategy and the choice of your partner (manufacturer vs. distributor). You will benefit from our expertise on these matters to make an informed decision based on actionable information.

We believe that prospection, sales and contract negotiations are transversal skills applying to all industries. Of course, each sector has specificities and every product has technical characteristics that need to be understood.

We focus on Iran where we have built extensive market knowledge, and sales efficiency is our core business. While we specialise on F&B, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, we understand other sectors as well.

We will build enough knowledge of your products to position the portfolio against competition and hold high-level discussions. As you are the specialist of your product, we will be side-by-side in highly technical discussions when they happen.

Your knowledge of your products and our understanding of the Iranian market is a good combination for success!

Middle-East is a huge and heterogeneous region, with cultural and political differences between sub-regions and countries.

If Dubai is close enough to be a convenient logistical base for Iran, let’s face it : the sales offices are most of the time staffed up to deal with Arabic-speaking customers. The language barrier shouldn’t be underestimated in addressing the business community of Iran. Years of insulation has taken its toll and the most interesting partners for you are not specially the ones that speak English.

Due to its specificities, Iran commands specific strategies and action plans. Focus your existing sales force on the Arabic-speaking countries and thrust a team of specialists to develop the Iranian market for you!

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During sanctions, international business with Iran has slumped, but not stopped completely. Iranians have been inventive to be able to fulfill their payment obligations towards their foreign suppliers. However it comes at additional costs (agents, money changers, off-shore companies,…) and extra pressure on their cash-flow (pre-payment, financing trade with long-term loans, …).

For the time being, the mainstream banks are still too afraid of potential US sanctions to move. However, smaller banks with less exposure to the US in France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, … have restarted to process transactions with Iranian entities. And some of them, like KBC in Belgium, have restarted, under very strict criteria, to process and guarantee letters of credit for their trade finance customers.

So the situation is slowly normalising, decreasing the cost of doing business with Iran for the benefit of all parties. And if your banking partners have not yet re-entered into relationship with their Iranian counterparts, the existing circuits are still in place. If your potential partner is already dealing with foreign suppliers, they are used to payment in advance and they know how to send you money.

Let’s end up with a small tip: Unless your bank process transactions with Iran, you will be paid from another country. Ask your customer to never mention anything about Iran in the payment communication. It would trigger high scrutiny from your bank that may result in the delay or even the cancellation of the transaction.

It is legal and possible, under certain conditions, for US companies to export to Iran without being subject to the sanctions. Among others : Coca-Cola and Pepsi are the top seller brands of soda in Iran, Procter&Gamble are there as well and Kellogs just restarted exporting to Iran. The most difficult task will be to convince your CFO and your legal counsel, and it all comes down to the balance between potential turnover and reputational risk.

In a nutshell, the rules are:

• Goods not subject to an export license (F&B, pharmaceuticals,…)
• No more than 10% of the content produced in the US
• No US citizen involved in the transaction
• Transaction currency cannot be the USD
• Iranian party not on OFAC list

So you need to have already sales offices and manufacturing facilities outside the US to capture opportunities in Iran and its market of 80 million consumers.

If you do, you can talk to us : the company is not incorporated in Iran, no Iranian citizens will be involved in our talks and we have experience working for US companies. Clear it first with your legal counsel for you to be on the safe side, then let’s discuss!

We will research the feasibility and the best options for your market entry and prepare plans for when you receive the green light to hit the ground!

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