Supporting industry growth in developing countries
Promotion of Export of Palestinian Skincare Products (2011-2013)
Objective and background
Taking into account the expansion of exchange between the private sectors of Japan and Palestine declared in a joint press release by authorities of both regions in 2010, JETRO has been implementing a support program for the promotion of the export of Palestinian skincare products to Japan since FY2011.
In FY2011, JETRO dispatched a Japanese skincare product expert to Palestine. The expert visited factories of local companies and after examining the prospect for export to Japan gave advice on points for improvement. She has also conducted a seminar on the Japanese skincare market. In the following financial year, JETRO offered a study program for Palestinian companies motivated to export to Japan and with highly prospective products so that they could learn about the Japanese market. A total of four people from three Palestinian companies visited Japan and gained a further understanding of the Japanese skincare market through workshops, site visits to a soap factory, a related exhibition and markets and company interviews, among other activities (photo on the right).
By making use of information gained through the program to improve their products, the Palestinian companies aimed to display at Cosme Tokyo 2014 and obtain business opportunities with Japanese companies.
Palestinian business people visiting Japanese market
Project outline
Exhibition display: Cosme Tokyo 2013
In FY2013, four people from four Palestinian companies visited Japan and made presentations at Cosme Tokyo 2013, a trade show specialized in cosmetics, in which they highlighted their products to Japanese buyers and sought feedback. In order to garner recognition and bolster the image of Palestine, JETRO focused on the region's abundance of olive trees when coming up with a branding strategy, using an olive tree as a symbol mark. JETRO also handed out directories (photo on the right) detailing particulars of each company and the range of their products on display. This was the first time for these skincare products to be seen in Japan and they drew a large number of visitors.
Palestinian companies and their product range
| Company name | Products | Company name | Products |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arab Industrial Corporation |
 Olive oil soap, skincare products containing ingredients from the Dead Sea (basic skincare, body care cosmetics, bath items [bath salt, scrub and mud pack], etc.) |
Canaan Fair Trade |
 Olive oil soap (with milk and honey), ingredient oils for cosmetics (olive oil and almond oil) |
| Palestinian House of Soap |
 Various olive oil soap (olive, camel milk, Dead Sea mud, olive charcoal, almond, lemon, date, lavender, thyme, honey and rose) |
Wizard Company for Manufacturing and Trade |
 Four kinds of liquid olive oil soap (fragrance free, lavender, mint and thyme) |
Outcome and issues
The Palestinian companies received orders for olive oil soap. In spite of issues such as those related to distribution routes (e.g. customs), business negotiations are currently being made towards the realization of these skincare products entering the Japanese market.
- Access to the outline of the activity in Japanese
