Why brands actually benefit from staying true to their cultural roots

Six years ago I moved from the US to the EU to break from American culture and try something new. But in this short time, I’ve seen Amsterdam, my adopted home, morph into a place that can sometimes feel culturally more like San Francisco than a major European capital.

My anecdotal experience is the result of a larger commercial exchange between Europe and the United States reaching new heights. A flurry of retail investment apps inspired by America’s Robinhood are getting Europeans, historically more prone to saving, to invest their money for the very first time. Mobility startups looking to replicate Uber’s success have flourished in Europe with copycats like Bolt and Gett. And the European food tech ecosystem saw explosive growth through the pandemic as Europeans experienced the new convenience of having their food and groceries delivered on-demand.

Working daily across both markets, we at SYLVAIN see this blending of cultures as a state of ‘Europicana’ – a feeling of sameness in consumer culture and brand offerings in both markets.

You could argue this, or any cultural blending, creates more commercial potential for brands to scale across borders by catering to like-minded consumers. And there’s no doubt that companies can benefit from global consistency. Every business-building playbook will advocate for it because it’s cost-efficient, builds equity, and aids scalability. Tech companies, in particular, follow this guidance. With pressures to scale fast and gain ground in a market, it’s also easiest to create a one-size-fits-all global strategy.

But what is lost when brands expand without a sense of cultural consciousness and nuance? While business models can travel well, the same cannot always be said for brands, for which culture has always been the lifeblood. In fact, consumers are increasingly pushing back against homogeneity and yearning for a return to communities, spaces, and subcultures that reflect their uniqueness. Demonstrating this point — a 2022 survey revealed that 68% of consumers feel more positively about brands demonstrating cultural knowledge, while another 2023 report showed businesses that used cultural data in their marketing strategy saw a 19% increase in engagement. And in the US, 38% of Americans shop local because they want to feel a sense of connection back to their community.