Frio UK
Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire

Using eCommerce to improve overseas sales

FRIO UK Ltd has been in business some 6 years. The original product was a revolutionary wallet for carrying insulin supplies and equipment for diabetics. The Frio range of wallets, and also head and wrist bands, are now sold direct to the public from their Web sites, and through pharmacists and distributors, in countries throughout the world.

FRIO has achieved a degree of success within the UK selling their products through high street retailers, the most high profile contract being with the Lloyds the Chemists group. They are also in the process of adding a list of UK stock lists to it’s UK Web pages. Targeting the large scale international market of diabetic insulin users and their advisers through the Internet has always been a key element of FRIO’s strategy.

The original Web site, located at www.friouk.com, offered a front page with invitations to enter in English, Dutch, German, and Spanish. Each sub-directory was identical in styling and functionality, with orders being placed manually in an eMail form. The Dutch and German Web sites continue to be managed by one of FRIO UK’s minority shareholders, a Dutchman, and Director of FRIO ASTRID and retain their original format. The Spanish site is now managed by FRIO’s Spanish Agent, acting on a self employed basis, and has been restyled to achieve a distinctive identity, and had full eCommerce functionality added (shopping cart etc). Two new English language sites were developed, as below, retaining the original corporate styling but adding shopping cart functionality to make the buying process simpler and more immediate for visitors.

Opportunity Wales worked with FRIO on two areas of concern. The first was the ability of FRIO staff to add new content to the sites to keep them up-to-date without recourse to outside help. Secondly, there was concern that the English language site aimed at the US and international market was not achieving it’s full potential. Despite the vastly greater size of the potential US market for a unique and beneficial product, UK sales from the Internet were twice as high as US Internet sales.

www.friouk.com

Case study
A detailed and comprehensive case study is available on Frio UK. You can read this case study by becoming a member of the Opportunity Wales Web site. Having received your password by eMail, you can then log in to the members' area and locate this and other case studies under the Case studies menu.