Success Stories
Cobea SA: A Radiant Smile to Conquer Brazil
Nov 4, 2025
Cobea SA offers teeth whitening products and services under the Alpine White brand in Switzerland and many other countries. The company is now expanding its activities in Brazil. The path, sometimes bumpy, was smoothed with the help of S‑GE and the Swiss Business Hub Brazil in São Paulo.
Why did you decide to venture into Brazil?
Hannes Ruh: In Brazil, beauty and health hold great importance across all social classes. This emphasis on beauty makes the Brazilian market very attractive for us, even though the population is much smaller than in India or China.
What challenges did you face in this new market?
The regulations are very strict. Unlike in Europe and China, where most cosmetics can be marketed without prior authorization, in Brazil all cosmetics must be registered. We therefore had to obtain approval from the national health surveillance agency (ANVISA), a lengthy and costly procedure. Even registering with the national register of legal entities (CNPF), essentially the Brazilian commercial register, was a real obstacle course, and the process is still ongoing.
What differences have you noticed in terms of business culture?
Brazilians aim to please everyone. So they make many promises, and their foreign counterparts take them at their word. As a result, you might get five different answers to the same question when asked to five different departments! Each response received was correct, but none fully answered the question.
You speak fluent Portuguese and Cobea already had partners in Brazil. Why did you turn to S-GE?
During the startup phase, we made various attempts because some services were difficult to finance. For instance, we found an importer in Brazil through our own network; unfortunately, they couldn’t register our products. That's when S-GE and the Swiss Business Hub connected us with a law firm specializing in product registration.
I feel that the advisors from Switzerland Global Enterprise and the Swiss Business Hub know exactly what we need. Even before we know it ourselves.
Hannes Ruh
Member of the Board of Directors, Cobea SA
How has the collaboration evolved?
Trust has strengthened, although we had a slightly less satisfactory experience with a supplier recommended by the Swiss Business Hub. But since then, everything has been fine, and we reach an agreement with partners recommended by S‑GE over the phone in 80% of cases.
What benefits have you gained from this collaboration?
First, a significant time saving. What personally surprised me was the quality of the knowledge that the advisors at S‑GE have in specialized areas. At the Swiss Business Hub in São Paulo, we work with great professionalism and are treated with a lot of care and concern.
What advice would you give to a company wanting to expand abroad?
Use the services of the Swiss Business Hubs from the start! Including for creating a branch, especially in emerging markets. S‑GE knows what a company needs and can connect you with potential partners who speak one of our national languages. With the experience of the past few years, we would now pay more attention to the advice from S‑GE, and we would have consulted them earlier.
Where do you see Cobea in 5 years?
We would like our products to be available in half of the pharmacy chains in Brazil. We plan to open five flagship stores to promote our products in major urban centers. Additionally, we aim to collaborate closely with the 300,000 (!) dentists in the country. We see these professionals not as competitors but as partners. In short, we want Alpine White to become the hype in Brazil.
For cosmetic products, Brazil is a vast but very complicated market: Cobea had to meet numerous regulatory requirements. We are very pleased to have found reliable partners and professionals who could support Cobea in these complex procedures.
Bruno Aloi
Senior Consultant South America, S‑GE