10 questions with Luke Aggas on International Brand Expansion

Ever wondered what the day-to-day work of the Ceuta International team looks like as they manage consumer health brands worldwide?

In this 5-minute quick-fire interview, Luke Aggas, International Commercial Controller at Ceuta Group, an IQVIA Business, gives insight into his role and shares some top tips for growing Health & Wellness brands globally.

Hit Play to find out:

• Which global markets hold the most potential for consumer healthcare brands.
• Why brands that thrive in one market sometimes flop in others.
• How to navigate regulatory differences across various countries.
• And more…

Please start by introducing yourself.

Hi there. I’m Luke Aggas, International Commercial Controller at Ceuta Group.

1. What does your role entail?

Both my role and the department that I work within provide the global route to market for brand-owning clients within the Health & Wellness space across multiple markets on an omnichannel basis.

2. What’s the main challenge you help clients overcome in their global brand expansion journey?

The main challenge for aspirational brand owners looking to launch brands within new markets is the lack of a physical footprint they have in that given country. Our Ceuta International Alliance provides them with a quick, simple, cost-effective route to market to capitalise on that local expertise within our industry.

3. Which global markets hold the most potential for consumer healthcare brands and why?

It’s an interesting question. It obviously depends on the current reach that the client has, as well as the category that they’re playing within.

We are seeing a strong trend, however, in a lot of brands wanting to do a digital-first approach – a slightly derisked approach, rather than a physical domestic launch within that given market. And with that, they’ll look at the major markets, such as the US, the UK, Germany and Japan with Amazon, as we all know. But equally, there are other players in other territories, such as China, for example, where you have the likes of Alibaba Tmall on a cross-border ecommerce basis.

4. Why do brands that thrive in one market flop in others?

Well, there’s no guarantee of success in any given market, irrespective of the brand that you own. That said, through the research that we’re able to carry out for you, we ask the questions, where do you play and how do you win? By doing that initial research, we look at a refined subset of countries and channels where you can maximise the opportunities and the chances of success, versus spreading yourself too thinly across the entire globe.

5. How do you ensure the brands you manage adapt quickly to market trends and changes?

Well, this one’s an easy one. By adopting our Ceuta International Alliance, you have local intelligence on a day-to-day basis. So through regular communication, regular reporting, any changes in market dynamics are soon known by the brand owner.

A good example of this would be during the covid pandemic, where the landscape of route-to-market opportunities, in terms of speaking to healthcare professionals, the retailers quite literally changed on a day-to-day basis, and without that local intelligence and local resource within the market, it would have been impossible for any brand owner to manage that volatile and very changeable situation.

6. How can brand owners manage their budgets effectively across global markets?

First of all, investment is important. A brand isn’t going to launch in a white space market without sufficient resources and investment to grab the attention of both the retailers as well as the consumers in that market.

Again, we would adopt a focused approach, so you’re not spreading yourself too thinly across too many markets and making sure that that money goes a long way, getting your real bang for your buck. A part of that would be using, digital, advertising spend, where the ability to increase or decrease that spend on a daily weekly monthly basis is extremely easy now, versus the traditional approach of television or newspapers.

7. How do you navigate regulatory differences across various countries?

So regulatory is an all-important part of the launch process. It depends on what classification your product is. However, there are some clear parameters that you will need to go through before you’re physically able to get your product on the shelf. We have in-house regulatory capability to truly provide that end-to-end solution to any brand as well as the local intelligence of our Ceuta International Alliance partners, for a successful regulatory process and launch thereafter.

8. What are the advantages of launching into a new global market via cross-border ecommerce?

We’re seeing a lot of brand owners wanting to get into China ASAP for obvious reasons. We can adopt cross-border ecommerce to achieve that through our Ceuta International Alliance partners, QIVA Global and Alibaba Tmall Global. Not only can you lean on the domestic regulatory compliance you’ve got, you can also use the domestic language pack that you have already. This significantly speeds up the route to market. From this initial step of cross-border ecommerce, you establish and understand the brand opportunity for a future domestic launch thereafter.

9. What makes the Ceuta International Conference such a special annual event in the Health & Wellness industry calendar?

This annual event brings together brand-owning clients, distributor partners, and key opinion leaders within the Health & Wellness industry. It’s hosted a different major international city every year, where we bring a collective of individuals together as a place to truly do business.

10. How can brand owners accelerate their international expansion by attending the Ceuta International Conference in Frankfurt in October 2024?

The Ceuta International Conference in October 2024 will provide brand owners with 2.5 days of networking sessions with distributors from over 100 marketplaces. Brand owners also have the opportunity to exhibit and present their portfolio as well as areas of NPD on stage.

Rhino Systems Inc., Norgine, and Foundation Consumer Healthcare have all leveraged the Ceuta International Conference as a catalyst for global brand expansion, to name a few.

Connect with Key Global Contacts at the Ceuta International Conference

As Luke has touched upon in this interview, expanding a consumer healthcare brand into international markets requires a significant investment and expertise. The unique challenges presented by each new international market can only be overcome with localised insight.

Ceuta Group and our Ceuta International Alliance of global distributors are well-equipped to help brands succeed worldwide, even in turbulent and rapidly evolving markets. Why not connect with Ceuta and other key players in the global consumer healthcare industry at the Ceuta International Conference 2024 in Frankfurt? Book your place today or get in touch to discuss how Luke and his team can facilitate your brand’s global growth.