Virtual Trade Mission to Boston
In March, Hazel Weir and Richard Mott from the business development team at Peak Proteins attended the virtual Northern Powerhouse Life Sciences and Healthcare Mission to the US organised by the Department for International Trade.
Having started to do business with a number of US based SMEs and larger pharma companies over the last two years, the BD team was keen to understand how they could promote Peak Proteins’ services to a larger number of companies. The team’s goal this year is to have a focussed effort in the East coast states and California to identify potential new clients, so this trade mission was very timely, especially at this time of travel restrictions.
Over 4 days, a number of presentations were given by government and trade representatives from key East Coast US states that have a vibrant or growing life science industry. Their main aim was to attract UK companies to set up business in their particular state. They outlined the existing life science business and described the culture and setting for living and working in their state. Discussions also covered the new post-Brexit Trade policy and agreements that are being set-up and how this really is a good time to explore the US market.
Some of the points covered in the talks really brought to life the success stories of UK Northern Powerhouse companies who had taken the plunge and set up operations in the US. Understanding who your competitors might be and how to differentiate your products or services is a key factor in business success, and that the cultural differences can be a hugely positive factor. Raman Sehgal, Founder and President, from Ramarketing commented that his company’s likeability, honesty, and Geordie accents, were a welcome change, and certainly differentiated them from competitors at business pitches!
Dr Hazel Weir commented, “Virtually meeting some of the US DIT representatives and understanding the life science business networks that we could access, similar to the Bionow network in the North of England, has been really beneficial. We now have a set of new contacts that can help us promote Peak Proteins services so that when we do eventually get out to the PEGS Boston meeting in 2022, our name may already to be familiar to biotech companies in the East Coast area”.
“What we are hoping is that through the contacts made during the trade mission, we will be able to have formal introductions to East Coast businesses that have need of our particular services, ultimately helping them to drive their research efforts. A vast improvement on cold email shots for all involved!”, added Richard Mott.
