Carsil Forte Becomes No.1 Hepatoprotective Drug in Georgia

Carroten – Georgians’ Favorite Sunscreen and Tanning Products

Carroten, a Greek brand that makes both tanning and sunscreen products, has become Georgian' favorite brand since marketing, sales and distribution company Libo Group began importing Carroten to the country in 2019.

Carroten has won the Golden Brand Award, the most influential business award in Georgia, in the category “favorite sunscreen and tanning” product.

Carroten was founded in Greece in the early 1980s using carrots as a source of inspiration, known for their vitamin content and special antioxidant properties. Noteworthy is provitamin A, which strengthens the skin's immune system and protects against ultraviolet radiation.

The carrot-based composition of Carroten has been associated with safe and natural tanning for 40 years, maintaining the health and beauty of their customers' skin.

Carroten has become a reliable consumer brand since its inception first in its native Greece and then on the international market, including in Georgia, where the brand is represented by a variety of products.

Eka Maghlaperidze, head of the marketing department at Libo Group, reviews Carroten's success in Georgia in this interview with Golden Brand.

Q. In a market saturated with various sunscreen and tanning products, Carroten managed to win the hearts of Georgian customers. How did the brand achieve this, in your opinion?
A. The value of the brand is its reliability, modernity, fun, innovation and experience. These values and high quality have become the key to Carroten's success.

Since 2019 Carroten's products have been distributed both in pharmacy chains and elsewhere, especially in coastal regions of Georgia, where the demand for such products is higher.

Carroten has developed every year, expanding its portfolio and pampering customers with innovative products. We have conducted many interesting marketing campaigns during these years, and right now we are preparing for the summer season, and we promise many innovations to our customers in 2023.

Q. Protecting our skins from the sun has become trendy and influencers are promoting products on social networks. Please tell us what the outstanding characteristics of Carroten products are.

A. Although industry experts have reviewed skin care topics extensively, I believe that getting more education and raising awareness about the harmful effects of overexposure to sunlight are needed.

As you know, the consequences of sunburn are very common in summer, which means that we do not follow basic rules about this. It must be remembered that a healthy tan and quality sunscreens are inseparable concepts, since sunscreens protect the skin from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays. Also, getting a tan should be done gradually and not all at once ⁠— which is the most stressful for the skin and causes burns.

We are proud of Carroten products for a number of reasons. First, I would like to mention that it has 40 years of history and experience in sun protection and tanning. We are in full compliance with EU recommendations on sun protection products. We offer a four-level enhanced protection system (UVB+UVA+VL+IRA), which resists a wide range of sunlight and protects the skin from premature ageing and other damages.

Carroten sunscreens not only protect the skin from ultraviolet UVB and UVA rays, but also from infrared (IRA) and visible sunlight (VL), which sets it apart from other products. The products consist of moisturising agents that improve the skin's ability to defend against sunlight and maintain optimal moisture levels.

Carroten products include sun protection, tanning and combination products, as well as a line for kids, which is enriched with beta-glucan, helping children's skin develop immunity against external harmful factors, and with pro-vitamin D to improve its ability to defend against UV radiation.
The products of the kids’ line maintain the optimal moisture level of their delicate skin. In terms of sun protection technology, as in the adult line, there is a four-level enhanced protection system (UVB+UVA+VL*+IRA*), which protects the skin from premature ageing and other damages.

Q. Where can customers buy Carroten products?
A. Carroten sunscreens can be purchased at pharmacy chains, supermarkets, and other small retailers. They can also buy our products at an online store, canshop.ge, created by Libo Group for offering convenient shopping to customers.

Currently, Carroten offers sixteen products on the Georgian market, the most popular being intensive tanning oils with spf 0 and spf 6, which accelerate the tanning process and help achieve a deep, golden tan from the sun's rays with a fairly low protection factor (spf 6). This clearly shows that Georgian people prefer getting a tan than maximum protection from the sun's rays. Having the best interests of our customers in mind, I hope that in the future Carroten products with higher sun protection factors, spf 20 or even spf 30, will become more in demand.

