Premium Consumer Brand · DTC
Arma
US-built brand · launched into EU, APAC, MENA · 10+ countries
A US consumer brand needed to enter Europe, APAC, and MENA simultaneously — with profitable unit economics from day one. We ran parallel market viability tests, killed the wrong markets early, and added a B2B layer that doubled revenue without doubling spend.
14:1
Blended ROAS at scale (started at 5:1, optimized up)
+400%
First-month ad-funded revenue vs spend ($40K ad spend → $200K revenue)
$3M+
Year-1 retail and wholesale pipeline closed (B2B layer added to DTC)
The Challenge
What needed to break.
Arma had strong US traction and no transferable international playbook. The temptation was the usual one: ship inventory to a 3PL, translate the site, run paid ads, see what happens. That’s how brands burn $200K in six months learning France was never the right market. We refused that path.
The Approach
What we actually did.
Parallel market viability before scale spend
Ran three controlled MVP campaigns across EU, US, and APAC in parallel — same product, three different positioning hypotheses, identical budget allocations. After 30 days, two candidate markets failed our CAC-to-payback threshold. We killed them before they burned budget.
Local commerce stack, never translations
Rebuilt the localized commerce stack from scratch: Klarna for EU (cart abandonment dropped immediately), Shop Pay for US, region-specific creative shot for each market. Translations are the cheapest way to lose money in international DTC.
Layered a B2B motion onto the DTC engine
Generated inbound retail demand through 20+ global media placements — EuroNews alone drove 35% of first-month traffic. Built a distribution-outreach playbook that converted brand awareness into contracted retail and wholesale pipeline. Within 12 months, the B2B layer contributed $3M+ in revenue that the DTC engine alone could not have produced.
Outcome-aligned scale-up rule
After validation, we only scaled spend in markets where MVP CAC came in below the contribution-margin payback threshold. That discipline produced 5:1 ROAS in the first quarter, climbing to 14:1 blended ROAS at scale.
The Outcome
What the engagement produced.
Three positioning playbooks for three regions, a 14:1 blended ROAS, and a year-1 B2B pipeline worth $3M+ — built on a US brand that had never sold abroad before.
14:1
Blended ROAS at scale (started at 5:1, optimized up)
+400%
First-month ad-funded revenue vs spend ($40K ad spend → $200K revenue)
$3M+
Year-1 retail and wholesale pipeline closed (B2B layer added to DTC)
What this engagement taught us
Same product, three completely different positioning playbooks. US buyers responded to performance specs. EU buyers prioritized sustainability messaging. APAC needed faster shipping guarantees. The brand that wins internationally is the brand willing to be sold three different ways. And the B2B layer is what doubles revenue once the DTC engine is humming.
Want to build something similar?
We will analyze your brand, identify your best-fit market, and show you exactly what profitable expansion would look like. If the unit economics don't work, we'll tell you that — and won't take you on.
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