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Strategies for sustainable companies to enter the German market

We give you a digest of the accumulated knowledge on market entry strategies for impact brands, with further reading opportunities.
Retail Business

The Potential of B Corp for Retail in Germany

Read about the virtual panel discussion on innovation in retail, the role of certificates and sustainable consumption.

The Word of Mouth Effect, a marketing strategy for Impact Brands to reach German Millennials

How the Word of Mouth Effect can bring fast results for impact brand´s marketing strategy to target German millenials.
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3 Steps To Fail Faster During Your Market Entry By Analysing Your Target Group

Using target group analyse methods to focus MVPs and tests during a market entey is crucial for purpose brands and ethical products.

Expansion to Germany: Why Berlin Is Not The Best Place to Start in Germany

If you are considering to expand into Germany, Berlin as Germany’s capital might seem like a good place to start.

Successful Market Entry to Germany: How these 3 Beverage Brands made it happen

Ever wondered how beverage brands enter the German market successfully? It is always helpful to look into the expansion strategies of competing or similar companies as you can learn and gain inspiration for your own expansion strategy.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Doing Business in Germany

Germany has the largest population, market and economy in the EU. The market is very competitive and does present some challenges. The advantages however outweigh as it is the crown jewels of the European economy.

Developing a Market Entry Strategy for Germany: Compound Impact in Action

Compound interest is the outcome of interest on top of interest, the way how an investment grows exponentially over time. The compound interest effect is probably one of the most important concepts to understand when you strive to generate wealth in a capitalist economic system.

When to export again? Now!

Now that some countries are emerging from the three months of pause caused by the virus, there are some very good reasons to dust off those export plans and take advantage of circumstances to accelerate the export journey so as to reap the benefits.

Germans are switching to a plant-based diet and becoming “Flexitarians”

Corona has had a severe impact on people's lives and their shopping and eating habits. More and more consumers are doing fine without meat: They reach for vegan substitute products or put vegetables on the grill.
Corner shops are run by locals and give a sense of community to the neighbourhood.

The return of the corner shop – a personal account

What we know as “Spätis” and “Tante Emma Läden” in Germany are known as ‘corner shops’ in the UK. Expansion.eco´s Feet on the Ground in the UK John shares his view on why Covid-19 has brought on a trend of supporting local small business owners. “Pop down the shop for some fish fingers. And take the dog!”

The most relevant Food Trends in Germany 2020: the year of COVID-19

In this article, we outline 4 major trends that have actually accelerated through the current pandemic throughout Europe and also Germany, but might stay long after the crisis has peaked.

Food delivery services in Germany realise a peak since the Covid19 outbreak: Time to think about reusable packaging

Food delivery services quickly realised their advantage in these times of social distancing, and adjusted to ‘non-contact delivery’. Around the globe, food delivery companies are releasing a spike in sales since the outbreak of Covid19.

German Businesses might recover faster from the Corona crisis

The German Government seems to deal with the pandemic in a quick, radical and alternative way: On April 6 Economy Minister Peter Altmaier unveiled a program aimed at fast-tracking loans to Germany’s Mittelstand, the backbone of Europe’s largest economy, with unlimited guarantees covering 100% of their credit risk.

German Consumers: Gaining Brand Loyalty through proper Brand Building (Part 2/2)

Understanding the German consumer is key to success, if you plan to expand into the German market. This includes knowing who you will be dealing with. What is their culture, and how does it influence consumer behaviour?

German consumers: Highly Demanding but also brand loyal (Part 1/2)

High expectations and a low frustration limit are only two of the factors that make it very hard to meet halfway. So you better go the extra mile.

Expansion to Germany in 3 steps – The key to enter the German market

If you are reading this, you might think that it is time for your business to cross borders, and start up in Germany.

Changing the way of international expansion

Our demand: abolish the coffee tax, that is still prevailing in Germany, for fair grown and processed coffee in order to create a competitive advantage for products that comply with minimum social standards.

The most relevant food trends in Germany 2019: Sustainability, health and time management

Food trends are permanently evolving and boosting the change of our global food culture. Analysing upcoming food trends is therefore a challenging task.

From Business Idea to Business Activism – 18 months Expansion.eco

Eventually, we founded our consultancy Expansion.eco (that time we named our company Blanknarrative). This decision was the result of pure reasoning that it’s best for us to start out as fast and lean as possible.

Expert Interview: Katharina Wagner from Spoonful Solution about the German F&B (food & beverage) market

Our today’s interview partner is Katharina Wagner, Founder and Branding & Communications Specialist at food & beverage marketing consultancy Spoonful Solution.

