€2 million to €10 million. No regional office. No local headcount. Here's how Imagine did it for Lago.
Expanding into new markets is straightforward in theory. In practice, it means offices, hires, compliance, distributor relationships, in-market execution, and the kind of accumulated local knowledge that takes years to build. For most manufacturers, the cost of getting that wrong is existential.
Lago Group, an Italian biscuit and wafer manufacturer, wanted to grow across the Middle East and Africa without taking on that risk. The question wasn't whether the opportunity was there. It was whether there was a smarter way to reach it.
The challenge
MEA is not one market. It's a patchwork of regulatory environments, retail dynamics, and distributor landscapes that rewards deep local knowledge and punishes assumptions. For a European manufacturer without regional infrastructure, entering at scale — across multiple countries simultaneously — meant either significant capital investment or finding a partner who could operate as the business in-market.
The alternative — a traditional distributor model — wouldn't have delivered the strategic depth Lago needed. They weren't looking for someone to move product. They were looking for someone to build a business.
The partnership
In 2015, Lago signed with Imagine as their regional partner for the Middle East and Africa. Imagine assumed full sales and marketing responsibility across the region — identifying and appointing distributor partners, leading in-market execution, and managing the commercial operation across KSA, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, India, Singapore, Kenya, and Ghana.
The remit extended well beyond execution. Imagine took on pricing optimisation, regulatory guidance, product development feedback, and identification of private label opportunities — operating, in effect, as Lago's regional commercial team.
The relationship has been running since 2015. That's not a pilot. That's a business.
The results
Annual regional turnover grew from €2 million to €10 million. The distribution footprint now spans ten markets across MEA.
Then the UK.
Imagine supported the development of Lago's British business separately — establishing the brand as a private label within a premium key account and building a sustainable operation generating approximately €3.5 million in annual revenues.
"These results didn't come from one good quarter. They came from consistent strategic direction and hands-on execution, sustained over time. That combination is what makes this partnership different."
For any manufacturer weighing the cost of regional expansion against the risk of getting it wrong, Lago's experience offers a third option — one that delivers scale without the overhead, and growth without the gamble.
