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How to succeed in the Middle East

An increasing number of UK dental companies are entering the growing Middle Eastern market through the United Arab Emirates (Photograph: FreshStock, Shutterstock)
Marc Chalupsky, DTI

Marc Chalupsky, DTI

Thu. 11 February 2016

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The Middle East is considered one of the fastest growing dental markets worldwide. Quality and innovative technology have been at the centre of interest for the region’s dentists, practitioners and manufacturers as dentistry has advanced from basic treatment to state-of-the-art oral health care. A record number of companies from the UK took the opportunity to exhibit at this year’s UAE International Dental Conference and Arab Dental Exhibition (AEEDC). Dental Tribune Online spoke to three first-time exhibitors about the problems and promises of entering the market.

Ten years ago, one could hardly have imagined a spike in interest in 3-D printing in Middle Eastern digital dental laboratories. Now, the region’s dental industry is rapidly adopting new technologies such as intra-oral scanning and CAD/CAM to keep up with the rising demands of its increasingly affluent patients. Digital dentistry, a technological revolution most UK dental practices are already familiar with, has entered the region within the last few years. Interest from the Middle East in modern dental instruments, however, is not limited to digital solutions. Dentists have begun to look for high-quality endodontic and implant systems, as well as discovered cosmetic dentistry as the next rising star in the region. The dental industry in the UK, a market with significant domestic growth owing to its wide range of products and companies, has been promoting its expertise at trade fairs in the region, such as AEEDC.

The first UK pavilion at AEEDC was established in 2010 with eight companies exploring the market and its numerous business opportunities. Since then, the number of professional visitors has doubled, from 20,000 to more than 40,000 in 2016, and so has the number of UK companies. “The UK pavilion contained 15 UK exporters and we are delighted that this represented a 50 per cent increase in the size of the UK pavilion compared with our last attendance in 2014,” remarked Edmund Proffitt, Policy and Public Affairs Director at the British Dental Industry Association (BDIA). “The Middle Eastern and Gulf region markets continue to offer significant sales opportunities for UK dental exporters as countries continue to invest in the provision of dental services. The opening up of the Iranian market also provides a host of new sales opportunities for UK exporters.”

Iran—the next big market?

For many British companies, both AEEDC and Dubai have been considered an excellent opportunity to expand into the Gulf and Middle Eastern markets such as Iran. For instance, daily two-hour flights between Tehran and Dubai have long fostered trade between the two countries, while European and American companies have yet to profit from the short distance. At the trade fair, many exhibitors noted a significant increase in visitors from Iran, a welcome result of the suspended United Nations’ sanctions that hindered business for years. The UK government has now seen the opportunity to transfer its technical expertise to Iran and therefore encourage its industries to reinvest in the country. As competition for dental products is still relatively low, it seems like the right time for the British dental industry to enter the market.

Quality Endodontic Distributors was established in 1989 in Peterborough in the UK at a time when the endodontic materials and methods we take for granted today were at their very beginnings. The supplier of rubber dams, lubricants and endodontic instruments chose to exhibit in Dubai because the market promises new opportunities for growth. “We went to Chicago before, but the trend moved across to Dubai. Here, we primarily met dentists, dealers and manufacturers from the region. It is important to build up a dealer network here to succeed,” said Edward R.S. Conduit, sales and marketing director of the company.

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OsteoCare Implant System was already working with distributors from Kuwait when it decided to pursue further opportunities in the region and exhibit at AEEDC. The company looked for dealers for each country instead of targeting the whole region. “In order to succeed, dental companies need to raise brand awareness and partner with as many local distributors as possible, as regional differences exist,” according to Head of Operations Dave Stephens. “We particularly looked for distributors in the UAE. We have had incidental sales for about 20 years, but the business has quite changed in this time. The competition for implants has increased at home and abroad so we had to make sure our products remained visible. We are not into fast trends, but assure simplicity and quality made in Britain. We provide dental implant systems for all ranges, as well as also hands-on courses on placing them correctly.”

Understanding the dos and don’ts
OsteoCare approached UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the BDIA and spoke to business advisors before planning its show participation. UKTI and BDIA offer numerous training opportunities to help companies to identify their markets and establish a considered pathway before starting to export. They advise that UK companies still seek legal advice and work with established networks. Successful export to the Middle Eastern and Gulf states further requires Arabic-speaking people living in the same time zone. Although language has not been a barrier, as English has dominated business in Dubai and most of the region, Arabic remains the world’s fourth most important language on the Internet after English, Chinese and Spanish, according to Google. Hence, any UK company looking for online sales could significantly increase traffic and customer engagement by setting up a website in Arabic. Also, it is good to know that payment by credit card, which is quite common in the UK, has not reached the same level of acceptance as cash in the Middle East.

Enlighten Smiles, a London-based manufacturer of tooth whitening systems based on hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide, was another first-time exhibitor. The company drew a large crowd to its stand owing to the region’s rising demand for whitening solutions not based on light. “Cosmetic dentistry is an aspiring if not giant market in the Middle East. Our syringes, pastes and complete kits with home and office gels made quite an impression in Dubai,” said Dr Sanjay Patel, Director of Enlighten.

“There is still an educational process taking place in the region,” he added. “I would compare this market to the situation in Europe ten years ago. Now, this market is asking for light-activated products while we stopped using lights in 2006 in favour of our new whitening solutions. Dubai succeeds at bringing together countries that are relatively close by, such as Egypt and India. Here in Dubai, we also experienced strong interest from Sudan, a market we would not have thought about before. Now, the process of turning interest into actual distributors and clients will take at least a year. This is how business works here.”

Even though the UK remains Enlighten’s most important market, management decided early on to export to Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain and France. While a number of companies in the UK are still pursuing success in the domestic market, there are numerous opportunities abroad and it would appear that the Middle East is certainly one of them. 

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