#NEF Results of innovative vouchers for business - the case of MFT company
Last year, the winners of the competition of innovative vouchers for business completed projects for which they received funding of up to 60,000 UAH.
The manufacturer of natural toothpaste and dental care products MFT also won the competition, and we asked the company's representative, pharmacist Yulia Soroka about how the company implemented the project and what impact it has on the existing MFT business.
Julia is engaged not only in product development, but also in the search for new ideas for scaling, development and everything that can help the company grow and declare itself as a manufacturer of Ukrainian natural toothpaste. Innovative vouchers for business were one such step for the development of the company. The company directed the funds received within the project to develop a new site.
About the idea of creating a new website
When we saw that there was such an opportunity from the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council to take part in the selection for an innovation voucher, we immediately realised that we had to apply with a website. Why? We had a site that worked before and was created for free on a standard constructor. Pages loaded for a very long time, it was difficult to go from page to page, download new information. We have an increasing number of products - and the site doesn't pull out the number and volume of images. Orders were cancelled. People couldn't even pay for their orders properly.
At that time, we were attending various events in Ukraine and abroad, talking about our brand, and then when a person visits the site and finds out that it is not working, we realised that this is our growth point and that we need to fix it.
The first thing we started with was, of course, the specification and description of the functionality, including the addition of foreign languages. We realised that there must be high-quality English, Polish, and Ukrainian. And that was the main thing. The website should be user-friendly and fast, so that it loads quickly. This is our online store, from which we receive sales, there are all purchases officially through the payment system, and we receive an order from the client, which is paid.
We won a grant from MOM for training on European certification, which is very related to this site, because after obtaining European certification, we will actively target the site to the European market. The new website is an important element of our development. Now that the website is ready, we are gradually filling it with new products. We are creating new packaging and product designs. And the new website will reflect all this.
About participation in the competition
We had previously participated in a grant programme from the Danish Council and were already familiar with how the documents were prepared. The City Council provided us with a lot of help, corrections, and always advised us on how to fill out the documentation correctly. It saves time and we are very grateful for that. The support from the City Council was very important. It is very pleasant that the city authorities support the reloaded business. For our part, we are also trying to develop - registered an LLC in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk and as a company we are expanding, we want to be useful to the city economically. We are now, as a company, moving towards supporting the sustainable development goals valued in Europe. And one of the sustainable development goals is the development of city businesses, economic development.
More information on the website.
Implement the "New Economy of Ivano-Frankivsk" project together with the Executive Committee of the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council, the Promprylad.Renovation, innovation center, the METALAB urban laboratory, the PPV Knowledge Networks economic development agency, and the Warm City platform.