The possibilities of the Danish market await Estonian entrepreneurs
This year marks the 800th year from the birth of the most important legend of Denmark, which confirms the longevity of the relationship between Estonia and Denmark – the legend says that Dannebrog, the Danish red-white flag bearing a cross, fell from the blue sky amidst a battle right here in Terra Mariana. A big celebration is held on 15 June all over Denmark, from Copenhagen to Vordingborg, and the crown prince of Denmark will be also participating in the festivities with his family. Estonia has an important role as well, because quite a few festivities will happen behind tables bearing Estonian snacks. Events that connect Estonia and Denmark so emotionally are a perfect opportunity for Estonian entrepreneurs to introduce their products to the Danish people and companies.
Denmark is a prosperous and modern country that has a highly-qualified labour force. Income that households are able to use in a year reaches 28,950 dollars, which is little below the OECD average, but exceeds the same Estonian indicator almost twice. The country’s gross domestic product exceeds over 54,000 dollars and, therefore, the living standard of Denmark is one of the highest in the European Union. In addition, Denmark is one of the most developed information societies in the world, whose demanding but innovative consumers are very quick to adapt to new products and technologies. When buying new products, the expectations of Danish consumers in regard to quality are one of the highest in Europe.
Although the Danish are open to testing new technologies, the Danish consumers are quite conservative and prefer products which have proven themselves on the market or which are strongly connected to the Nordic countries. Denmark is one of the leading countries in the organic produce sector and this part of the market is growing quickly, amounting already to 10 percent of the entire food market. The consumers are increasingly interested in health, preserving the environment, ethical treatment of animals, as well as quality and, of course, taste.
Details of the Danish market
Setting aside the general economic development in Denmark, five clear economic branches emerge, which grow more quickly than others and offer new business opportunities to Estonian companies because the solutions of Estonian companies can be easily adapted, and fit the needs of the digital community.
Five market segments that grow the quickest in Denmark are:
– research and development (R&D);
– information technology;
– beverage sector;
– energy (including electricity, natural gas and district heating);
– pharmaceutics.
As a rule, the Estonian enterprisers enter the Danish market via Copenhagen and the area of the capital city includes four sectors for which Estonian solutions could be successfully suited:
– health care, biotechnology, pharmacies and hospitals;
– green technologies and cleantech;
– smart city solutions (IT sector, big data and city planning);
– design and creative economy.
The highly digital Danish market offers more opportunities for Estonian companies in regard to information and communication technology, big data, internet of things, smart solutions and industry 4.0. Although the competition in Denmark in regard to design and creative economy is intense, the export volume from Estonia to Denmark increased by 12 percent last year, mainly due to the export of furniture and prefabricated wooden houses. This shows that the Estonian design is competitive in the Danish market as well.
Without trying, you will never know whether your company specifically would fit the Danish market. The export advisors of Enterprise Estonia are always ready to respond to your inquiries and analyse jointly whether a product or service fits the needs of Denmark. The Danish market is sufficiently attractive to make it a goal, but at the same time sufficiently compact to try and test the realisation of a business potential. Below is a list of events organised by Enterprise Estonia and the Estonian embassy in Denmark this year.
If you have a specific request, please contact Peder Degnbol, Enterprise Estonia’s export advisor in regard to the Danish market, via [email protected].
We hope to help you to achieve the next success story in regard to export!