The products of the Santino company are loved not only by the residents of Moldova, but also enjoy success beyond its borders. The “trade gates of Europe” opened before “smart” flower pots from Moldova Economic Development
Stylish, beautiful, pleasing to the eye and improves the air in any room. We are talking about house plants and self-watering flower pots produced by the Santino company from Chisinau. Its products are loved not only by the residents of Moldova, but also enjoy success beyond its borders. The pots are called “smart” because they are made using innovative technologies that allow watering without human intervention.
“It is easier to care for plants in such pots, water needs to be added less often, and the system allows you to provide water to the roots if the flower does not like surface watering. In addition, the system determines the required volume of water and the time when moisture needs to be added,” explains Andrei Ursu, an employee of the company.
Thanks to the quality of its products, this Moldovan company successfully competes with foreign manufacturers. Some European companies have even started copying pots from Moldova, but Santino says this only encourages them to further improve their products. The company is thriving, with sales growing in eastern and western markets, as well as on the Amazon website.
Now on the agenda is to become a trusted partner for companies in Germany, which in Moldova is called the “trade gate of Europe”. Thanks to the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), funded by Sweden and the UK, Santino products are promoted on the German market, from where they are distributed throughout Europe.
“We have always strived to enter the German market. To do this, it is not enough to offer a good product; you need to achieve a reputation as a reliable partner. We used to attend exhibitions, which contributed to promotion, but the pandemic froze all these efforts,” says Ursu.
The UNDP/AdTrade project helped Santino export its smart flower pots to Germany. Company employees had the opportunity to participate in trainings, exhibitions and find new partners.
“We were helped to understand the specifics of the market in Germany, and thus our efforts, which began five years ago, were finally crowned with success. We gained access to the market and established ourselves on Amazon Germany. We signed a contract to participate in the largest international exhibition in the field of horticulture,” explained a Santino employee.
The company independently provides the entire production cycle, from design to packaging and transportation of finished products. Particular attention is paid to the sustainability of the entire process. Thus, many materials are processed at Santino’s own facility and are reused. In addition, for successful cooperation with European partners it is necessary to ensure packaging standards.
“Thanks to the UNDP project, we managed to overcome all the difficulties associated first with the pandemic, and then with other crises, get into the spotlight of our partners and develop our export potential. We are seeing growth, and at an accelerated pace,” says Santino employee Andrei Ursu.
Now the company dreams of delivering its smart flower pots all over the world and bringing joy to every home. Santino is one of 32 Moldovan firms that have improved their export capabilities thanks to the UNDP project. This year it is planned to provide assistance to another 24 local companies.