Expanding into the Middle East: Building Your Culture-Proof Strategy
Expanding into a new market is never just about logistics. It’s about people – how they think, what they value, and how they connect. Numbers might open a door, but trust and cultural fluency decide whether it stays open.
At Coana, preparing brands to enter the Middle East isn’t an add-on to what we do: it’s core to our work. With lived experience in the region, we’ve seen firsthand how growth depends on more than a strong business model. It depends on being understood, not just as a company, but as people.
Why the Middle East matters now
The Gulf and wider Middle East are among the fastest-transforming business landscapes in the world. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is reorienting the entire economy, the UAE is pushing ahead with diversification and innovation, and Qatar is investing in its post–World Cup legacy.
In numbers:
- The GCC region’s combined GDP has surpassed $2 trillion, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading growth.
- The UAE ranks among the top 20 easiest places to do business globally.
- Consumer markets are young, digital, and globally connected – more than 60% of the population is under 30.
For you, the opportunity is undeniable. But size alone doesn’t guarantee success. To thrive in this region, you need more than a business case; you need the cultural fluency to translate your brand into a market that values relationships, symbolism, and trust as much as performance.
Two things to know before you expand
Before entering the region, there are two realities you should understand clearly. Missing them is not just a small oversight; it’s the difference between building trust and missing the market entirely.
1. It is not one market.
The Middle East is often spoken about as if it were a single business environment. In reality, it’s a mosaic of very different cultures, economies, and consumer expectations.
Language alone makes this point obvious: while written Arabic is shared, every country – and often every city – has its own dialect. Unlike Spanish, where the differences are mainly accents and expressions, Arabic dialects can diverge so much that speakers from different regions may struggle to fully understand one another.
If language varies this widely, it should be no surprise that behavior, buying patterns, and cultural codes do too. Riyadh is not Dubai. Beirut is not Cairo. Treating them as the same is one of the fastest ways to lose relevance.
2. Relationships matter more than transactions.
While businesses everywhere compete on price points, promotions, and transactional efficiency, in the Middle East these are never the only drivers. The region is shaped by collectivist societies where culture, connection, and bonds of trust often outweigh a spreadsheet or a discount.
A polished deck of numbers is persuasive, but even more, it’s the story, the respect you show, and the human qualities of your brand that carry the most weight. Entering the region with a purely transactional mindset misses the essence of how business is done, and how trust is earned.
Building strategies that travel
This is where we come in. Our brand consultancy is shaped by over 20 years of combined experience across the Middle East, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. We don’t stop at advice – we work with you to build strategies that live in the real world, with practical execution and local fluency.
We’ve partnered with businesses at very different points in their journey.
- With Mayyil, we built the brand strategy before launch, then guided the brand as it grew into London and later into the UAE with a digital strategy for its next stage of expansion.
- For À Table, a Dallas-based concept, we helped the founders shape a strategy that honored their Lebanese roots while still connecting authentically with a Texas audience.
- For Mauj, a women-first platform, we worked on a strategy that balanced education and empowerment so they could grow their community across the Arab world with confidence.
- And then with Oxfam, we developed a digital strategy focused on accessibility, clarity, and protection so they could create safe pathways for engagement in the region.
The thread running through all of these scenarios is the same: no matter your size or stage of growth, success comes from deeply understanding your audience and building strategy on that foundation.
In the Middle East, this makes local understanding not optional but crucial – it’s what determines whether your brand resonates or gets overlooked.
A conversation worth starting
For us, preparing your brand to enter the Middle East isn’t a theory: it’s what we do every day. We help you navigate new markets with strategies that are practical, culturally fluent, and rooted in authenticity. For some, that means a full brand and digital strategy to prepare for expansion. For others, it’s about re-grounding an existing brand in heritage and values so it can connect more deeply.
Either way, the belief is the same: growth lasts when it’s built on respecting the people you serve and work with.
If you’re ready to explore this opportunity, let’s talk. Sometimes all it takes is a partner who understands the market to help you see the path clearly.
For more on how we think, work, and write – browse the rest of Reads.
