Although the world’s most respected companies from the developed world  draw more and more revenues from the emerging markets of Asia including China and India, it is a fact that these developing economies have not thrown up global brands so far. Though branding has focused on differentiation, there is so much to be said in favour of an emotional connect with the consumers. The overriding image of the country of origin does affect the brands. At times, these are negative associations. Local brands can enter the global arena by eight possible routes, as enunciated by Nirmalya Kumar and Jan Benedict E M. Steenkamp in their recent book Brand Breakout (Macmillan ).

The Asian tortoise Route  A decast product at a low price is introduced e.g. Japanase and Korean cars. They climb the value chain later.

The Business to Consumer ( B 2 C ) Route First they sell the product to business so as to gain entry later to consumer segment, e. g. Huawei, China’s mobile network company entering  the handset market.

The Diaspora Route  Products are sold to migrants from the original country, e.g. Dabur, ICCI Bank.

The Brand Acquisition Route  Foreign brands are acquired to get a foothold in the market, e.g. Lenovo and Jaguar.

The Positive Campaign Route  Negative associations are slowly wiped out, e.g. Hyundai.

The Cultural Resources Route  Here the heritage is leveraged, e.g. Yoga from India or silk from China.

The Natural Resources Route  Champagne is made from the grapes from this region in France. The rest is just sparkling wine.

The National Champion Route  The support of the State is leveraged, e.g. Emirates Airline from Dubai.