Q. How do you plan to make Carroten even more popular in Georgia?
A. The brand is currently quite popular in the Georgian market. Consumers show a lot of interest in the brand and this can be seen by their activity on the official Facebook page of the brand, asking a lot of questions and being interested in product features.

In order to increase promotion of our brand, we are planning interesting offers that will be tailored to the customers as much as possible, advertising campaigns, incentive contests on our social networks and on TV, as well as collaboration with influencers. So, I encourage our customers to join us and spend summer days carefree with Carroten.

Q. What is Carroten's market share in Georgia currently?
A. Carroten currently holds 35% of the market in the sun protection product category, and sales statistics show a clear upward trend.

Last year was quite successful for the brand, with a 65% increase in sales, which is truly an extraordinary leap in the brand's success. Also, in 2022 our market share increased and due to the increased sales rate, the share of product placement in online or traditional channels also increased compared to competitors, which allowed us to place a wide range of products even more attractively in stores.

Last year we also expanded our product range and introduced things that have not been on the Georgian market before, such as dry oil in the form of a spray, which is vegan, does not stick to sand, has a dry effect and is highly resistant to water. We also introduced a dry aerosol sunscreen and a facial water spray. Customers have given very good feedback on these new products.

Q. Georgian customers have named Carroten their favorite brand this year. What brought Carroten this recognition in your opinion?
A. I think the success of Carroten is primarily due to its high quality. As I've mentioned, it is in full compliance with EU recommendations on sun protection products and is made with the highest level of technology.

Also, the marketing and PR activities that we have carried out over the years are very important: appearing on TV shows, campaigns in social networks and magazines, collaboration with influencers, etc.

We always plan marketing activities with the principle of emphasizing the main values of the brand, such as reliability, modernity, fun, innovation and impression.

Regarding the success of the brand, I cannot fail to mention the great contribution of our employees, actively involved in the development of the brand in the Georgian market together with foreign partners. Without the professionalism and selfless efforts of our employees, the brand would not have achieved such success.

Levan Chitanava: Our Goal is to be Everywhere There is Business

Business Time, a local media outlet with the focus on business and economy, is striving to attract more readers, increase its rating and establish itself as a reliable and vocal news agency.

Read below to find out more about the plans and goals of Business Time in an interview with Editor-In-Chief, Levan Chitanava.

Q. Business Time is a newly created media outlet. The market is saturated with different online media outlets offering various content. Why did you decide to start Business Time?
A. The main motivation for our decision was to do what we know how to do and what we wanted to do. The market may be saturated with online publications, but we are confident that we will find our place and our voice soon. The goal is also to provide readers with more information about business Georgia.

Q. You said that Business Time will find its place soon. What will it be in your opinion, what is your goal?
A. Although our agency has been established for several years, the pandemic situation slowed down our plans, but we believe the best is still ahead of us.

In January we completely updated our website, introduced a modern design and new sections. We make a kind of fresh start, with a new attitude and more potential. Of course our goal is to attract more readers and establish closer cooperation with businesses. We have many plans for the future, and our team is working 24/7 to achieve that goal.

We are considering adding small interviews on interesting topics to the video section, which we think will further promote our outlet.

As trade relations with China grow, we are considering the possibility of adding Chinese language along with English to our website.

Since 2023 large businesses have also started cooperating with us, which is a sign that we are slowly but surely moving in the right direction. The trust expressed by the business is an incentive for our team to be more in shape and live up to expectations. Our main focus is to be everywhere there is business.

Q. Business Time is mainly involved in covering business and economy related issues. Why did you choose this sphere?
A.Our priority is business and economics, although we do not limit ourselves to this.

One of our important points of reference is society - we are active in this direction as well, and of course we have a special section "Ukraine", which everyone is very interested in, and within this section we try to cover the economic situation of the country at war and what is happening directly on the front line.

