The story focuses on Cristian Onețiu, the man with the initiative and the entrepreneurial skills, who, after a series of failed businesses, started an organic products business, in which he also co-opted his brother Dan, one of those who chipped in when Cristian started Life Care. This all happened in 2005, when bio products were unknown to most Romanians. However, through its direct sales strategy, the company slowly grew, becoming profitable in 2007, while in 2010 it already produced revenues of EUR 10 million. Since then, the firm has stabilized, with profitability being constantly placed between 5-10%.
Life Care currently maintains the same business strategy, having somewhere around 30,000 sales people working for it either full or part-time. With regard to its range of products, Life Care's portfolio includes about 500 articles made from natural ingredients or holding organic certificates in the health, personal and home care, personal development and entrepreneurial segments. Interestingly enough, although the initial idea of the company was to focus on Romanian products, only one product is manufactured in Romania, the rest coming from countries like France, Germany or even the United States.
The reason is simple, namely the quality standards; even if quite a number of Romanian companies would be able to meet them, they do not have the technology necessary to produce on a large scale. Speaking of large scale, the two entrepreneurs have managed to cover this area as well, setting up a separate firm to handle the retail sector. Therefore, BioLogistics, the second company, deals with the import and distribution of bio products for the vast majority of supermarkets in Romania. This company is not doing bad either, with annual revenues of over EUR 2 million.
Obviously, the market is steadily growing, so the premises are excellent not only for the two companies but generally for any entrepreneur who wants to invest in Bio products in Romania.
Claudiu Bolcu
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