Media release: Dream Circus was the first Finn to win the Keys to Japan award

Dream Circus was the first Finn to win the Keys to Japan award

The top place in the EU-level competition is about to open its doors to the Japanese market.

Varkaute-based clothing manufacturer Dream Circus Oy has become the first Finnish company to win the EU Japan Center's Keys to Japan competition. The news about the win can be found on the center's website and in the newsletter published today 2 December 2021 https://www.eu-japan.eu/news/do-you-need-professional-market-entry-plan?e-news=3619

The competition win strengthens Dream Circus's efforts to enter the Japanese market. The winner of the Keys to Japan competition will receive a business plan worth 10,000 euros to conquer the Japanese market. The plan, which will be completed by next spring, will be drawn up by Japanese experts.

"The surprise win brings a great boost to the Japanese market. We learned about the win in October. The reasons for the win and us are explained in more detail in the newsletter of the EU Japan Center," says Petra Ryymin, CEO of Dream Circus.

The EU Japan Center promotes trade relations between the EU and Japan and other joint activities. The center helps companies in import and export matters and in finding the right partners.

The Keys to Japan competition is one of the center's means of supporting the export efforts of companies from EU countries to Japan. Small and medium-sized companies from the EU region who are planning to start a business in Japan can participate in the competition. The competition usually receives the most applications from Germany, and they are related to cutting-edge technology. As you know, similar fashion brands have never been in the pursuit of profit before.

Dream Circus has already knocked on the doors of the Japanese market. In September 2021, the company presented itself at Business Finland's Rakuten Fashion Week event in the Forest Pavilion in Tokyo. The event presents Finnish lifestyle, fashion and design.

"We tested ehta by Dream Circus clothes in the Tokyo showroom. They were well received. We are already in initial negotiations with two Japanese retailers for clothes and fabrics. We are also building a social media strategy for Japan. We have hired a part-time Japanese employee for that," Ryymin reveals.

Based on experiences in Tokyo, the Dream Circus models designed for Finnish bodies also fit Japanese people, as long as they are only small or oversize sizes. The first products to go to Japan are dresses and hoodies. Dream Circus is soon opening a Japanese-language online store alongside its Finnish and English-language online stores.

In addition to Japan, Dream Circus is going to the US market. The company is about to open an account with Amazon in the United States in the near future. Dream Circus has already received brand protection there, which means that no one else can sell Ehta by Dream Circus brand products there.

The conquest of America is also supported by the agreement between Dream Circus and the Pomenia fairytale world for the license production of Pomenia clothes. It is also planned to bring Pomenia products to the US market.

Ehta by Dream Circus products are already sold in several European countries and through the online store to even more countries.

Join the Circus!

More information: CEO Petra Ryymin, tel. 045 168 1030, petra@dreamcircus.fi , photo requests laura@dreamcircus.fi

More information about the Keys to Japan competition here : https://www.eu-japan.eu/market-entry-business-plan-support-keys-japan

Dream Circus Oy started from the fulfilled dream of Kati and Laura, sisters from Savoia. The basic pillars of a company with growth momentum are joie de vivre, ecology, locality, domesticity and Finnish work. All ehta by Dream Circus products are made from own organic fabric and designed and sewn in Finland. The products have a key tag and the Design from Finland and DO Saimaa labels. The brand is registered in Finland, Europe, Japan and the United States.