Brazil is the largest country in South America, and its total population is 221,209,709 as of 2018 (World Population Review, 2018). Throughout Brazil’s history, the population growth has been increasing rapidly and, in the last six years, it has grown significantly at a rate of 1.26%. The most densely populated region is the Southeast anchored by the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is a relatively young country with 44% of the population being between the years of 25-54 years old (Demographics Of Brazil, 2016).
Brazil has extreme income inequality but, in the past few years, the income gap has slowly started to decrease. The income inequality issue affects the majority of the population because according to statista.com the top 5% make 50% of the countries income. The per capita income of Brazil is 15,160 PPP dollars (World Bank, 2017). Poverty is a huge issue in this country and, it will be important that the price of La Croix is not out of reach financially for the average person.
Some of the key exports for the country include sugarcane, soybeans, coffee, beef, and orange juice; with some of the main imports being mineral fuels, electrical machinery, machinery, vehicles, and organic chemicals (Pines, 2018). Imports and exports play a major role in the economy of Brazil in that it increases profits and gets new products into the market for those that live in that country.
Brazil is a developing nation that is made up of a federal government, 26 states, a federal district, and over 5500 municipalities (Meyer, 2010). It is a democratic country with highly fragmented party politics. It is rated as a “flawed democracy” due to a mix of proportional voting, lack of election threshold and the cultural aspects of Latin American. While having a flawed democratic system, Brazil also encounters business obstacles like corruption and bribery, which could lead to arising complicated issues regarding imported goods from foreign companies.
Brazil is a trade group member of multiple international economic organizations including the World Trade Organization, World Customs Organization, etc. According to the World Bank’s latest annual global report which evaluated the ease of starting a business, Brazil ranked 125th out of 190 countries, presenting one of the challenging places to do overseas business corporation in the world (Sottovia, 2018). Besides, Brazil has strict restrictions on food importation, especially towards those animal and vegetable goods, such as fruits, vegetables, pets, insects, fresh or industrialized meat, etc. Those goods mentioned could not be imported to Brazil without being authorized by Agricultural Surveillance International Service (Vigiagro), or proper sanitary certification (Brazil Country Snapshot, n.d.). We feel that with a strong local team, these challenges could be overcome.
La Croix will need to have proper knowledge of the local environment related to distribution, government procedures, employee benefits, environmental laws and complex tax structure (Sottovia, 2018). Once getting through the complications, Brazil is seen as an enormous opportunity for a lot of US companies looking to expand their businesses globally.
Brazil’s culture is pretty unified even with the country being large, both in landmass and population. One unifying element of the culture is the language spoken. Almost 100% of the population speaks Portuguese which is the national language (Commisceo Global Consultancy, 2017). There are many immigrants in Brazil, which provides for a melting pot type of culture. There are elements of South America, Portugal, and other immigrant cultures all mixed together.
The food and drink also has roots from many different countries in both the past and present. Bold, savory, and flavorful dishes with rice and beans are very popular. Fresh fruits and vegetables can also be found in almost every meal, since their climate is good for growing crops. Fruity flavors are popular in drinks and foods (Commisceo Global Consultancy, 2017). An example of this is that coconut water is popular among Brazilians. Another aspect of the culture that is flavorful is their arts and pop culture. Music is a big part of people’s lives and is often upbeat and soulful (Commisceo Global Consultancy, 2017).
