Bringing brands to new markets.
And new markets to your brand.
Market entry is one of the riskiest moves a business can make. It is also one of the easiest to get wrong.
The plan that looked straightforward on paper meets a market that behaves differently. The cultural landscape doesn't match the desk research. The team gets hired before the strategy is settled. The brand language that worked at home doesn't quite translate.
Six months in, nobody has the time to step back and look at what's actually happening. The plan stops working, while everyone is busy delivering it.
Use us if
You’ve got interest from a new market and aren't sure whether, or how, to act on it.
Your investors or board want international growth in the next 12–24 months.
A competitor has just moved into a market you've been considering.
You’ve already entered a market and the early signs aren't quite working.
Your team has been asked to adapt the brand for a new market and you're not sure what should change without diluting what makes it work.
You’ve been approached by potential local partners and want an independent strategic view before you commit.
What we do
We work with businesses bringing brands into the UK from international markets, and with UK and European businesses looking to expand into the US, Europe, South Asia and beyond. We help with the things that matter before, during and after a market move: choosing where to go, understanding the market, working out how the brand needs to adapt, finding the right partners and channels, and staying close to what is happening once you've launched. Because market entry doesn't end when the launch happens. Some of the most important decisions come in the months afterwards, when the first assumptions meet reality.
Our perspective
Most international expansion strategies start with the same things: market size, competition, regulation and distribution. All of these matter. But they don't tell you what it feels like to be a brand in that market. Markets are cultures before they are territories. Every category has its own meanings, communities and conversations in different places. A product that makes perfect sense in one market can mean something quite different in another. That's why we don't think of international expansion as simply taking a brand somewhere else. The brand has to become relevant in a different cultural context. The strategic question is what needs to stay the same, what needs to change, and what needs to be built from scratch. That might mean changing the proposition or positioning. It might mean finding different partners, channels or cultural relationships. It might mean building an ecosystem around the brand that doesn't exist yet. Understanding how that ecosystem might develop over the first few years is part of the strategy, not something to work out afterwards.
Making the strategy work for the business
International expansion can expose the gap between what a business wants to do and what it is actually ready to do. A market entry plan is only useful if the business can deliver it. That means being realistic about resources, capabilities, pace and sequencing, as well as what it actually takes to operate in a new market. We work from what the business can genuinely do now, while identifying what needs to be built along the way. The result is a plan that is ambitious, but achievable.
The questions we ask
What is this category actually doing for people in this market, and how is that different from what it does at home?
Who are the people and communities shaping the category, and how do they think about propositions like ours?
What needs to stay the same for the brand to remain recognisable, and what needs to change?
What can the business realistically deliver in this market with the capabilities it has today? What needs to be built?
What would success actually look like here? Market share, cultural relevance, category leadership, profitability, or something else?
What is changing in the culture that might open up new opportunities, or make the original plan less relevant?
How it works
Not every business starts from the same place. Some know they want to expand but don't know where. Some have chosen the market and need to work out how to enter it. Others are already operating internationally and need someone to help them keep understanding the market and making better decisions. We have different ways of working depending on where you are.
Kickstart
A focused way to start the thinking, test the opportunity and see what might be possible.
One to two weeks of focused research into the business, the international ambition and one or two candidate markets
A one-day workshop with the leadership team to work through the key questions: where to go, what can travel and what needs to change
A working strategic document setting out our reading of the opportunity and what could come next
A follow-up conversation to test and refine the thinking
For businesses looking for a low-commitment way to work with us and see what's possible. Typical timescale: 3-4 weeks.
Level 1 - Market exploration and selection
For businesses that know they want to internationalise but haven't decided where.
Briefing conversations to understand the ambition and constraints
A shortlist of potential markets
Cultural and commercial analysis of each market, including the category, competitors, audiences and cultural context
An initial view of the partners, channels and relationships the brand would need
An assessment of what the business can currently deliver and what would need to be built
A recommendation on which market or markets to prioritise
An initial view of how the brand could enter the chosen market
Typical timescale: 8-10 weeks.
Level 2 - Market entry strategy
For businesses that have chosen the market and need to work out how to enter it.
Cultural analysis of the market, including category context, communities, tensions and emerging changes
Assessment of what the brand should retain, what should change and what needs to be built
Primary research with relevant audiences where useful
Positioning and proposition development for the market
Mapping of the partners, relationships and infrastructure the brand will need over the first few years
A phased entry plan based on the business's actual capabilities
A market entry strategy that can inform commercial, marketing and operational planning
Typical timescale: 3-4 months.
Level 3 - Sustained international partnership
For businesses already operating internationally who want senior strategic support as they continue to grow.
Strategic support when new market or entry decisions arise
Regular updates on cultural and category changes in the markets you operate in
Annual review of positioning and approach across markets
Analysis of changes that could affect future growth
Support with developing partnerships, distribution and relationships in-market
Bespoke market analysis and entry work when needed
Typical timescale: annual partnership, usually starting with a twelve-month engagement.
Bespoke engagements
Not every international challenge fits neatly into a package.
We can also support businesses with things like post-acquisition portfolio reviews, market exits and re-entries, expansion into adjacent markets or a rethink of an existing international strategy.
The nature of the work depends on the question you need to answer.
What we bring
25 years of brand and strategy experience across food and drink, functional health and premium consumer goods. Experience working across UK, US and European markets, with trusted partners in other parts of the world when specialist local knowledge is needed. And a willingness to stay close to the ground after the strategy is written, when the market starts telling you things the research couldn't.
Before you move
Thinking about entering a new market?
Before you Move is a short profiling tool that helps you assess how ready your business is for international expansion.
It takes around 5–10 minutes and looks at five areas of readiness, highlighting where you are well prepared and where you may need to do more work before you move.