JIBS students help Swedish companies expand

On Friday 13 March, the winning teams of JIBS Expanding Markets Award were announced.

The award ceremony marked the end of the master course Advanced International Marketing, Trade and Export Management, which is unique in Sweden. Three student teams were rewarded for having presented the best export and marketing strategy for a Swedish company. The award is sponsored by Business Sweden, ALMI, EKN, SEK, and Swedfund.

“We were blown away by the quality of the presentations. It was very difficult to decide the winners,” said Benjamin Hartmann, PhD, who is course responsible and examiner.

The winning team consisted of Axel Finstorp, Tsetsegsaikhan Jargalsaikhan, Lisa Seifert and Philipp Starck. They have worked with Rojos bakery, which is a strong brand in southern Sweden but wanted to expand to northern Germany. The students from JIBS talked to store managers and arranged a tasting in a super market to find what retailers would be suitable. They also proposed a new logo for the product and a market entry strategy.

“It’s always nice to have the theory, but it’s great to work with a real company and put our knowledge into practice,” said the winning team.

The jury said that the team had an “almost to go-proposal”, based on a thorough market analysis.

“During the course, the students are deliberately put out of their comfort zone, because in real life when someone pays you to do a job, they will not be there to guide you or answer your questions at every moment,” said Benjamin Hartmann.

Over 50 students from more than 12 countries have been working directly with 14 Swedish companies to assess and develop the marketing of their products to international markets. On March 12 to 13, all groups presented their solutions to a jury, with representatives from the export promotion organizations and JIBS, and the jury then chose the winners.

The master course Advanced International Marketing, Trade and Export Management aims to give students a better understanding of how international business can be conducted in practice. The course is done in collaboration between JIBS and Business Sweden, The Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN), The Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK), Swedfund and ALMI, who give guest lectures during the course.