Accompanied by nearly 300 people and inside a radiant Club Uruguay, the Uruguay Natural brand celebrated the end of 2015, surrounded by companies and member brands, friends, national authorities and the presence of a foreign expert on country brand.

The meeting was in the late afternoon of December 10 and began with a talk by Colombian Jose Pablo Arango, former general manager of the Colombia brand and nowadays a consultant with over 35 years of experience in Brand Management and Strategic Communications. Arango detailed the interesting experience of the Colombia brand, from its inception to the present.

After the presentation by Arango, who captivated more than 70 special guests and friends of the brand, the executive director of Uruguay XXI, welcomed the public and the authorities present, including the minister and the deputy tourism minister, Lilian Kechichian and Benjamin Liberoff, Minister of Industry, Carolina Cosse, the deputy secretary of the Presidency Juan Andrés Roballo, Minister of Livestock, Tabaré Aguerre and Economy Minister Danilo Astori.

Carámbula began emphasizing that there are already 170 companies that agreed to use the Uruguay Natural brand, 40% of which have already embarked on the exporter’s path, which means that the brand is present in over 30 countries.

“A well-positioned country brand is a platform used by companies to access new markets”, said Carámbula adding that in the same way, “Uruguay as a country also uses the brand to attract investments”.

“Something that Uruguay shows to the world is its quality of life,” Carámbula said and emphasized the international cooperation that supported and strengthened the brand, the presence thereof in the academic world that began to be realized this year and the presidency of the REDIBERO (network of export promotion agencies) just granted to Uruguay for the period 2016-2017.

Other milestones that marked the work of the Uruguay Natural brand this year was the presence at Milan World’s Fair and the creation and development of new sector brands such as Uruguay Fruits and Smart Services, for which strategic action have been planned to be carried out in 2016, reported Carámbula.

In addition, the deputy secretary of the Presidency Juan Andrés Roballo, while sending greetings of President Tabaré Vazquez, stressed that the government is increasingly giving importance to issues related to quality just like consumers who typically consume brands and not only products.

Moreover, the Minister of Industry Carolina Cosse congratulated Uruguay XXI and the Ministry of Tourism for the collective construction of the country brand and noted that Uruguay is a country that is also known for being innovative in issues related to technological excellence, broadband penetration and the Ceibal Plan, among others.

Meanwhile, Minister Aguerre highlighted “two distinct concepts”that make Uruguay Natural: competitiveness for international integration and good collective image that strengthens the sense of belonging. “The country brand is a state policy associated with an identity,” said Aguerre who celebrated that many government officials were present in the event.

The Minister of Tourism stressed the importance of the consolidated image that the mark bears today, not only abroad but also locally. The number of companies that choose to be members of the Uruguay Natural brand supports this consolidation, Kechichian said.

Finally, the Minister of Economy Danilo Astori said that “Uruguay Natural is a sign of dynamic identity which is expanding and consolidating in the country and is increasingly being noticed on the national scene.” Also he mentioned that the country brand means “inclusive growth, commitment to quality, excellence, effort and openness to the world.”

16 new partners

At the same time a product show of 25 member companies of Uruguay Natural was taking place, 16 new brand use agreements were signed during the event , among which are Xeniors, Reaching U and Gonchi Rodriguez, Uruguay´s Chamber of Design, Punta del Este Convention Center, among other companies.

Once the event ended, guests enjoyed the special lighting that the firm Audico mounted on the front of Club Uruguay, where the logo of Uruguay Natural was showcased on a blue background.