Denmark presents a significant business interest to the UK. Regarded as one of the happiest countries on the planet, with its progressive stance on education, health care, and well-being, Denmark brings many opportunities to UK companies.
In recent years, borrowed words from the Danish language, such as “hygge” (meaning ‘cosiness’), have become more popular in the UK and grown our curiosity to know more about the laid-back Scandinavian lifestyle. But despite the relaxed and family-centric culture, Denmark is still leading the way in business – home to many big brand names, including Lego, Arla Foods, Maersk and Carlsberg, as well as ranking 4th in the world for ease of doing business, and 1st in Europe.
The UK and Denmark already has a flourishing relationship; in 2016, the UK exported over £5 billion of goods and services there. What’s more, doing business in Denmark isn’t too dissimilar to the UK – a good sign if you want to test the waters with your products.
Most Danes do speak a good level of English, but they are fiercely protective of their culture, language and identity, and don’t take well to the ‘hard-sell’ strategy.
Danish grammar is quite different to English, for example, the rules allow nouns to be compounded into one longer word, which won’t be translated accurately is you’re using free translation tools, so it’s worthwhile investing in professional translation if you’re hoping for success.
This infographic below indicates some of the key facts and figures about embarking on a business strategy with Denmark.