Several young people who wanted to help revive the tradition and help Romanian craftsmen to bring art back into the limelight filled themselves with money. What is the traditional business with which two young people struck, in Romania. They didn’t expect it to go so well either.
The business with which several young people struck. It all started with a game
The business started six years ago, but initially everything actually started as a CSR project to support the craft and folk art area.
Then, everything slowly became a business in itself, which today is the responsibility of a whole team of entrepreneurs who have enthusiasm in their blood.
“We wanted to give something back to the world, with the expertise we had, namely in entrepreneurship, marketing and communication. The project started organically, we took the country step by step, we met renowned folk craftsmen, local artisans, we found out their problems, we discussed what could be done and we penciled in a project idea”, says Cosmin Cucoş, according to zf.ro.
Many crafts no longer have anyone to carry them forward
Thus they discovered that many crafts reached the last generation of popular artists, risking oblivion. Thus inspired, they created the Revive the Tradition project, which brings together on a single online platform, objects manufactured by artisans from all over the country.
“We started with an online store, which at launch gathered about 1,000 products made by popular craftsmen from all over the geographical area of Romania”, says Cosmin Cucoş.
Now, the business is owned by the communication agency Promocrat, through the company Promocrat Media SRL, its shareholders are Alexandru Gavril, Alexandru Alucăi, Cosmin Cucoş, Elena Bicher and Cosmin Muscălescu, plus Andrei Cucoş and Andreia Niculita, all of whom are decisive in the implementation and operationalization of the project.
The past of the shareholders is a varied one, bringing together a rich expertise in entrepreneurship, finance, growth & digital marketing, performance marketing and hospitality.
“The initial investment was around 25,000 euros and consisted of branding, logistics, the creation of the online store and the initial stock of products”, says Cosmin Cucoș.
Who are the customers of “Vie Tradiția”
The Invie Tradiția business benefits from an online store that brings together objects manufactured in Romania, with the exception of only two or three products made by craftsmen outside of Romania. In total, the platform brings together around 30 local producers, with the offered products reaching 2,000.
The main customers of the platform are folk art lovers, and most of the purchased products ended up as gifts for acquaintances and relatives.
However, there is a category of customers who buy in personal interest, and another important category of customers is represented by companies that carry out commercial relations with companies outside of Romania or that have branches in other countries and are looking for products to be offered as gifts or for protocol.