Going Local - اشترى المصرى

Manufacturer Response: Bisco Misr

2009-03-24T00:35:00.000-07:00

Brand manager at Bisco Misr had the following to say in response to our thread on their products:

a) Luxe: as i can see that most of you liked it, it is actually our fastest moving product. so its very unlikely for its taste to be affected by storage, maybe its a coincidence, maybe if you buy it, Inji, from a different retailer you won't find that taste.

Abdallah: We don't have 2 luxe biscuits, only 1. The other Tea Biscuit is a totally different brand, but its very good as well, i love it , personally.

And their packaging is different one is gold (Luxe), the other (Tea Biscuit) is orange/ yellow with a cup of tea on it.

As for being able to differentiate between Hohos & Twinkies: they're two different types of cakes and not "the same but different flavors". Hohos is a chocolate swiss roll ; while twinkies is cake filled with cream.
And Chispsey their all the same design but with different variances, which is the color of the pack and the flavor illustration.

So having the same design and changing only the color, is a typical branding approach in any product with different flavors.

b) Ramsis: i have to admit that its not as good as before, but we are currently working on the development of lots of our products and Bisco Ramsis is definitely one of them.

c) Kahk: Glad you all liked it as well, its one of the company's not product but rather a tradition. Their packaging was updated but not the total face lift. As for the advertising, only last year we didn't make any campaign for the kahk but before that it was a must every year. ISA we'll go back to that.

d) Date bars: we did give it a total face lift and it was re-launched under the brand name Datto, with the same great taste.

But as we have part of our consumers who likes the traditional Date Bars products, although their the same product/ recipe, we kept it with the old name & packaging on very small scale only in our outlets.

e) Corn flakes: is one of the recent products that went under development. The improved corn flakes will be launched in the market very very soon, with packaging indicating that this is the improved one. We have 3 flavors: plain, chocolate and honey.
And we will also launch 2 new flavors: Frosties & Raisins and Almonds.

Please all try them and let me what you think :)

f) our outlets: we have outlets covering most of Cairo, Alex and some governerates as well. You can find them all on our website:

http://www.biscomisr.com/Corporate_Info/OUTLETS.aspx

g) Bimbo and Shorty are competitors products.

h) Advertising in general: we know it's very important but the company policy right now is to focus on internal improvements, product recipes and taste, then to go above the line. But we will have some ads in 2009 ISA.

Finally, thank you all for sharing your opinion, and I'm really glad that some of us still have this spirit of being loyal to our local products and wanting them to change and improve.

Lotfy Shoe Stores

2009-03-13T03:17:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago, when I would hear someone mention Lotfy, the first thing that used to come to mind was school, but now when it is mentioned the first thing that comes to mind is "Great Management". For over 50 years, Egyptian shoe store Lotfy has been a source of not only high-quality shoes, but also excellent customer service. Unlike many shoe stores, Lotfy provides shoes you can wear to work, to the club , formal shoes or just anything you can put on and go for both genders.

Not only are the shoes of good quality, they also look good, they have managed to stay up to date with trends, without raising their prices to have a competitive advantage over other trendy shoe stores.

One last thing worthy of mention about Lotfy Shoe Stores, is that their customer come first, even when the store is crowded, the salespeople are always polite and focuses. They would actually take the time to tell their customer that they will be with them in a minute. They have a clear exchange and return policy and are always willing to listen to customer complaints in case of exchange or returns, and comply by the rules of Consumer Protection Agencies

To know more about them, or where the branches are located check their website: www.lotfy.com

What people said about bisco misr.

2009-03-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

We had our third trial week about Bisco Misr's products.

Here are some of what the people said.

"My morning cup of tea is incomplete without Bisco Misr's Lux. The taste is just great.
I think they should work some more on the looks of their products."

"i am concerned about the quality control for bisco misr precisely, i mean you can buy a lux biscuits packet from two different places, they will taste different, thats what i think, but on the other hand most of the time it tastes good although it is different :)"

"I LOVE LUX and elbaskoot bel3agwa (it's the best around - just the right amount of texture & sweetness!)...of course the packaging is a bit outdated but the taste makes up for it...they have lots of other products too can you guys remind us what they are so we can rate them?
Also I don't know about quality control...it might be that the expiry date is closer and thats why the taste is stale..."

"بالنسبة لبسكوت "لوكس" ليا عليه تحفظات بشأن الطعم
بسكوت رمسيس بسكوت رائع ولكن مع الازمة الاقتصادية قلله الشيكولاتة اللى فيه فبقى سخيف

بجد لازم يشتغلوا شوية على التسويق والجودة وايه المشكلة يبقى فيه منتج محترم ولو غالى دلوقتى المنتج الكويس بيتقدر والناس بتقبل عليه عشان جودته فليه منستغلش الموضوع ده"

"We had a little office tasting session and this is our collective feedback:
Pricing: 10/10
Packaging: 4/10
Quality: 7/10 - Not very consistent
Variety: 9/10
Distribution: 4/10 (could only find the four products below out of a really wider product offering claimed by the website)."

