BME : "Hey Kees, can you tell me a little more about VIVA Scandinavia?"
Kees: "It is a Danish company founded in 2010 by Peng Lin. We are present in about 27 countries and our headquarters have been in Toronto since 2018. Our focus is mainly in America, Canada and Europe."
"In 2012, VIVA Scandinavia was mainly concerned with table accessories. Since Peng Lin and I started as partners in 2015, the brand also took on a Belgian touch. In 2016, this led us to specialize mainly in tea items. Specifically, we thus threw 80% of our assortment out the window to focus and stand out from the rest."
"The tea experience is very important to us and that goes beyond the tea itself. Our selection ranges from tea cups to teapots, tea eggs, you name it! The only thing we don't provide is the tea itself."
BME: "So what makes you guys unique?"
Kees: "We are the only ones in the world who make only tea accessories. Our unique Danish design and good price automatically make for a good brand. We deliberately chose this niche. It is also thanks to this focus that we do manage to deliver very widely to the hospitality industry, stores, interior design stores, as well as directly to consumers. In short focus on our product and brand ensures in our case a very wide sales channel."

BME: "What did you guys need BME for?"
Kees: "First of all, we have 2 types of customers: B2B and online marketplaces (think bol.com or Amazon). So those orders have to be processed and delivered in a different way."
"At first we had tried to do this by doing it through our B2B shipments warehouse, but that didn't go so smoothly. There were a lot of difficulties and it was expensive. That's why we finally chose BME. They are the specialists in e-commerce. For example, they know how many items fit in a box, and they work with packaging quantities. This allows them to quickly process both B2C and B2B orders from 1 stock."
"In addition to all these benefits, we also both work with ChannelEngine, through whom we integrate our marketplaces. This also makes for smoother collaboration."
BME: "How did you experience the start of the cooperation? How do you experience it now?"
Kees: "In terms of performance, such as the speed and accuracy of shipments, this is just fantastic. The lines of communication and the like also run very smoothly. Everyone takes responsibility."
"What is also very important to me is that we grow together, make mistakes, but also improve. That is something BME is very fiercely open to. For example, when we want to use new platforms, they are always open to looking at this as well."

BME: "What are your further ambitions and plans?"
Kees: "We have now launched a kickstarter campaign. Through this crowdfunding platform we want to launch a new product this way. We are going to finance our product by pre-selling. Some 4,000 people have already signed up. That's a lot of packages to be delivered, so that will be a fun challenge."
Thanks Kees, we are already looking forward to further cooperation and the next challenge of your kickstarter!
Are you looking for a fulfillment partner yourself or just want to chat?