If you haven’t noticed, many U.S. trade expositions are increasingly becoming Chinese trade expositions. Booth fees are high, and companies invest significant time and money preparing their presentations—usually with one goal in mind: securing meetings with the six retailers that really matter in U.S. consumer distribution: Walmart, Amazon, Costco, Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s.
A new relationship with any one of these companies is a win.
So you’re standing in your booth, waiting for one of those whales to arrive. Then someone approaches and says they are interested in your products—and would like to sell them in Ethiopia, Africa.
You probably know very little about the Ethiopian market. You’re focused on the U.S., and you have no interest in spending significant time or resources managing overseas expansion.
This is a perfect licensing opportunity.
Take the person’s card and ask one simple question:
“Would you be interested in a licensing arrangement?”
If the answer is yes, schedule a follow-up conversation after the expo. The entire interaction takes less than five minutes.
Just like that, you are on a path to international expansion—without committing capital, management time, or operational resources.
Why Licensing Works
Licensing allows you to control how your brand and products are used while shifting nearly all execution risk to the licensee. A licensing agreement can include, among other terms (not a complete list):
- A formal Licensing Agreement
- Up-front payment upon signing
- Minimum annual performance requirements
- Whether products must be sourced from your approved manufacturer
- Quality testing for products not produced under your supervision
- Clear geographic market definitions
- Expenses paid by you
- Expenses paid by the licensee
- Ongoing royalty payments
Importantly, you avoid the major costs of international expansion—freight, insurance, duties and tariffs, marketing, sales expenses, and local operating costs, among others.
Making the Product Fit the Market
The next step is adapting the product to the local market.
Ethiopia has a population of approximately 137 million people, with an estimated 43% living below the poverty line. Based on realistic income and access filters, your addressable market might be closer to 780,000 consumers.
A prospective licensee may argue that the market is poor and that your prices are too high. That may be true if your royalty exceeds your net profit per unit. If it does not, there is room to adjust pricing, packaging, or positioning.
And it’s worth remembering: Ethiopia has more than 7,000 millionaires. Every market has segments that can support premium or branded products.
Closing Thought
This is a brief—very brief—outline of what can happen when you don’t automatically turn away foreign prospects at a trade show.
Sometimes, the person who doesn’t matter to your U.S. strategy may be the key to your global one.
Have a great 2026!
Bob Thomas