Check out the history of Sol Sports, which takes Brazilian adventurous spirit to the world with the help of Texbrasil

Sol Sports, an apparel brand focused on sportswear, entered Texbrasil (Brazilian Textile and Fashion Industry Internationalization Program) – the result of a partnership between Abit (Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association) and Apex- Brazil (Brazilian Trade and Investments Promotion Agency) – in 2018, with the objective of expanding its international market.

With the help of the Program, it managed to further increase its visibility in the European market and today it has representatives in 72 countries.

The brand is part of Sol Paragliders, one of the leaders in the paragliding market. The company started its history in 1992, still as “Fun Gliders”. Just two years later, the export process began, through a private label. In 1994, Sol started exporting with its own brand to the Americas, and in 1999 it expanded its operations to the rest of the world.

In 2011, Sol launched Sol Sports, which joined Texbrasil in 2018. According to Patrícia de Souza, responsible for the brand’s international relations area, despite already having a solid export history, the company opted for the support to expand its international dissemination. “The Program came to give more strength to the internationalization of the brand”, she believes.

One of Sol’s objectives when entering the Program was to participate in the Coupe Icare, the largest free-flight festival in the world, held in Saint Hilaire, France. “It is an important moment. The fair brings together more than 100 thousand people and 90% of the public is from Europe, a strong target market for us”, says Ary Carlos Pradi, managing partner of the company.

Coupe Icare brings together air sports lovers, as well as buyers and manufacturers in the field, making it the ideal platform to expand Sol’s international presence. “With the support of the Texbrasil Program, we have achieved greater visibility for our brand inside the fair,” says Patrícia.

“We also want to take benefit from Texbrasil’s market knowledge in the intelligence area and achieve our greatest goal, which is to increase our exports to Europe and the United States,” comments Ary.

As a result of this successful process, today Sol products are consumed in all countries of the world where paragliding is practiced. In the paragliding business alone, exports represent 30% of the brand’s business, while in clothing it accounts for 5% of turnover. Even with a long and solid history, Sol continues to fly higher and can count on Texbrasil to go further.

About Texbrasil

The Brazilian Textile and Fashion Industry Internationalization Program (Texbrasil) works with companies in the textile and clothing sector developing strategies to conquer the global market. Over 20 years, it has helped around 1600 brands to enter the export trail, generating USD 4.4 billion in business. The Program is carried out through a partnership between Abit and the Brazilian Exports and Investments Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).