Grow the right products, of the right brands, in the right markets, with the right distributors!
Global Access Consulting helps food and beverage companies, and other FMCG brands, grow abroad. We analyse your Brand and Product portfolio, analyse the market, pick the products with real potential based on uniqueness, pricing and competition, build the case against the competition including full Value Chain analysis, and put you in front of the right distributors.
Founded by Michiel Havermans, with 25+ years in international food and consumer goods at Cloetta, United Dutch Breweries and Perfetti Van Melle.
Expanding your brands Internationally to develop a long term sustainable business.
We work with food and beverage companies of any size that want to grow internationally. Most businesses see opportunities to sell their brands internationally.
The hard part is choosing where, with what, and through whom.
Which products should go?
Not every brand in a portfolio works in every market. Some add something to a category, others would just be another option on the shelf.
How do we compare?
Distributors and Retailers want to understand how your brand can add something additional to a category based on uniqueness in product, packaging, functionality etc. Besides that the offering and pricing on the shelf need to fit their competitive environment.
What is the best Route to Market?
Depending on the objectives of a brand in certain markets it is important to choose the correct distributor. The right distributor works as a long term partner to develop your brands together.
From portfolio review to a working distributor network.
Use us for a single step, such as a market analysis, or for the full model: from portfolio review all the way to selecting and managing your distributors, or alternatively choose multiple steps from the model.
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STEP 01
Analyse your brand and product portfolio
We review your brands and products and assess their strengths, positioning and readiness for international markets.
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STEP 02
Analyse the market
We assess whether there is a real opportunity for your brand in a market. We look at the competition, pricing, entry costs, shipping costs and import duties.
On the shelf -
STEP 03
Identify which brands and products are the best opportunity for International Expansion
We define which products and brands can succeed in a specific market, based on what they add to the category in that market based on USP, Pricing and competitive environment.
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STEP 04
Build the case
We create the presentation for each market: your points of difference against the competition and your pricing compared with theirs.
Value chain analysis -
STEP 05
Connect with the best distributors
We advise on the best distributors in each market, introduce you, and set up the meetings.
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STEP 06
Manage the distributors
Once an agreement is in place, we can manage the distributor relationship for you, or together with your own export team.
Distributor management
Every company is different, so there is no standard package. You can start with one piece, like a market analysis, or go for the full model through to distributor selection and management. Get in touch and we'll work out together what fits.
Markets: four regions, plus travel retail worldwide
We work across all major Export regions for food and beverage and have experience and connections on all continents, including the Travel Retail Market Worldwide.
Europe
Lived and worked in the UK for 5 years, building and growing brands in the UK confectionery Market.
Middle East
Led Export business in Middle East Region and had responsibility as Regional Director EMEA.
Asia Pacific
Lived and worked in the Philippines and Vietnam, and led the Export business to South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Americas
Led the Export business to the Americas in multiple companies.
Global Travel Retail
Built and developed businesses in Global Travel Retail Markets.
25 years of taking food and consumer brands into new markets.
Before founding Global Access Consulting, Michiel led international businesses for Cloetta, United Dutch Breweries and Perfetti Van Melle, with full P&L responsibility and teams in Europe and Asia. He combines strategic insight with analytical rigour, and has built distributor networks, launched brands into new categories and refocused portfolios for profitable growth.
Michiel is an entrepreneurial business leader with more than 25 years in the international food and consumer goods industry. He combines strategic insight with analytical excellence to drive profitable growth, and is known for building high-performing teams and turning long-term vision into measurable results.
As Sr. Vice President International/UK at Cloetta, he led 65 markets and sat on the Executive team. He delivered 10% revenue CAGR over seven years, refocused the portfolio from 36 to 6 strategic brands and lifted gross margin by 1,500 bps.
At Perfetti Van Melle he doubled the UK business in five years and made Mentos the largest brand in the local portfolio. As Managing Director in the Philippines and Vietnam he led teams of up to 1,500 people.
From Export Director Global Travel Retail to Regional Director EMEA at United Dutch Breweries, he has built distributor networks and sold both branded and private label, direct to retail and through distributors.
In 2026 he founded Global Access Consulting to put this experience to work for food and beverage companies ready to grow internationally, bringing hands-on expertise in growth strategy, export and distributor management and stakeholder management.
Ready to take your brands abroad?
Tell us about your portfolio and the markets you have in mind. We'll let you know where we think your products can make a difference.
Email Michiel Havermans
michiel.havermans@global-access-consulting.com