Case Study: Successful Design of Local Products that Go International
Abstract
This case study explores the successful design of local products that have achieved international recognition. In a globalized economy, many local products face significant challenges in entering international markets, often requiring strategic design innovation to compete. The importance of culturally relevant, functional, and aesthetically appealing designs has become essential for products aiming for international expansion. This research aims to identify the key factors that contribute to the success of local products in gaining international market share through effective product design.
The objective of the study is to examine the role of product design in overcoming the barriers faced by local products in global markets, focusing on case studies of brands that have successfully navigated this process. The research employs a qualitative case study methodology, analyzing in-depth interviews with designers, product managers, and international marketing experts, as well as reviewing secondary data from product sales and market reports.
The findings reveal that successful local products incorporated unique design elements that resonated with global consumer preferences while retaining local cultural identity. Moreover, product functionality and adaptability to different market needs were crucial in facilitating international success. Strategic marketing and branding also played significant roles in enhancing the global appeal of these products.
In conclusion, local products that successfully transition to international markets do so by aligning their design with global trends while maintaining authenticity. This case study offers valuable insights for businesses seeking to expand their product designs beyond local borders.
Full text article
References
Allan, R., Haughie, S., Ahrens, R., Singh, S., & Ward, J. (2019). A Dose-Response Study Examining the Use of Methacholine Challenge to Demonstrate Local Therapeutic Equivalence of the Salmeterol Component of Generic Inhaled Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol Combination Products. Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, 32(6), 352–363. https://doi.org/10.1089/jamp.2018.1519
Assous, H. F., Al-Rousan, N., AL-Najjar, D., & AL-Najjar, H. (2020). Can International Market Indices Estimate TASI’s Movements? The ARIMA Model. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(2), 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc6020027
Barska, A., & Wojciechowska-Solis, J. (2020). E-Consumers and Local Food Products: A Perspective for Developing Online Shopping for Local Goods in Poland. Sustainability, 12(12), 4958. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124958
Bekiros, S., Dahlström, A., Uddin, G. S., Ege, O., & Jayasekera, R. (2020). A tale of two shocks: The dynamics of international real estate markets. International Journal of Finance & Economics, 25(1), 3–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.1725
Calof, J., & Viviers, W. (2020). Big data analytics and international market selection: An exploratory study. Journal of Intelligence Studies in Business, 10(2), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.37380/jisib.v10i2.581
Chen, L., Li, H., Liu, Y., Li, Y., & Yang, Z. (2020). Occurrence and human health risks of twenty-eight common antibiotics in wild freshwater products from the Xiangjiang River and comparison with the farmed samples from local markets. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, 37(5), 770–782. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2020.1730987
Conlon, T., Corbet, S., & McGee, R. J. (2020). Are cryptocurrencies a safe haven for equity markets? An international perspective from the COVID-19 pandemic. Research in International Business and Finance, 54, 101248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2020.101248
Cvijanovi?, D., Ignjatijevi?, S., Vapa Tankosi?, J., & Cvijanovi?, V. (2020). Do Local Food Products Contribute to Sustainable Economic Development? Sustainability, 12(7), 2847. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072847
Epanda, M. A., Tsafack Donkeng, R., Ngo Nonga, F., Frynta, D., Adi, N. N., Willie, J., & Speelman, S. (2020). Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Product Valorisation to the Livelihood Assets of Local People in the Northern Periphery of the Dja Faunal Reserve, East Cameroon. Forests, 11(9), 1019. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11091019
Galani, Y. J. H., Houbraken, M., Wumbei, A., Djeugap, J. F., Fotio, D., Gong, Y. Y., & Spanoghe, P. (2020). Monitoring and dietary risk assessment of 81 pesticide residues in 11 local agricultural products from the 3 largest cities of Cameroon. Food Control, 118, 107416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107416
Gao, W., Ji, L., Liu, Y., & Sun, Q. (2020). Branding Cultural Products in International Markets: A Study of Hollywood Movies in China. Journal of Marketing, 84(3), 86–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242920912704
Gracia, A., & Gómez, M. I. (2020). Food Sustainability and Waste Reduction in Spain: Consumer Preferences for Local, Suboptimal, And/Or Unwashed Fresh Food Products. Sustainability, 12(10), 4148. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104148
He, F., Wang, Z., & Yin, L. (2020). Asymmetric volatility spillovers between international economic policy uncertainty and the U.S. stock market. The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 51, 101084. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.najef.2019.101084
Horská, E., Petri?ák, M., Šedík, P., & Nagyová, ?. (2020). Factors Influencing the Sale of Local Products through Short Supply Chains: A Case of Family Dairy Farms in Slovakia. Sustainability, 12(20), 8499. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208499
Hu, Y., Li, X., & Shen, D. (2020). Attention allocation and international stock return comovement: Evidence from the Bitcoin market. Research in International Business and Finance, 54, 101286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2020.101286
Ingallina, C., Spano, M., Sobolev, A. P., Esposito, C., Santarcangelo, C., Baldi, A., Daglia, M., & Mannina, L. (2020). Characterization of Local Products for Their Industrial Use: The Case of Italian Potato Cultivars Analyzed by Untargeted and Targeted Methodologies. Foods, 9(9), 1216. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9091216
Jensen, J. D., Christensen, T., Denver, S., Ditlevsen, K., Lassen, J., & Teuber, R. (2019). Heterogeneity in consumers’ perceptions and demand for local (organic) food products. Food Quality and Preference, 73, 255–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.11.002
