“Global Business Planning” is the final seminar in the specialization International Marketing Management (IMM). For the Summer Semester 2020, it was organized by Dr. Elfriede Penz. Ms. Michaela Burda assisted with the organization as a Tutor and also served as a member of the "board of directors". The goal is to translate market entry strategy theory into appropriate strategies and reflect, and assess critically decision and marketing strategies. As a result, business plans for Austrian startups, together with internationalization strategies have been developed and are ready to be implemented. It takes with no surprise that some projects have been realized already or will be in the near future! Because Austria is becoming an increasingly fertile soil for start-ups and entrepreneurs, IMM students looked out especially for these. They selected a product, service or brand and suggested bringing them to a foreign market.

Here is a short overview of the projects:

StadtBiene is a Viennese Start-Up offering organic and natural cosmetics products. All premium goods consist of organic honey ingredients. The company is not using any materials, which are not sustainable for our nature, environment and humans.  The “E-Team” (Csencsics Carolina, Flor Victoria, Novi Jessica, Taschler Jennifer, Troppmann Verena) created a market entry strategy to Denmark.

NEOH CrossBar is a new and innovative candy/protein bar which comes in three flavours. The product’s main characteristic is the excellent tasting chocolate bar that contains only one gram of sugar and has the nutritional value of a protein bar. Therefore, it represents a nice middle ground between protein bars and traditional candy bars. The group “Bona Dea” (Cherix Calvinn Gabriel, Gudelj Natasa, Martinovic Tijana, Miladinovic Dimitrije, Siegl Elisabeth, Wandl Michael) planned a market entry to Serbia.

Alpengummi is a natural and healthy chewing gum from renewable raw materials. It is an alternative to regular chewing gum which usually contains sugar, artificial flavours or microplastic. The product is available in two flavours and is sold online and offline in selected shops. The team “5 Forces” (Glatz Michelle, Jovanovic Ana, Lettau Laura Marie, Pirker Benjamin, Ratz Lisa) created a market entry plan to the Netherlands.

BIOBLO is an Austrian company, founded by the former WU and IMM specialisation student Stefan Friedrich. It offers innovative building blocks for kids which are produced with 100 % sustainable materials. In detail, these consist of 45% wood shavings, 42% recycled plastic, 10% chalk and 3% color pigments. It should be emphasized that the plastic does not contain any PVC, BPA or plasticizers. An ideal, non-harmful toy for children.The group “IM&M´s” (Buger Eva-Maria, Marinkovic Ana, Schober Magdalena, Trapp Luca Zsofia, Walitza Dennis) planned a market entry to Sweden.

Marry IceTea is a small Austrian company, offering a vegan soft drink, made from regional berries from Styria and infused with mate and rooibos tea. The company only uses natural ingredients and no preservatives or artificial flavours. The approach of the company is “Go Global. Act Local” which means that they want to combine international charm with local components. The team “SWOT Force” (Babel Anna-Katharina, Brand Roland, Gatter Lilli, Rittler Natalie Janine, Zivanovic Natalija) prepared a market entry plan for the Italian market.

Hands on Veggies is an Austrian cosmetics firm using purely planet-based packaging made out of organic sugar cane plastic. For all its products, "Hands on Veggies" focuses on fermented vegetables as a source of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals to infuse its shampoos, conditioners, body lotions and deodorants. The owners’ goal is to create organic and vegan cosmetics that encompass the best that the nature has to offer. The group “G.O.A.T” (Fank Marita Romana, Gerstendörfer Alexander Emanuel, Landstetter Emilie, Liedmair Susanne, Zawodsky Felix) created a market entry strategy to the Netherlands.

Thozi is an Austrian Start-Up, founded in 2017 in Vorarlberg. The company is offering a vegan vital drink made of beetroot juice and other healthy natural ingredients like currant juice and lemon. It is refreshing, tastes good and contains no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, making it a great alternative to conventional soft drinks. Moreover, as Thozi is inspired by an old chemist’s formula, it is healthy and provides you with essential vitamins. The group “Puzzles” (Binder Eva Maria, Dzanovic Adnan, Flatz Hannes, Rettenbacher Lukas Johannes, Schebesta Lisa-Kathrin) prepared a market entry to Sweden.