Key highlights from the Passport x Sharma Brands Webinar: How to Accelerate Your Brand’s Global Growth
Global growth isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore – it’s a key strategy for future-proofing DTC brands. But while the opportunity is massive, the path to scale isn’t without challenges. That’s exactly what was unpacked in the March webinar from Passport and Sharma Brands, where top operators and growth experts shared how brands are going global, profitably.
The panel featured:
- Special guest host Nik Sharma, Founder & CEO of Sharma Brands
- Ari Murray, Chief Growth Officer at Sharma Brands
- Alex Stark, Co-Founder & CMO of Ogee
- Alex Yancher, Co-Founder & CEO of Passport
Together, they explored everything from localization and logistics to regulatory pitfalls and site optimizations that actually drive results.
Why Global? Why Now?
As Ari Murray put it, “If you’re not thinking ahead to where you can diversify, there’s always risk.” And with increasing international traffic, brands are often sitting on untapped demand. Alex Yancher of Passport pointed out that many brands don’t realize 10–15% of their site traffic is already international – meaning customers are waiting, even if you’re not selling to them yet.
The Real Impact of Getting It Right
For Ogee, a luxury clean beauty brand, selling internationally was already part of their strategy – but they were ready to take their global growth to the next level. Their game changer? Upgrading to Passport Global, a turnkey, end-to-end solution combining logistics, compliance, and local international site optimization.
“We went from doing low six-figure months internationally to hitting seven figures overnight. As soon as we turned on the Passport Global optimizations, we had our first seven-figure month.”
– Alex Stark, CMO of Ogee
The Passport team helped Ogee implement key strategies – like localized pricing, VAT-inclusive checkout in the UK, and optimized shipping thresholds – leading to a massive conversion boost. In the UK alone, revenue increased 16x after a few simple changes.
Lessons Learned: Don’t Copy-Paste the U.S. Playbook
One of the biggest takeaways from the panel? What works in the U.S. doesn’t always translate abroad. Ari shared a cautionary tale about planning a major promo around Canada’s “Family Day” – only to realize later that no one actually shops that day.
The takeaway: Brands need to think like a local customer and avoid the trap of copy-pasting U.S. campaigns abroad.
Navigating Complexity with the Right Partner
From surprise tariffs to ever-changing compliance rules, international logistics comes with serious complexity. The panel made one thing clear: trying to handle this in-house can slow down growth – or worse, lead to very costly mistakes.
Instead, a partner like Passport, who has a global trade team of experts, can help brands not only navigate regulations and optimize operations, but also know when not to ship to certain countries. As Ari put it, “Passport doesn’t just want you to ship everywhere – they help you make smart decisions about where and when.”
Watch the Webinar + Dive Deeper
Want to hear how Ogee and other top brands are scaling global sales while protecting margins and staying compliant?
🎙️ Watch the full webinar featuring Nik Sharma of Sharma Brands, plus Ogee, and Passport.
📖 Read Ogee’s full success story detailing their global growth.
🚀 Ready to level up your own international strategy? Request a demo to see how Passport Global can help accelerate your growth.
