After 20 years in the business, the Triple Noodle Company has come a long way towards perfecting the art of fine noodle making. Finding customers, however, was harder than making the noodles, according to company Chairman and General Manager Johnny Lam.

The company had generally pursued a traditional marketing strategy. "We would go into talks directly with retailers, distributors and supermarkets to promote our products, but it was really tough," said Mr Lam. "Sometimes, long negotiations with potential partners would end up being a waste of time. It was very frustrating."

But when Triple Noodle attended a business lunch hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), it discovered the HKTDC's Business Matching service. Following consultations, HKTDC Business Matching specialists came up with some constructive recommendations, including advice on market positioning and sales strategy.

The company's innovative noodles were similar to Japanese noodles, HKTDC experts said, actively approaching Japanese distributors on behalf of Triple Noodle. A couple of months later, an appropriate partner was identified; negotiations began immediately.

"Before contacting the HKTDC, we had never dreamed of selling our locally made noodles to Japan," said Mr Lam. "But they have received a very positive response from the Japanese side for having the right flavour and texture. Now our Japanese partner has appointed a consultant to advise on packaging design and distribution strategy."

Mr Lam believes the Japanese partnership will increase his business by as much as 30 per cent. He added that the HKTDC Business Matching service has provided his company with a valuable opportunity to learn about global trends and how to promote its products to a global market.

Rewritten from Capital Weekly, Hong Kong, 1 March 2008.