International Amazon market entry for a supplements manufacturer
Analysed across three foreign markets, 17 categories assessed, and focused on five pilot categories with a clear launch roadmap.
Starting point
The company wanted to expand into three new foreign markets via Amazon, with a target size of around 20 to 40 products in the first year. The goal was clear, but there was no solid data base for which categories and products could start low-risk in which market.
Approach
A staged analysis rather than a scattergun. First a market overview across all three countries with market size, top-level categories, growth and competitive density, based on Amazon Product Opportunity Explorer and Brand Analytics, complemented by a specialised competitive tool at product level.
Then 17 categories were assessed against the existing assortment via a four-stage fit scoring. In a joint session the internal team brought in margin, production and regulation, and I brought the market reality. On this basis followed a competitor deep dive in the prioritised categories: assortment breadth, price architecture, review depth and concrete weaknesses of the strongest players.
Result
A prioritised selection of five pilot categories per market and a launch roadmap as a decision-ready basis. The central lever was clearly named: a dosage form dominant in the target market that was still missing from the existing assortment. This let the team start in a focused way rather than spreading broadly and with risk.