Executive summary
The purpose of this report is that comprehensively evaluate the international business strategy of Spa Ceylon in regards to enter into new market which is New Zealand. Spa Ceylon is a Sri Lankan luxury Ayurveda product which is currently available more than twenty countries. In this report, it is focused on introducing skin wellness product range of Spa Ceylon to New Zealand market.
New Zealand is a politically stable, developed country which is ranked high in regard ease of doing business. There is huge market demand in New Zealand for natural skincare products. Further, culturally, New Zealand society appreciates the ancient values and customs. Therefore, New Zealand is suitable market place for Spa Ceylon even though the market size is relatively low. Key risks of the market of host country are high competitiveness in the market, compliance risk of no comply with rules and regulations and HR risks due to cultural differences.
Thus, Spa Ceylon need to formulate its strategies considering both these opportunities and risks. As an internationalization strategy, company need to follow global strategy which produce range of standardized products designed and produced in Sri Lanka and distributed to other countries. Global standardization would provide economies of scale, significantly boost a company's product profitability. It is recommended to use franchise model as an entry strategy since franchisee would have better understanding of domestic market, rules and regulations of host country and customers’ buying behaviors. It would lead to mitigate HR risk and compliance risk. As a HR strategy, company should follow the combination of convergence and divergence strategies. Further, considering marketing strategy, company should emphasize its unique value proposition of the product which means that the product is a combination of ancient Ayurveda wisdom, fine natural ingredients and contemporary design.

1.0 Introduction

Spa Ceylon is a renowned international brand in Sri Lanka which gains significant international recognition within a short time period. Spa Ceylon is a brand which combines age-old Ayurvedic wisdom, quality natural ingredients and contemporary design to offer the customers the ultimate Ayurvedic luxury for their health, wellbeing and relaxation. The brand offers wide range of products including products focusing on skin wellness, hair wellness, mind and body, baby care, home wellness and fragrance. Sri Lankan based brand currently operates more than 20 countries including India, Pakistan, Maldives, Russia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Switzerland, Ukraine, Australia etc.
The purpose of this report is that comprehensively analyze the business strategy to introduce the Spa Ceylon products to new international market. New Zealand is the new market selected. The company expects to launch its skin wellness products range to New Zealand. In this report, it is extensively evaluate the suitability of the new market using relevant business tools and frameworks. Further, this report analyzes potential risks in new market, analyses the mode of entry to be used by the company to suitably realize the opportunities and mitigate the risks in New Zealand market. Finally, it provides recommendations to achieve competitive advantage in new market.

2.0 Product readiness for internationalization

At first, company expects to introduce skin wellness product range to New Zealand market. The brand is the leading luxury Ayurveda brand in Sri Lanka. Spa Ceylon has a range of skin wellness products including skin de-stress, skin detox, skin energize, body wash, shower gel, for men, after shave, cleanser, facial mist, facial masque, face wash, facial exfoliator, moisturizer, eye masques, eye serums, lip balms, Lip scrums etc. Therefore, Spa Ceylon skin wellness product range covers customers’ skincare, face care, lip care and eye care requirements. This is the fastest moving product range of Spa Ceylon which generates highest revenue. Skin wellness products has been constantly categorized as the best sellers of the company (Spa Ceylon, 2023).
In New Zealand, market size of skincare segment is estimated as USD 275.7 million in 2023 and annual market growth is estimated as 7.6% (Statista, 2023). Therefore, skincare market has more market share and growth than other wellness product categories in New Zealand (Statista, 2023). As the largest Ayurveda chain in the world which operates more than 20 countries, Spa Ceylon has huge potential to attract the customers of New Zealand. The company's own cutting-edge production facility manufactures the goods in accordance with the highest international quality standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 22716 European Union GMP, Sri Lankan Government Department of Ayurveda, and NMRA GMP certifications (Daily News , 2020). The products also adhere to EU, Japan, Australia and USA quality standards. Thus, it is possible to get attraction of New Zealand customer segments which highly focus on skin safety. Further, considerable number of South Asian expatriates live in New Zealand who are looking for an Ayurveda product which maintain higher quality.