Acquazero is one of the finalists in the International Highlight Award, thanks to its successful operations in the United States. The prize is promoted by Franchising Brasil — a sector project for the internationalization of Brazilian franchise brands carried out by means of a partnership between the Brazilian Association of Franchising (ABF) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).
The eco-friendly franchise provides services for the automotive industry and has 320 franchisees. Today, Acquazero has two units in the USA: one in Gansville and one in Orlando – this latter is being implemented. Both of them are mobile units, that is, a customized van goes to customers, wherever they are.
According to the company, its field of operations is the “automotive aesthetics”, and having eco-friendly practices and using biodegradable products and a small amount of water to do the cleaning are in the core of Acquazero’s business. In addition to the provision of cleaning services for vehicles, the brand also offers services for ships, airplanes and homes (focusing on upholstered furniture).
In 2019, Acquazero decided to get more information about markets and get closer to other companies that were already operating abroad at that time. Supported by the Franchising Brasil program, the brand participated in international initiatives and went to the United States, Portugal, China, Peru, Colombia and Argentina. During the trips, representatives of the company tried to understand the markets they intended to explore, the competitors, the business models and do networking with other franchise chains.
“We decided to start expanding to the USA because of the country’s potential, and because it is a showcase for the rest of the world”, explains Henrique Mol, brand’s representative. He says they started operating there by means of a lower investment model, thus reducing risks and adjusting the business to the reality of that market.
“As we became more familiar with the market, we realized we would need big stores to position the brand there and start operating with physical units. So we took our first step into a foreign country by means of a franchisee, who was already managing a unit in Brazil and was used to our business model. That was good because we found someone who knew perfectly how this business works”, he says.
According to Henrique, they learned a lot from the entire internationalization process, and currently Acquazero is negotiating with at least three franchisees to open new units in 2021.
About the International Highlight Award
The purpose of the award is to recognize chains that, by participating in initiatives developed by the program destined for promotion and qualification, have started or achieved a consistent internationalization process of their brands.
The award ceremony will be announced soon and three franchises will be the winners in the general category and one chain will be the winner in the Strategy and Consolidation category, which was created because of the high quality of the cases submitted to Apex-Brasil and ABF for appreciation. The criteria to be evaluated by the judging panel composed of members of the Franchising Brasil Management Board are: complexity of sector and market; operationalization process; impact of case; innovation of the initiative; and relationship with the participation in the Program.
About Franchising Brasil
Franchising Brasil is a sector project carried out by means of a partnership between the Brazilian Association of Franchising (ABF) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) for the internationalization of Brazilian franchise brands and promotion of their businesses abroad. The initiative was developed to promote this business model that is well recognized in the main international markets.
READ MORE: Meet the shortlisted brands nominated for the International Highlight Award