Export Manager
📝 What is your name and role at Arvid Nordquist?
💬 “My name is Lisbet and I’ve been Export Manager for our own product since 2019: our beloved coffee. The ambition is to bring coffee to the world so that more coffee lovers can enjoy our outstanding products! The world is quite big 🙂 – right now the focus is on Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and the USA. I have many different tasks on my desk, but everything is aimed at creating business in new markets, where networking with distributors and potential customers is central to the professional role.”
📝 What qualities are good to have in your profession?
💬 “I have worked in export for 20 years and have developed into a generalist during my career who appreciates building bridges between markets, people and business areas. My curiosity about different markets and cultures has been a driving force throughout my career. In order to find new markets, you need to have an open mind, but also a great capacity to be able to prioritise. There are many threads that need to be picked up, but few that lead all the way to the finish line. You need to be able to scan the need in a market in order to be able to assess at an early stage whether it is something you can create with your offer. Adaptability is always an important factor. At product level, this can apply to different certificates, languages, product names, pack sizes, labelling rules and local rules for BBD (Best Before Date). It also doesn’t hurt to have a third language in your back pocket and a good ear for languages. English is of course the primary business language in international contexts, but in local markets you often encounter contact persons and forums where English is not as obvious. It is then very appreciated if you as an outsider can show interest and skills in the local language.”
📝 What are you passionate about in your role?
💬 “Essentially, it’s all about people! My job is social and mobile with many contacts, cultures and markets. It’s always moving in some market and keeping opportunities open is a challenge that requires timing – a challenge I like. And I love our products and our brand. It’s a great category to work in, a category where there are many tastes and styles, many different sales channels and most people can relate to coffee in one way or another.”
📝 What is the best thing about working as an Export Manager at Arvid Nordquist?
💬 “✅ It’s a privilege, and often an advantage, to be able to work with a coffee that is so far ahead in terms of sustainability throughout the value chain.
✅ Arvid Nordquist is a family-owned company, and I think this can be seen in the working day and the atmosphere. It’s not typically corporate here and I really like it.
✅ In addition to producing coffee, we are also a distributor and sales company in the Nordic region with many global brands in our portfolio. This makes us a fairly large company with many different roles and channels. Despite our size, the feeling of family is still there.
✅ Coffee. We make exceptionally good coffee, and it’s of course a bonus that it’s also available in everyday work and not just in the business portfolio.”