Heard on our Facebook Group

2009-03-06T23:59:00.000-08:00

"Just want to say I love Al Rashidi Halawa and since Im away for my studies I always ask any visitors to bring me a whole box w the individual halawa bars. Its a shame its not being sold abroad as an energy bar, which is exactly how Ive been using it." ~ H. R.

Getting Ripped Off?

2009-03-05T00:46:00.000-08:00

A new facebook initiative invites you to fight back and demand your rights.

Their mission:

1. Expose all the shops/businesses that have a reputation for putting many people through disturbing or humiliating shopping experiences.

2. Become a well established reference of all the shops that everyone living/visiting Egypt should NOT shop at.

How to interpret information on this group:

1. A business with one bad mention on the group does not necessarily mean a bad business. Most probably its a single bad employee. So please help the business to eliminate him, and name him!

2. A business with several bad experiences, probably means that the shop's management sucks! You should be careful before choosing to deal with them.

3. A business with a huge list of horrible customer experiences, probably means you should never ever enter the shop, even if they are the only shop in Egypt selling that product.

In a problem now, and need emergency help:

1. Call Consumer Protection Service ("7'edmet 7emayet 2el Mostahlek"):

Telephone (call from land-line): 19588
Telephone: 02-33055762/5/8
Fax Number: 02-35380384

They operate from 9am - 5pm all days except Friday. They will only take action after receiving a fax with your story and a copy of your receipt.

2. Always keep your receipts, and call within 14 days of purchase.

قهوة الصباح

2009-03-02T15:02:00.000-08:00

عمري ما فكرت إن ممكن أتمسك بعادة بسبب منتج عجبني

لكن في يوم كدة قبل الشغل واحد صاحبي عزمني على كابوتشينو فانيليا عجبني جدا
سألت صاحبي على نوع القهوة ، قاللي إن اسمها بونجورنو. رحت السوبر ماركت لقيت إن فيه كذا نوع من المنتج ده : قرفة و بندق و فانيليا ...... قلت أجرب حاجة جاجة
الغريب إن كللهم كانوا هايلين بجد ، ومن يومها بعد ما كنت بشرب القهوة تفاريح ، بقى لازم كل يوم الصبح بونجورنو كابوتشينو

الناس رأيها ايه في سيكم

2009-02-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

احنا عملنا إستطلاع رأي صغير كدة على الفيس بك جروب عن رأي الناس في منتجات سيكم ، و دي كانت النتيجة

من بين 9 ردوا علينا ، إجماع تام على إن المنتجات هايلة.

كان بس فيه بعض التحفظات أو الملاحظات
1- النكهة محتاجة تبقى أقوى من كدة
2- يا ريت لو يقدروا يراجعوا أسعارهم شوية

دة كان رأيكوا إنتوا

Organic

2009-02-11T23:48:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me know that I've been down with the flu for the past 10 days. During that time my lovely mom has been serving me the widest and most delicious variety of herbal teas. Inquisitive, I asked if they were of the local variety or some fancy imported label. I was told they were a Sekem production.

The name Sekem may not ring bells with you, but I'm sure you all remember the "Organic" campaign spearheaded by their brand name "Isis". I got online and did a little research. It turns out they have quite the extensive product offering; including teas, coffees, juices, oriental drinks, herbs and spices, whole grain, honey, dried fruit, oils and a variety of other agri-products.

Sekem is the brainchild of Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish, who founded the farm and the company in 1977 to realise the vision of sustainable human development. Now this is an Egyptian farm in Belbeis who's owner has made the consious decision to grow all his produce organically. Moreover had the vision to invest in agri-business and make use of that produce using simple processing techniques and well thought out packaging. He has managed to make his products highly accessible to all of us and at a quality comparable to that of the imported labels.

Going Local Rating:

Packaging: 9/10

Flavour: 10/10

Variety: 10/10

Pricing: 9/10

Overall rating: Thumbs up from us!

أسئلة ترد كثيراً

2009-02-08T05:28:00.000-08:00

من نحن ؟
نحن مجموعة من شباب و شابات مصر.

ما هو الهدف من هذه المبادرة ؟
هي دعوة بسيطة لدعم المنتجات و الخدمات المحلية ، بغية الوصول إلى:
1- المساهمة في تحسين جودة المنتج المحلي
2- محاكاة جمعيات حماية حقوق المستهلك
3- محاولة تسليط الضوء علىفرص إستثمارية للشباب أو رجال الأعمال ،في قطاعات لا يوجد بها منتج محلي جيد.

