Minister McGuinness Announces €5m Contract for Galway Company Lifes2Good in Brazil

Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to Latin America

The Minister for Trade and Commerce John McGuinness T.D. has today (Tuesday 27th May 2008): announced a €5m contract for Galway firm Lifes2Good in Brazil during this week's Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to Brazil and Mexico.

Minister McGuinness is accompanied on the mission by Enterprise Ireland Chief Executive Officer, Frank Ryan and 41 Irish companies including 6 from Northern Ireland.

Lifes2Good, a provider of natural health and beauty products, expanded its marketing pact with Import Medic, Brazil for the distribution of Lifes2Good's proprietary Viviscal line of supplements for thinning hair.

The basic Viviscal product has been available in Brazil for ten years but under the new agreement with Import Medic, the full complement of Viviscal products will be re-launched through Import Medic´s vast network to approximately 10,000 pharmacies throughout the Brazil.

Making the announcement, Minister McGuinness said:

"I would like to warmly congratulate Lifes2Good on this significant win in Brazil.  The company is a leading example of how Irish companies, strongly positioned in key niches, can develop durable business relationships here in Brazil and indeed Latin America as a whole.

"Seeing first hand, the social and economic developments here in Brazil, it is clear that significant opportunities will continue to arise for Irish companies particularly if Brazil continues to grow to its predicted position of 5th largest in the world by 2050.  These areas include telecommunications, financial services, oil and gas, agricultural equipment and food processing technologies, aerospace technologies and educational services.
 
Lifes2Good Managing Director James Murphy added:

"This agreement in Brazil is a key part of our company's strategy to scale-up marketing efforts in fast-growing Latin American markets, where consumer spending is rising.  With a strong partner like Import Medic, we can leverage the success we've had with Viviscal products in Europe and the U.S. and expand this market exponentially."

In total, €5.5m worth of business for Irish companies has been announced so far on the Enterprise Ireland mission to Brazil including:
" The launch in Brazil of eSpatial's iSmart 5.4, its new web 2.0 geographical information system (GIS) platform ;
" Tango Telecom's launch in Brazil of its SMS advertising platform iAX SMS Advertising;
" Galway engineering company, MCS, which specialises in providing sub-sea solutions, signed a new contract with Brazil's national oil company Petrobras.

Forty one Irish companies are participating in the weeklong Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Brazil and Mexico, the aim of which is to enhance economic link and assist Irish companies to access long-term opportunities available in both markets. 

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For further information contact:

Ciara O'mahony, Press Officer, Enterprise Ireland  tel: +353 (01) 8082284 mobile: 087 2043435