Regarding your question of why economics and business ⁠— we have a lot of experience in this field. In 2011-2016 we published a business magazine with Azerbaijani investments, which was analytical and was published in the English and Russian languages. In 2016 the investor decided to leave the Georgian market, and we reinvested our experience in an information agency that will definitely have the last word!

Q. What is the role of the media today in the “information war” and how difficult is it to maintain the standards of journalism and ethics and fight propaganda?
A. Today media is quite diverse, the competition is high and the standard in our segment is increasing, which is only welcome. As they say, competition only strengthens.

Fighting propaganda is not an easy task, but when you rely on the primary source and bring verified information to the reader, after some time you get proper feedback, which is called trust. You should never offer false information to the reader, so by spreading the right information, you fight propaganda and at the same time gain the trust of the reader, which is the most important point for us!

Today in Georgia too many media outlets openly state their position, and the media seems to be divided into two parts ⁠— opposition and government. This kind of media environment was one of the reasons why we decided to place more emphasis on business, economy and other public topics and to "withdraw" from politics as much as possible. Of course, all the issues are related to the politics in the country, including the topics that we focus on, although not to the same extent as some other media outlets.

We talk only in numbers, we try to be as neutral as possible, we are not financed by any political party, our income is advertising, and perhaps this is the main protection against being partisan. In our work it is necessary not to forget the ethics of journalism, and the more we learn it, the more it will affect the quality of work, and competition will become healthier.

Q. What is it like to be the head of a media outlet in Georgia today?
A. Leadership means responsibility. While other employees go home after performing daily work, the leader stays responsible for all the people on their team.

As a manager I believe that the main thing is teamwork, and my employees know this very well, since we discuss all important issues together. Employees must also enjoy their work and not just be in it for the money. Today we are a small team but with big ambitions. Ambitions that have objective foundations. You are a good manager when the agency works directly without your intervention in all the details, when the employees love their work and you create all conditions for the realization of this work.

Q. Please tell us why you decided to support the Golden Brand awards ceremony?
A. I would like to answer this question by first thanking the organizers for their cooperation.

It is very important for us to participate in such events in order to tell the business community who we are. Our ambition is to contribute to the success of the sector. It is most important to participate in Golden Brand where successful business representatives gather. This is a window of opportunity for us.

Q. How important are such events to the business sector of Georgia in your opinion?
A. The answer is unequivocal ⁠— of course, very important! Encouraging business is necessary, business that creates products, jobs and, what is also important, contributes a substantial amount to our budget in the form of taxes. And of course to establish direct business communication, which can become the basis of partnership in the future. Golden Brand can thus be called the “golden place” for businesses.

Q. Does Business Time itself have any encouraging activities for businesses in Georgia?
A. Yes. We have special offers for startups, we will prepare an article about them completely free of charge, then we create video stories for them and provide information support for a certain period of time. For us this is an investment in relationships, after strengthening the startup it can become our loyal and serious partner in the future.

Q. Levan, please tell us more about yourself as well ⁠— what else do you do besides Business Time?
A. I cooperate with international media, and work at Radio Maestro, where I host the business program Maestro's Business Time, the main focus of which is economy and business. There we provide listeners with more information about business in Georgia.

In addition, I provide PR consultations to various companies in the country.

Bebe+ to Bring Collections to its Little Customers in Georgian Regions

Georgian customers’ favorite children’s clothing store ‘Bebe +’ plans to expand in Georgia and make its latest collections available in all corners of the country through online sales and opening new stores, which is “on the list of our future plans”, Director of Bebe+ Nana Chitava told Golden Brand.

As of today there are eight Bebe+ locations in Tbilisi, two in Batumi, and two in the third largest city of Georgia, Kutaisi.

Bebe+ provides clothes for children from 0 to 15 years old, and in 2022 the company added a line for men and women. Clothes for men and women are currently available only in the Bebe+ Gallery located on Aghmashenebeli Avenue in Tbilisi.

