Business in Korea? Smile and enjoy the experience!

Last month, two of our senior colleagues, Terézia Ikrényiová and Alzbeta Hauser , visited Korea, where they experienced warm hospitality and participated in a series of productive business meetings—all organized and supported by the Korean cosmetics company, Sunfine Global. We asked them a few questions to share their insights and experiences from this business trip.

What were your first impressions upon arriving in Korea and meeting with your host, Sunfine Global??

Terézia: The whole country was very clean, and the people were incredibly helpful and kind. Sunfine Global warmly welcomed us with gifts and showed interest not only in the business aspect but also in us personally, which was really nice.??

Al?běta: We felt really welcome. The Korean hospitality was immense, and everyone was so helpful and forthcoming. We started with presentations from both our companies and met the majority of Sunfine Global's salespeople and managers. It was an honor that they all made time for us during their busy week and listened intently to what we had to say.?

How did the cultural and business environment in Korea compare to your expectations??

Terézia: Korean culture is totally different, but in a good way—we didn’t meet anyone who was rude or unfriendly. I really liked how everyone was smiling. Regarding the business environment, they were less conservative than I expected.??

Al?běta: It matched my expectations as I read a lot about the business environment in Korea beforehand. People are generally more polite and formal than in the Czech Republic, but at the same time, they are really warm towards each other. Since we were staying for a week, many people from Sunfine Global were taking care of us, giving us all the time and support we needed. We are thankful for this experience.?

Can you describe the tour of Sunfine Global’s factory and warehouses? What stood out to you the most??

Terézia: We visited two factories, one located near the office spaces. They not only distribute the ingredients but also test them and manufacture their own. The factories were clean, not crowded with employees, and mostly automated. I was impressed by the largest reactor—compared to ours, there is a huge difference in production capacity.??

Al?běta: Sunfine Global has two large facilities and predominantly manufactures sunscreen ingredients. Unlike Enantis, they have multiple industrial-scale fermentors and large warehouses, so the tour was really impressive. What stood out the most was the overall environment around the facilities, as both warehouses are located in a calm and green part of Cheongju. It felt more like a vineyard region than an industrial hub—but the area is crowded with cosmetics and pharma companies.?

Korean hospitality is legendary. How was the traditional Korean dinner hosted by Sunfine Global? Were there any dishes or drinks that you particularly enjoyed??

Terézia: I enjoyed it so much. They hosted us with plenty of small plates and bowls filled with different dishes. Sharing and caring are typical aspects of their culture. I especially liked their local fish and lotus root, and among the beverages, I enjoyed their rice wine, Makgeolli, the most.?

Al?běta: Amazing! I was impressed by the wide selection and the multiple small plates and bowls on the table. In the Czech Republic, eating is more private, no sharing really. In Korea, everyone was sharing, and there was a wide selection of many dishes. I loved a salad with acorn jelly and, of course, Makgeolli—the rice wine. That’s definitely my new favorite.?

You have met a number of companies—what were their main points of interest during the discussion about our super-stable FGF2-STAB??

Terézia: We mainly spoke with scientists, not CEOs or marketing managers as is typical in European companies. They were highly knowledgeable about growth factors, largely due to their experience with EGF. The discussions were always very specific. We discussed the bio-mechanism of the molecule, its application in products, the final effects on customers, the principles of Enantis’s stabilization platform, and more.?

Any particular moments or conversations that stood out to you??

Al?běta: Many people were asking about the natural origin of our ingredient, its vegan statement, or its GMO statement. These documents are really important in the cosmetics industry. It highlighted the importance of our preparatory phase and the painstaking efforts of our cosmetics team members who ensured we had all the necessary documents prior to meeting our first customers to fulfill their needs.?

What were the most valuable takeaways from this trip for Enantis and our product, FGF2-STAB???

Terézia: Definitely proceed with adding FGF2-STAB to the China list. We should update our documentation with a detailed procedure on how to work with our sample and an explanation of how it functions at the biological level in the skin. Some companies are familiar with growth factors, so it's beneficial for us to understand and present the difference between FGF2 and others, such as EGF.?

Al?běta: Since growth factors are being used in Korean cosmetics, we often came across comparisons between FGF and EGF—epidermal growth factor and fibroblast growth factor. We had to highlight the differences in the mechanism of action and explain these technicalities to the expert audience. From now on, we should focus more on this topic as EGF is currently used in cosmetics more often, and we can use the comparison to our benefit.?

What potential collaborations or next steps were identified during these meetings??

Terézia: The next steps are to evaluate our documents and test the samples provided during the meetings, and to give us feedback. The companies were also very interested in other growth factors, particularly for hair growth, so we should start long-term stability testing as soon as the final molecules are developed. We also plan to update them on the new advanced version of FGF2-STAB, called Fibroplex. Sunfine Global has already supported our new project with a Letter of Intent.?

Al?běta: Apart from our current product FGF2-STAB? intended for skincare use, many companies were asking about other growth factors in our portfolio that could be used in hair care. We are developing such molecules as we speak, so we were able to prioritize their development based on the customers' needs. This is extremely valuable for us to be able to work on commercially relevant targets. Also, we have shared test samples of our hyper-stable FGF2-STAB? with all companies, so we are positive we will have new collaborations soon.?

Any specific experiences or learnings that you found particularly impactful??

We both strongly believe that Korea is a very promising market for Enantis and our products. Our hyper-stable polypeptides—especially FGF2-STAB—can offer significant benefits to the end users of anti-aging skincare products. We’re pleased that we’ll have the opportunity to meet more Korean companies during the networking meeting organized by the Regional Chamber of Commerce in our hometown, Brno, at the end of September. It would be wonderful to reciprocate the hospitality and warm welcome to Koreans visiting Czechia!?