Why Most Global Expansions Fail and What Successful Brands Do to Avoid It
Balancing local relevance with global ambition — a strategic dilemma every brand must face when expanding abroad.
Adelaide Raia, General Manager of Alfasigma’s Consumer Health Business Unit and co-author of the new article on global brand expansion strategies.
Matteo Rinaldi, co-founder of Human Centric Group, lecturer at Luiss Business School, and author of two best-selling books.
Durex campaign in Bangkok featuring branded tuk-tuks, part of a bold local activation aligning with Thai cultural cues and urban lifestyle.
What brands must know before crossing borders—culture, regulation, distribution, and local execution—told through iconic cases.
Global expansion fails not in strategy, but in execution. You don’t scale by shouting louder. You scale by whispering the right message in every market.”
LONDON, GREATER LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, September 9, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- What do Ferrari, TikTok, and Durex have in common? Each has scaled globally, but through entirely different playbooks. A new thought-provoking article co-authored by Adelaide Raia, General Manager of the Consumer Health Business Unit at Alfasigma, and Matteo Rinaldi, Co-Founder of Human Centric Group and Adjunct Professor at Luiss Business School, offers an in-depth analysis of what brands must consider before expanding abroad.— Matteo Rinaldi
Published on the Human Centric Group website, the article, titled “Global Dreams, Local Realities: How to Begin Expanding Abroad”, blends the authors’ decades of experience in healthcare, FMCG, and global marketing to explore the key dimensions that influence international expansion:
• Country of origin and the perception it creates
• Distribution strategies across digital and physical channels
• Regulatory hurdles that can make or break a launch
• Cultural codes that determine if your product becomes part of consumers' lives
From Starbucks’ silent tribute to Italian coffee culture, to Durex’s culturally adapted campaigns across Asia, to the regulatory nuances that differentiate melatonin in the U.S. versus Europe—the article argues that “global success is not about copy-pasting a formula, but whispering the right message in every market.”
Through examples ranging from ride-hailing apps to over-the-counter pharma, Raia and Rinaldi explain why many global expansion strategies fail—not in strategy, but in execution. Even brilliant campaigns collapse when the product is poorly distributed or misaligned with local habits.
“In the AI era, strategy isn’t just about thinking globally—it’s about interpreting locally,” says Rinaldi. “Regulators, retailers, and real people shape the path to market more than any deck or template.”
About the Authors
Adelaide Raia is a C Level executive with extensive experience across diverse markets and industries. She has held senior roles in both Italian and international companies like Luxottica, Reckitt, MSD, Bolton, Alfasigma, consistently working with category-leading brands. Her career spans healthcare, FMCG, and global consumer goods, where she has focused on brand development, consumer insights, and market growth strategies.
Matteo Rinaldi is a Senior Marketing Strategy Consultant and Co-Founder of Human Centric Group, with global experience driving double-digit growth for brands like Danone, Carlsberg, Revlon, PepsiCo, and Visa. Having worked across multiple continents, he specializes in leveraging cultural insights for impactful brand strategies. A passionate educator, Matteo teaches marketing worldwide, shaping future industry leaders. Previously, he worked with L’Oréal and Coca-Cola HBC. He is also a best-selling author in marketing.
To read the full article, visit: https://humancg.com/global-expansion-strategy/
For journalists, editors, and industry professionals, this piece offers fresh angles and practical frameworks for covering globalization, brand localization, or healthcare market strategies.
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