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Purpose: – The increasing importance of branding has been highlighted by many authors and there is a general absence of a clearly defined approach taken by companies to penetrate emerging markets with their brands, especially with reference to the Indian market. This paper aims to investigate brand strategies implemented by food and beverage firms going international and, in particular, to determine how to build the brand strategy on entering emerging markets through acquisitions.Design/methodology/approach – The authors had the opportunity to follow the operation conducted by the Lavazza Company in India for three years (2007-2010), although the majority of the interviews were done in the first two years of the research. The research focused on the brand strategy for the specific case of the Lavazza Company by using a qualitative approach based on interviews with the Lavazza Management. The first session of interviews was carried out during 2007-2008 with two objectives: to understand the Lavazza Company's values and strategies, the Indian culture and the opportunities that this country could offer the Italian company; to follow the strategy used by the Italian Company in order to manage the period of transition after the acquisition of the two Indian companies. The second session of interviews was carried out during 2009-2010 in order to verify the current situation and to finalize the framework developed. Interviews lasted two and a half hours on average and when possible were supported by documentation referring to the strategies adopted in India by Lavazza, and to researches and studies either conducted or commissioned by the Lavazza Company.Findings – The key factors to consider when a European leading brand decides to expand abroad in emerging markets are presented to ensure a successful adaptive brand strategy for the entering company. The authors sum up the main steps to follow in a simple framework, namely a process: of pre-assessment; adaptive brand strategy building; implementation; and monitoring.Research limitations/implications – The investigation is limited to the brand strategy used by an Italian company entering the Indian market. It is further limited to the investigation of a single company, the Lavazza Company of Turin, and the manner in which the brand strategy was adapted in this specific case. If improvements can be made to the framework by using other case studies, this guideline could be very useful to companies looking for a structure before entering an emerging market.Practical implications – The paper offers recommendations on how important firms operating in the food and beverage industry can be most effective in managing their brands abroad and illustrate the required steps and strategic choices that companies need to set in place when deciding to go international.Originality/value – The paper shows how a real multinational company operates in an emerging market. In this way, it is possible for the management to have an example of what happens in reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]