Karhunen, M. (2019). Algorithmic sign prediction and covariate selection across eleven international stock markets. Expert Systems with Applications, 115, 256–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2018.07.061
Karimi, P., Bongani, B., Blatchford, M., & De Fraiture, C. (2019). Global Satellite-Based ET Products for the Local Level Irrigation Management: An Application of Irrigation Performance Assessment in the Sugarbelt of Swaziland. Remote Sensing, 11(6), 705. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11060705
Kauffman, L. H., & Ogasa, E. (2019). Brieskorn submanifolds, local moves on knots, and knot products. Journal of Knot Theory and Its Ramifications, 28(10), 1950068. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218216519500688
Kiss, K., Ruszkai, C., Sz?cs, A., & Koncz, G. (2020). Examining the Role of Local Products in Rural Development in the Light of Consumer Preferences—Results of a Consumer Survey from Hungary. Sustainability, 12(13), 5473. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135473
Klavžar, S., & Tavakoli, M. (2020). Local metric dimension of graphs: Generalized hierarchical products and some applications. Applied Mathematics and Computation, 364, 124676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amc.2019.124676
Leung, F. F., Tse, C. H., & Yim, C. K. (Bennett). (2020). Engaging Customer Cocreation in New Product Development Through Foreign Subsidiaries: Influences of Multinational Corporations’ Global Integration and Local Adaptation Mechanisms. Journal of International Marketing, 28(2), 59–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069031X19890345
McKenzie, R., & Atkinson, R. (2020). Anchoring capital in place: The grounded impact of international wealth chains on housing markets in London. Urban Studies, 57(1), 21–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019839875
Mersland, R., Nyarko, S. A., & Sirisena, A. B. (2020). A hybrid approach to international market selection: The case of impact investing organizations. International Business Review, 29(1), 101624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2019.101624
Németh, K., Birkner, Z., Katona, A., Göllény-Kovács, N., Bai, A., Balogh, P., Gabnai, Z., & Péter, E. (2020). Can Energy Be a “Local Product” Again? Hungarian Case Study. Sustainability, 12(3), 1118. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031118
Pang, L., Wang, Z., Zheng, Y., Lai, X., & Han, X. (2020). On the localised corrosion of carbon steel induced by the in-situ local damage of porous corrosion products. Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 54, 95–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2020.03.041
Profeta, A., & Hamm, U. (2019a). Consumers’ expectations and willingness?to?pay for local animal products produced with local feed. International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 54(3), 651–659. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijfs.13933
Profeta, A., & Hamm, U. (2019b). Do consumers prefer local animal products produced with local feed? Results from a Discrete-Choice experiment. Food Quality and Preference, 71, 217–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.07.007
Pucheta?Martínez, M. C., Gallego?Álvarez, I., & Bel?Oms, I. (2019). Board structures, liberal countries, and developed market economies. Do they matter in environmental reporting? An international outlook. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(5), 710–723. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2275
Ragasa, C., Andam, K. S., Asante, S. B., & Amewu, S. (2020). Can local products compete against imports in West Africa? Supply- and demand-side perspectives on chicken, rice, and tilapia in Ghana. Global Food Security, 26, 100448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100448
Rintyarna, B. S., Sarno, R., & Fatichah, C. (2020). Enhancing the performance of sentiment analysis task on product reviews by handling both local and global context. International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences, 12(1), 75. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJIDS.2020.104992
Rogers, T., Feld, A., Gammon, D. G., Coats, E. M., Brown, E. M., Olson, L. T., Nonnemaker, J. M., Engstrom, M., McCrae, T., Holder-Hayes, E., Ross, A., Boles Welsh, E., Guardino, G., & Pearlman, D. N. (2019). Changes in cigar sales following implementation of a local policy restricting sales of flavoured non-cigarette tobacco products. Tobacco Control, tobaccocontrol-2019-055004. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2019-055004
Sanjuán?López, A. I., & Resano?Ezcaray, H. (2020). Labels for a Local Food Speciality Product: The Case of Saffron. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 71(3), 778–797. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12376
Sun, X., Liu, C., Wang, J., & Li, J. (2020). Assessing the extreme risk spillovers of international commodities on maritime markets: A GARCH-Copula-CoVaR approach. International Review of Financial Analysis, 68, 101453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2020.101453
Velásquez, M. A. L., Ramalho, A. F. A., Da Silva, J. F., & Oliveira, J. Q. (2020). Bifurcation and local rigidity of constant second mean curvature hypersurfaces in Riemannian warped products. Nonlinear Analysis, 197, 111865. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.na.2020.111865
Wu, K., Zhu, J., Xu, M., & Yang, L. (2020). Can crude oil drive the co-movement in the international stock market? Evidence from partial wavelet coherence analysis. The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 53, 101194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.najef.2020.101194
Yao, C.-Z., & Kuang, P.-C. (2019). A study of lead–lag structure between international crude oil price and several financial markets. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications, 531, 121755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2019.121755
Yu, J., Xie, G., Li, M., Xie, H., Hao, X., Gao, F., & Shuang, F. (2020). Attention Based Beauty Product Retrieval Using Global and Local Descriptors. Proceedings of the 28th ACM International Conference on Multimedia, 4708–4712. https://doi.org/10.1145/3394171.3416289
Zhang, B. (2019). Are Chinese and international oil markets integrated? International Review of Economics & Finance, 62, 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2019.02.015
Zhang, X., & Wen, K.-H. (2020). A Model Process of Integrating Context of Local Culture for Pre-Development Stage in the Design of Cultural and Creative Products—Using Macao’s Historical Buildings as an Example. Sustainability, 12(15), 6263. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156263
Authors
Copyright (c) 2026 Alaa Chahine, Nina Anis, pong Krit

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.