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“We are currently seeing a huge increase in demand for health care products,” says CEO and owner Ab Benay. “People want to take better care of themselves, and many try to avoid going to medical facilities due to the high cost, particularly in the Netherlands. With the ageing population, thermotherapies are becoming increasingly popular, as are smart devices which enable remote health monitoring. Health care products are now our most important product category, and the one I personally like the best.”
Cresta designs and develops consumer electronics in the low and middle price sector in four core categories. Besides health care devices such as blood pressure, temperature, and sugar level monitoring, the firm also produces thermotherapy products – heated blankets, massage machines, and heated belts, for example – and clocks and weather stations.
New for 2019 is a complete range of smart home products, which includes the hardware and software for controlling lighting, heating and home security. “Our smart home products have been developed together with a partner in Hong Kong, and are exclusive to Cresta,” underlines Mr. Benay.
Around 50% of Cresta’s portfolio is made up of own-brand products – C-care thermotherapy and health care products, and C-smart weather, time, and smart home appliances. In addition, Cresta also distributes Wellcare thermotherapy and health care products, and Swiss Voice telecom solutions for the elderly. The production of Cresta’s own-brand products is outsourced to manufacturers in China.
Cresta’s headquarters and distribution facilities are located in Almere, and its products are sold by major online and chain store retailers across Benelux and France. Its export market generates around 35% of the company’s turnover. In France and Belgium, Cresta works with distributors who take care of the markets in those countries.
“In the coming years, our focus will be to increase our international activities,” reveals the CEO. “The first priority will be to develop the Spanish and German markets, but in the longer term, our goal is to target the whole of Europe. Some of our clients are active in several countries, which will help enormously. Our strategy is to appoint one distributor per country; that way, we can provide optimum support so that those distributors can serve our market well through their own stocks and deliveries. Their target is to deliver within 24 hours.” In total, in a relatively niche market – there are around five similar players – Cresta currently boasts a one-third market share.
Health care products are currently our most important product category, and the one I personally like best. Ab BenayCEO and Owner
One of Cresta’s key strengths is its policy of stable pricing. “We have a clear policy of not offering discounted prices,” Mr. Benay emphasizes. “Our clients know this, and follow the same policy themselves with our products. This strategy is another reason that we want to work with just one distributor in each country as far as possible. It makes this pricing policy much easier to implement.”
Cresta was founded in 1976, and has a longstanding reputation for good, reliable service and high-quality, innovative products. “In five years’ time, we will have a great distribution network covering more than half of the European countries,” predicts Mr. Benay. “We have over 200 products in our portfolio which means we can study the market in each country and offer exactly what customers want.”