السؤال الأشهر : لماذا أشتري منتج محلي ذو جودة أقل و في أغلب الأحوال ذو سعر أغلى ؟
لا تشتري ، نحن لا نريد مساندة من لا يهتم بجودة منتجه. بل نريد دفعهم نحو التطوير.

ما هو دورك ؟
تجربة منتج محلي كلما استطعت ، راسلنا و أعلمنا بتجربتك لكي ننشرها.

ما هي المنتجات التي نعتبرها محلية ؟
لقد قمنا بتقسيم المنتجات من الأكثر إلى الأقل مصرية:
1- منتج مصنع بالكامل محليا يحمل علامة تجارية محلية
2- منتجات مجمعة محليا تحمل علامة تحارية محلية، مثل أجهزة الكمبيوتر
3- منتج مصنع محليا لصالح علامة تجارية غير مصرية
4- منتجات مجمعة محليا لصالح علامات تجارية غير مصرية

buyegypt@gmail.com تواصلوا معنا عن طريق البريد الإليكتروني الخلص بنا

أرسلوا لنا تجاربكم ، مقترحاتكم ، شكواكم ومساهماتكم

FAQ

2009-02-02T22:25:00.000-08:00

Q: Who are we?

A: A bunch of young Egyptian citizens with no political agenda who want Egyptian products to go global.

Q: What is the aim of this initiative?

A: It is an invitation to support Egyptian goods and services. This initiative has three main aims:

1) To promote the quality Egyptian brands and goods out there; encourage them to expand their market base and assist them to overcome being over-shadowed by the more prominent international brands.

2) To emulate a citizen driven consumer protection agency; make sure your voices are heard and your complaints reach the Egyptian manufacturers.

3) To identify profitable investment opportunities for young Egyptian investors; directing them to products and services not provided locally.

Q: Why should I buy the bad quality Egyptian product, which by the way is over-priced most of the time?

A: You shouldn't! That's not the objective of this initiative. We don't believe in commending that kind of behaviour on the part of incompetent inefficient producers. Our aim is to promote the hidden stars and to push the average products into improving. We are demanding higher quality, better packaging and more competitive pricing.

Q: What do you want me to do?

A: Try a new Egyptian product or service every day. Write in, let us know what you thought. Keep using the ones that you consider good value for money and dump the rest. Just let us know, so more of us can use the good ones and we can veer away from potential traps.

Q: What qualifies as local?
A: For our purpose there are different levels of local; we've listed them here sorted from most local to least local in our opinion:
1) Locally manufactured goods for a local brand.
2) Locally assembled good under a local brand. (PCs and technology products usually).
3) Locally manufactured goods for a global brand. (A product that says Made In Egypt).
4) Locally assembled products for international brands. (This being as loose a definition as we are willing to go).

Q: How can I reach you?

A: E-mail us at buyegypt@gmail.com; drop us a comment on the blog or the facebook group. Send us photos of the products you like, product reviews, complaints, comments, or whatever else you'd like to throw our way.

كلمة في زوري

2009-02-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

هو في حاجة واحدة بس أنا عايز الناس تبقى عارفاها مش معنى إني هشتري منتج مصري إني هارمي فلوسي في الأرض. لأ خالص

إحنا مش هانشتري غير المنتج اللي فعلا يستاهل إنه يدفع فيه فلوس ، و بكده إحنا بنشجع الحاجة الكويسة ، و اللي مش قد كدة بنوريله إنه لو إتحسن هنشتريه.

في الآخر أنا مستهلك و مش هاضيع فلوسي على حاجة ماتستاهلش

The Beginning

2009-02-01T00:03:00.000-08:00

Every other day my phone goes off and it’s an SMS to the effect of “Boycott Danish goods” or "Show solidarity to Palestine, boycott US products”. This has held true for Dutch products and of course products coming from the occupied territories. Now I’m all for it. I’m sure the 3 mobile operators are making a killing. Yet that’s not my concern. EU manufacturers have started to label goods as “Made in the EU”, them Europeans stick together and I applaud that, 3o2balna ya 3arab. So now your options are, being a devout concerned Arab citizen and all, is to boycott all US and EU products. So basically your options currently is to buy Asian.

I have a different proposition for you. Lets buy Egypt! Lets buy Arab products. Even better lets produce Arab products. Walk into your local supermarket and tally up what percentage of the products you’ve bought were manufactured locally. Then think to your purchase decision mechanism, did you automatically dismiss the local substitute for the global brand?I know it’s a lot to ask, and that yes you’ll miss your gourmet coffees, teas and meals. Yet for a change. Lets be proactive. Lets BUY EGYPT!