Sausages and other smoked meats are staples of Czech cuisine and deserve their reputation as among the best in Europe. Frantisek Berousek, a Prague butcher and distributor of Czech specialities, is proud of his additive-free sausages, smoked ham and streaky bacon, and was keen to find a market beyond his country’s borders.

The Enterprise Europe Network, which brings together some 600 business support organisations from 50 countries, helps small companies like Berousek’s B&B Flash Food Service Ltd. make the most of opportunities in the EU’s single market.

Eva Hrubešová of the Centre for Regional Development of the CR, the Enterprise Europe Network branch in Prague, had been working with Berousek for some time, providing him with consultancy services. “We helped him with legal details about selling in markets abroad,” she says.

In May 2011, she helped him take part in the ambitious three-day European Market in Magdeburg, Germany, where the Magdeburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry Network branch is very active in inviting market traders to showcase their products. “These events are very successful both with the traders and the people who come to see and buy what’s on offer,” says the Magdeburg Network’s Dieter Dömland.

Hrubešová smoothed the way for Berousek, who speaks only Czech, by translating emails and helping with details such as the equipment he needed to participate. Working with her Magdeburg Network colleagues, she made sure the experience would be stress-free, including booking his hotel room.

“We greatly appreciated the Network’s help and advice,” says Berousek. “The collaboration between the Czech and German partners was excellent. I didn’t have to do anything except turn up at the market and sell my goods.”

After this successful experience at showcasing his products among other European sellers, Berousek would like to attend German markets regularly, as well as others further afield in Belgium and the Netherlands. As well as smoked meats, his company sells other typical Czech food such as bread, cakes, dumplings and mustard.