Today all leading brands that produce children’s clothes can be found under the roof of a single store, Bebe+, which has cemented itself as the leading children’s clothing store in Georgia.

During the lockdown following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, Bebe+ started selling online via Facebook. This was its solution to surviving the crisis, Chitava says.

The dynamic development of Bebe+, recognized today as the number one brand in its segment by the Golden Brand awards, started about 20 years ago when two sisters Nana and Inga Chitava launched the business with a seven square metre store in Bazroba, a large open air market in Tbilisi.

In that little space there was everything – a trading table, colored laminate walls, bubbles, a logo. The space was decorated in such a way as to catch the eyes of children.

“Even today when Bebe+ is represented by several stores I still am involved in every small detail. This might be related to the decoration of the shop window or the music that is played at our stores,” Chitava believes.

Success in the childrenswear market means understanding the industry and your place in it, Chitava says, and that “hard work” and an “honest approach to the most sincere customers”, children, will never escape attention. In her words, it is exactly this that has brought the Golden Brand award to the company.

“The main advantage of Bebe+ is that we are a customer-oriented brand. We try to make all of our offers, products and campaigns tailored to customers. Bebe+ is a network of stores that represents numerous children’s clothing brands. Thanks to our sincere policy and niche, we have gained a lot of love from our customers,” Chitava says.

While talking about the success of her brand, Chitava does not forget about the cohesive team of Bebe+.

“They are very loyal. They love the brand, their work, children, and everything that they do. I appreciate their attitude towards my business, which has become our business,” she says.

Q. Golden Brand is given to companies for successful operations in the previous year. 2022 was important for Bebe+ as the company completed rebranding and launched a new line for men and women. How have all these developments affected the brand’s operations?
A. Bebe+ has been offering high-quality clothing and accessories to society for over 20 years, although it was primarily represented by a line of children's clothing. After the pandemic we were able to add new branches and offer the consumer a collection of women's and men's clothing, which is frequently updated and, as of today, includes several hundred brands.

Being on the market for over 20 years and maintaining the leading position is not an easy task and is impossible to achieve without constant development. You should always look for opportunities around you, always think about what to offer your customers and how to attract the new ones. You should build a strong company to be able not only survive but to manage and take the leading position in the market, which is saturated with many similar businesses.

So last year’s activities were part of our main agenda ⁠— to keep the position of number one children’s clothing retailer on the market. Of course this helped us attract more customers, increase sales and strengthen our position on the market.

We did face some lingering post-pandemic problems ⁠— stores were closed, which had a direct impact on the decline in sales. But we managed to switch to online sales and started to deliver products to customers smoothly. And for the post-pandemic period, we were able to fulfil almost all the planned goals, open new branches, expand staff, add new brands and more.

Q. The fact is that Bebe + enjoyed more successful developments which resulted in the Golden Brand award. What do you think, how does the company manage to keep this award and the title of N1 favourite brand of the customers?
A. Our company is constantly focused on innovations and reforms, but at the same time it is very important not to lose the quality that customers have become accustomed to over the years. We believe this balance is precisely the reason why we have retained the Golden Brand Award.

Q. Have online sales increased at the company?
A. We evaluate online sales very objectively and at the same time critically, although it must be said that our website is in an active phase of development ⁠— the design has been changed and rebranded completely. The updated version of the website has met our expectations, as awareness and demand for online shopping have increased.

Through the website we were able to deliver our products to the regions as well, and to send orders outside the country. I think this is a very good result achieved in this short period of time the website has been in operation.

Q. Bebe+ offers very affordable prices to customers. How do you manage to keep prices low despite such high inflation rates?
A. Stable prices for the consumer has been and remains one of our primary goals. Our team works tirelessly, and luckily we have managed to maintain the existing customers and even attracted the new ones in this competitive environment in the market.

In order to ensure stable prices we are in constant communication with our partners outside of Georgia. Negotiations with suppliers are non-stop, and we try our best to keep prices low for our customers.