Cross-border growth strategy
European Market Entry Consulting for Ambitious FMCG & Consumer Brands
From market sizing to the first signed purchase order — a senior, hands-on partner to launch and scale your brand across Central and Western Europe.
Entering a new European market is rarely a question of whether there is demand — it is a question of how fast you can convert demand into shelf space, repeat orders and category share. Most international brands that fail in Europe do not fail because the product is wrong. They fail because the route-to-market, the pricing architecture or the distributor relationship was set up to fit headquarters, not the local trade.
Žito Consulting is a European market entry consultancy built specifically for that problem. We work hand-in-hand with founders, export directors and private-equity-backed management teams to design, launch and operate cross-border growth plays across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Benelux, France, the UK & Ireland, and the full CEE region — Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and beyond. Our engagements typically combine strategy work (market sizing, channel choice, commercial model) with execution (RFP-ing distributors, negotiating listings, on-boarding retail buyers) and, when needed, interim country leadership until you are ready to hire a permanent General Manager.
The difference is operational depth. Philippe Seigle has spent 25+ years building cross-border businesses inside groups like Cargill, HanesBrands and Leonidas, opening and scaling subsidiaries, restructuring distributor networks and re-pricing whole portfolios. That is the playbook we bring to every market entry mandate — not a generic deck, but a tested, sector-specific operating model that you can stand up in weeks, not quarters.
What a market entry engagement looks like
Four interlocking workstreams, sequenced to de-risk every euro of investment.
Market diagnostic & opportunity sizing
We map the addressable market in your target country, benchmark category dynamics, identify the most credible channels (retail, foodservice, e-commerce, travel retail, franchise) and quantify a realistic 3-year revenue ramp before you commit capital.
Go-to-market model design
Direct subsidiary, exclusive distributor, joint venture, agent or hybrid: we pressure-test each route, draft the commercial and legal architecture, and define the pricing, margin and trade-investment structure that make the business case stand up.
Partner selection & negotiation
We use a proprietary scorecard to shortlist importers, distributors and key retail accounts, run the RFP, negotiate the commercial terms, and stay at the table until the first purchase order is signed.
Launch execution & first 12 months
From listing in the top banners to in-store activation, trade marketing calendar and KPI dashboards — we operate alongside your team (or as your interim Country Manager) until the market is self-sustaining.
Why brands hire a market entry consultant instead of hiring a Country Manager
Hiring a permanent Country Manager before you have validated the commercial model is the single most expensive mistake international brands make in Europe. A senior commercial hire in Germany, the Netherlands or Switzerland costs €150k–€220k all-in, comes with 3 to 6 months notice, and — if the model is wrong — leaves you with a severance bill and a frozen P&L. A senior interim consultant carries none of that risk: if it does not fit, the cooperation can be wound down by the end of the week, with no further financial exposure.
You also get something a single hire cannot offer: a portfolio of cross- border launches already in the bank. Sector expertise (FMCG, beverages, beauty, textile), functional depth (sales, pricing, trade marketing, supply chain) and geographic fluency in four languages — French, English, German, Dutch — applied directly to your situation. And while the mission is running, you have time to elaborate the long-term operating model and recruit the right permanent leader based on a P&L that is already moving.
- Senior, founder-led delivery — no juniors on the account
- Fixed-fee or day-rate, scoped before kickoff
- Local language and local trade relationships in 6 EU markets
- Distributor scorecard & RFP process refined over 25 years
- Interim Country Manager option, week-by-week notice
- Hand-off to your permanent hire baked into the plan
European markets we cover
Active engagements and partner network across 15+ countries in Western and Central Europe, with a primary hub in Prague.
Planning a launch in Europe in the next 12 months?
Send us a one-paragraph brief. You will get a senior, written reply within two working days — and, if there is a fit, a 30-minute discovery call to scope a proposal.