Proud feat: Teo (centre) receiving the special award for woman exporter of the year. Celebrating her win is her team at the EEA 2023 Gala Night.
WHILE Malaysia is currently in what is known as the third wave of the durian season, for Hernan Corp Sdn Bhd, it has been all-year round.
For the first-half of the year, the company saw a remarkable growth in its durian export business with a 55% year-on-year increase in whole durian sales.
This growth, according to its founder and group chief executive officer Datuk Anna Teo, is a result of the strategic initiatives and a focus on improving various aspects of the business.
“We had to focus on understanding and targeting the right customer profiles. By identifying and catering to the needs of our most valuable customers, we were able to drive sales and build stronger relationships,” says Teo, who is also known as the “Durian Queen”.
She adds that Hernan has embarked on a project to improve costing and production efficiency.
This initiative has streamlined operations and reduced costs, making the company more competitive in the global market.
Additionally, the implementation of automation has played a pivotal role in enhancing productivity and ensuring consistent product quality.
Despite its successes, Hernan has faced significant challenges this year.
Rising costs in human resources, raw materials, and utilities have put pressure on the company’s margins, shares Teo.
“Furthermore, the impact of global warming has led to unstable harvests, posing a risk to supply consistency.”
Hernan has its own durian and tropical fruits orchard to ensure that they offer fruits of the finest quality to its customers.
Apart from exporting to countries including Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam, China has also been a critical focus area for Hernan given the rising demand for Malaysian durians and large number of durian lovers.
The company has been consistently achieving double-digit growth annually from the Chinese market, says Teo.
As such, they plan to build more distribution points, recruit additional distributors and establish strategic partnerships as they aim to double their business within three years, as well as export 30,000 tonnes of durian to China in the next five years.
Teo will be sharing her experiences of being an exporter to the Chinese market at the upcoming Global Navigator Series (GNS) event in Kuala Lumpur.
She will provide a comprehensive look at Hernan’s journey from “zero to hero”, valuable knowledge on how to successfully enter and thrive in the competitive Chinese market amidst challenges.
Teo is also the Export Excellence Awards (EEA) 2023’s “Woman Exporter of the Year”.
Join the Global Navigator Series
The GNS, which is the first event for EEA 2024, will be held at EQ Kuala Lumpur on Aug 12, 2024 at 2pm.
Apart from Teo’s sharing session, there will be a panel discussion themed “Navigating the Chinese Market - Future Trends, Challenges and Prospects”.
The speakers are Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) Hong Kong trade commissioner Yazrin Syakhairi Mahlan, Guangdong Tianding eCommerce Co Ltd president and chief executive officer Steven Hou, Standard Chartered China’s SME Banking transaction and treasury management head Jackson Qiu, Vepro Group Sdn Bhd director Chu Chee Seng and CAIQ Biosecurity Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Dr Ch’ng Soo Ee with Matrade senior director S. Jai Shankar as moderator.
Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick will also be gracing the event and launch the EEA 2024.
He has been instrumental in fostering the growth and success of SMEs in the country.
The GNS is open to businesses with an entrance fee. Today is the last day for registrations. To sign up, visit https://bit.ly/gnskl1
The EEA 2024 is organised by Star Media Group in partnership with Standard Chartered Malaysia and PKT Logistics Group as a co-sponsor with Matrade as patron. It is audited by BDO.
Submissions for the awards programme are also open from now until Jan 17, 2025.
For more information on EEA 2024, go to exportawards.com.my or email eea@thestar.com.my
