Why the Cookie‑Cutter, One‑Size‑Fits‑All Era Is Over in the GCC
A good friend of mine once shared with me why he decided to shut down his restaurant business just barely 2 years after it launched. It was a crazy story, but with an important anecdote that I believe would serve as an important learning for business leaders and managers.
He had set up a restaurant that would specialize in serving a specific dish popular among people in the Asian subcontinent (Indians predominantly).
He thought he had put together a winning recipe (Pun unintended): A successful Indian chef, experienced staff, standard menu for similar restaurants and most important of all, he believed he hit the jackpot by setting up in a part of town predominantly populated by Indians. What could go wrong?
Months passed, and business was not picking up. The speciality dish the restaurant served - which was made up of cooked rice with chicken or meat- was not gaining anywhere near the expected interest.
“All people were interested in was the soup and the salad”, he told me frustratingly when we met.
After the first year and a half, he decided to investigate. He wondered if the Chef was the issue. No, he wasn’t. Was it the customer service? Nope, no complaints whatsoever. Then he decided along with his partner to go around the area and observe.
Turns out, while the area was populated predominantly by Indians; however, the Indians in this particular part of town were vegetarian. His main dish: Proudly Rice with Meat (The fact that the restaurant was named after this particular dish didn’t help either).
The presence of an old Hindu temple was located in the same vicinity of his restaurant should have been a tell-tale sign.
Where Do Most International Businesses Get It Wrong in The GCC?
For decades, international organisations built their success in the gulf region on a simple formula: standardize, replicate, and hope to scale wherever they set up.
“If it worked in our country, then it would surely work over here”! Was the mantra most international managers adopted when they dealt with their local client base.
This worked in an era when consumer expectations were often uniform and markets were less complex. But today, that model is being challenged.
Consumers no longer behave like a single mass market. They live in diverse communities with distinct cultural identities, lifestyles, and expectations. Their preferences have become more sophisticated, pushing business leaders to think more creatively in order to win and retain their customer segment.
The assumption that customers across cities — or even within the same city — want the same experience is increasingly being proven wrong.
Why The ‘Copy-Paste’ Approach Is No Longer Enough
Standardization delivered efficiency, but it also created sameness. Let’s be honest, it was lazy business practice that was at one point of time prevalent in the GCC. As markets in the region matured, that sameness became a disadvantage.
For years, global brands scaled by standardizing everything. Adopting a more of a ‘copy-paste’ approach when rolling out products, services or even internal processes.
But today’s markets are too diverse, too dynamic, and too community‑driven for a one‑size‑fits‑all model to survive.
The real shift is this:
Locals (nationals and residents) no longer want to be treated or perceived as “common”. They are increasingly trying to forge their own direction when it comes to personal or career choices.
Local customers and employees are demanding experiences that reflect their identity, taste, values, personal style and community context.
Meanwhile, data revealed what many leaders suspected: people in different micro‑markets behave differently, even when they look similar on paper.
The Rise of Localization by Clusters
For years, global brands scaled by standardizing everything. Adopting a more of a ‘copy-paste’ approach when rolling out products, services or even internal processes.
But today’s markets are too diverse, too dynamic, and too community‑driven for a one‑size‑fits‑all model to survive.
The real shift is this:
Locals (nationals and residents) no longer want to be treated or perceived as “common”. They are increasingly trying to forge their own direction when it comes to personal or career choices.
On a larger scale, their distinct identities are rooted in the neighborhoods they inhabit (In Emirati we refer to these neighborhoods as ‘Furjan’, plural for ‘Freej’).
Historically, these micro‑communities would have their own informal social dynamics and support systems. They know each other, they support each other, often vouch for each other and recommend opportunities to each other.
Many would argue that the modernization of cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi and the arrival of new residents from all over the world might have eroded the distinct ‘Freej’ identity in communities. However, this does not mean that individuals and their communities have also let go of the values and identity that are unique to them. This is something international businesses fail to understand, and often get carried away by implementing strategies that address communities needs on the surface.
International businesses frequently overlook this point, often implementing strategies that only superficially address community needs.
The GCC Opportunity
In the Gulf, localization has often been synonymous with ‘compliance’, ‘translation’, ‘content development’. However, I argue that localisation is both a critical commercial and human capital strategy. Our markets are uniquely diverse, with fast‑growing youth populations, multicultural communities, and ambitious national talent agendas.
How can Localisation help organisations?
It enables businesses to:
Build culturally intelligent customer experiences
Design workforce strategies aligned with local talent pools
Strengthen community trust and brand affinity
Support national development goals through targeted hiring and training
This is where global best practice meets relevance.
The brands that win will be those that understand people, and design systems that adapt to the communities they serve.