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Product cover image for New Zealand Native Oils: Taking a Skincare Start-Up International?

New Zealand Native Oils: Taking a Skincare Start-Up International?

Lucas Liang Wang, Herbert Sima, Lianxi Zhou

Product #:W41577
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Entrepreneurship, International Business
Setting:New Zealand, 2024
Details:Case (PDF) • 10 pages • 2025-04-24

Subjects:

InternationalizationBusiness managementEntrepreneurshipInternational business

Industries:

Fabrication and manufacturing

Geography:

New ZealandAustralia and Oceania
Your Price:$10.54

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In June 2024, the founder of New Zealand Native Oils (NZ Oils) was facing the critical decision of whether to take her business international or remain domestic. She established NZ Oils six years earlier to produce and market skin care products made of organic extracts from manuka and other native plants in New Zealand. The start-up had grown rapidly since its inception within the domestic market, especially during the COVID-19 period, when demand for antibacterial skin-care products skyrocketed. With the reopening of national borders worldwide and the bouncing back of international logistics after the global pandemic, the founder was increasingly drawn to consider the decision of whether to pursue the international market.

Learning Objectives

This case is intended for an undergraduate or graduate-level class that aims to teach about the internationalization decision, especially in the start-up context. By focusing on the decision of whether to take a business international, the case is particularly suitable for an early session of a course that will subsequently cover such topics as patterns, stages, modes, pace, and timing of the internationalization process. While the case can be approached from multiple angles, the topics of international entrepreneurship, international business, and strategic management are especially recommended.

The case provides comprehensive details concerning the entrepreneur, the start-up, the national context, and the venture’s preliminary international experiences. Through reading the case and working on the assigned questions, students have the opportunity to do the following:
  • Learn the internationalization motives of firms.
  • Understand the unique advantages and challenges for start-ups of going international.
  • Explore the role of the individual entrepreneur in the internationalization decision.
  • Delineate success factors for the international expansion of start-ups.
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Case Study: New Zealand Native Oils: Taking a Skincare Start-Up International? (English version) | Ivey Publishing