Payment methods in Germany: choose wisely!

Choosing the right payment methods in Germany for your online business is a noteworthy success factor in your international expansion. Understand the local payment culture and you will be sure to not lose clients over practicalities.

International Expansion: The One Step You are Probably Not Thinking Of

Before you start executing the strategy you devised based on your knowledge of the market – and commit a fair amount of budget and time – think about conducting an expansion pilot first.

Messeland Deutschland – Which Events and Trade Shows Should You not Miss This Quarter

Germany remains a trade fair country – even in the age of digitization. Here we take a look at the event and trade show highlights.

German Packaging Act – the most important facts at a glance

Did you know that businesses failing to comply with the new packaging law can face a fine up to €50.000? If you are expanding your business activities to Germany then there is a lot to think about.

How Expansion Intelligence Fuels Your International Rollout Plan

Expansion Intelligence helps you save a lot of time and resources, make better decisions and increase the odds of success.

Mega Trend Sustainability: How We Create Value in the Future

We move away from creating value for shareholders – often at the expense of other stakeholders – towards creating values for all stakeholders, such as government institutions, customers, workers and local communities.

Fact Scan #6 The Confirmation Trap in Revenue Planning (Part 2/2)

The worst that can happen is that you have to completely back out of the plan because you are running out of budget much faster than assumed. That would be the classic case of “doomed to fail before even getting started” and what we call “death by revenue plan”.

Fact Scan #5 The Confirmation Trap in Market Research (Part 1/2)

In business, there are situations in which we are prone to fall into the confirmation trap. Keep reading, if you plan to expand your business because here the trap applies every so often, too. Therefor we will illustrate how do avoid the trap once you are considering to expand and doing the first step: market research.

Public Funding Programs for Green and Social Businesses in Berlin

There are many options to go for, especially in Berlin as the capital city with the biggest startup ecosystem in Germany. Here we provide a list to give you a head start.

Fact Scan #4: Germans Hate Uncertainty

Germany put focus on a systematic overview, which involves a proper thought and planning process.

Is Technology the Key to a Green Economy?

What do the countries heading the ranking exactly do differently? One aspect is the government’s function in implementing the right sustainability strategies supporting the research and development of green technologies that bring long-term improvements.

Fact Scan #3: Most Germans speak little or no English

Still, the Germans and their English proficiency – although evolving – is somewhat a particular issue.

Germans are the Most Complicated Customers in the World

Germans customers are the most complicated in the world. It’s not without a reason that many companies despair of entering the German market. But why is that?

What You Want to Know About the Sustainable Fashion Market in Germany

For new sustainable fashion brands planning to enter Germany, there are a few essential insights of the current fair and sustainable fashion market that will help you to understand the market and its consumers better.

German Consumers Seek For Trust Before Purchasing

In marketing, the influence of the factor “trust” on purchasing decisions always plays a central role. But in Germany, consumers are on average even more inclined to buy from brands that manage to convey trust.

Market Trend Report #1: Solar Energy, Devices and Gadgets in Germany

We took a closer look at Germany´s solar market and found a few striking facts about its current state and projected developments.

Kickstart your Business in Germany

Entering a new market can be difficult, but if we take the example of Germany: they might be not the easiest to convince, but they do value a product of high quality and authentic engagement. Are you on or about to take the challenge?

The Ethical Consumer – 5 Steps to Market Your Sustainable Brand

Sociologists discovered the “attitude-behaviour gap” describing consumers saying one thing but doing another. They say they are concerned about social and environmental issues but do not put this attitude into action.

The Challenge of Sustainability in Business

This is the summary of our 5-piece series that elaborated on different perspectives of creating strategic impact.

How to Increase the Odds for a Positive Triple Bottom Line

Purpose-driven companies going for the “triple bottom line” not only care about profits but also about the people and the environment they affect with their business. These companies face a greater challenge than conventional businesses because the product needs to sustain an organization as well as the mission behind it.

Insights from the 38th Climate Reality Project Leadership Training in Berlin

I felt honored but at the same time had some doubts regarding an event that “empowers people to become climate activists, equipped with the tools, training, and network to fight for solutions and drive change planet-wide”.

The Dilemma of the UN’s Sustainability Goals

This is a huge achievement besides being one of the most significant negotiations and global policy agendas of this century. That said, the SDGs still received criticism, one point being that it contains competing goals.

The Impact of the Unconscious Consumer

We constantly ask ourselves: how much measurable impact do we actually make?