After purchasing the PURE brand of hemp accessories last year, leading European hemp company Hempro Int.GmbH & Co., Dusseldorf, Germany, says it is now looking to expand distribution of the line of hemp backpacks, rucksacks and bags around the globe, says CEO Rebecca Kruse.
With its acquisition of PURE, Hempro Int. strengthened its position in hemp textile-based accessories. Because the company had been selling PURE bags since 2001, then became a licensee in 2005, its knowledge of the brand and bringing it fully in house opens broader marketing and product development possibilities, Kruse said.
PURE’s pedigree
The PURE brand dates to 1995, when its PURE HF Collection of bags was first introduced to the market. Hempro Int. has been selling PURE accessories since 2005, which means the company is intimate with the brand values that have driven the products’ success in the marketplace.
“In the case of PURE, we know our customers value functional design, quality and durability – and those are what the brand delivers – backed up by a guarantee. We make it standard practice to not just live up to expectations, but exceed them,” Kruse said.
Finding perfect ‘fit’
Beyond quality factors, brand personality and character strongly contribute toward finding the right “market fit,” not just for the customer but up and down the value chain, according to Kruse. And a key consideration for Hempro Int. and its PURE suppliers and customers is the sustainability the products offer: All materials that go into PURE accessories are traceable back 100% to ecological sources.
As Hempro Int. has carefully added more and more products through the years, the deal with PURE was a special one, according to Kruse. “We have a long history with these products, their creators and the brand,” Kruse said. “So it was a natural fit. We know the owners personally, and it all went down as deals like this should, with both sides really happy in the end.”
Continual innovation is not only required, but so is the communication of those innovations to the marketplace. “With our PURE line we’re constantly brainstorming new products and improvements to the products in our existing portfolio,” Kruse said.
Fashions & accessories
Adding the PURE brand to Hempro Int.’s portfolio is only the most recent milestone in a 16-year corporate history marked by careful strategic acquisitions and organic development of the company’s product lines. Hempro Int. also offers hemp fashions via its The Hemp Line brand, which has been selling clothing for more than a decade.
Hempro Int.’s overall portfolio also includes HANF FARM, a consumer brand for hemp foods. That division has been a major factor in the company’s emergence as a leading player in the European hemp market over the past two decades. Next to its own-brand products, Hempro Int.’s main business is industrial scale hemp foods production and bulk distribution, through which the company is meeting demand for raw materials in the fast-growing hemp foods sector in Europe and around the world.
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