The art of soap-making

: a case study on Castelbel’s internationalization

Abstract

This dissertation examines how Castelbel, a Portuguese luxury home and body fragrance company, planned and executed its process of internationalization. It aims to study when and how firms should expand across domestic borders by conducting an environment analysis and gaining a competitive advantage internationally. It also provides insight into the company and on its evolution throughout the years. Castelbel is a Born Global company that started as a private label that only exported to the United States of America and now it also has its own brands that sell not only on the domestic market but across the globe. Nowadays exports representing 88% of sales and they are present in more than 50 countries. The case study identifies the internationalization theories the company followed and the importance of the international fairs for the opportunities it provided and the partnerships it enabled. It also focuses on the difficulties Castelbel faced in the process of going global and how they manage to keep international competitive advantage. Castelbel´s Case study allows to understand how a Portuguese SME was able to place themselves internationally, maintaining the tradition and innovation.

Date of Award	17 Oct 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ricardo Reis (Supervisor)