How to Internationalise a Restaurant Brand: The Strategy Behind Tigermilk’s Global Expansion

At the latest edition of the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator, James Hacon sat down with the Alexis Melikov, CEO at Tigermilk to unpack the realities of taking a successful restaurant concept from Paris and Brussels into one of the world’s most competitive hospitality markets: London.

The discussion offered a candid look at the strategic, operational and cultural challenges involved in international restaurant expansion, from adapting menus and pricing structures to understanding customer psychology, social media behaviour and local dining expectations.

Importantly, the conversation also reflected the work undertaken by Think Hospitality, who were engaged by Tigermilk to support the brand’s UK market entry strategy, localisation and positioning within the London restaurant scene.

For hospitality operators, investors and restaurant brands considering international growth, the session highlighted a crucial truth: successful expansion is rarely about replication. It is about localisation without losing identity.

Why Restaurant Internationalisation Is More Difficult Than Ever

The global restaurant market has never been more connected, yet paradoxically, localisation has never mattered more.

Consumers today are deeply exposed to international cuisine, trends and hospitality formats. However, expectations differ dramatically market by market. A restaurant concept that succeeds in Paris will not automatically resonate in London, Dubai, New York or Singapore without careful adaptation.

Tigermilk’s expansion journey illustrates this perfectly.

Founded in Paris shortly before the pandemic, the brand carved out a distinctive position within the affordable luxury segment: vibrant Latin American-inspired restaurants delivering bold flavours, energetic interiors and strong atmosphere, while remaining highly accessible on price.

The concept quickly gained traction in France and Belgium by occupying a gap between fast casual dining and expensive premium restaurants.

But London presented a very different challenge.

London Already Has World-Class Latin American Restaurants

As James Hacon noted during the discussion, London possesses one of the world’s most diverse and mature restaurant scenes, particularly across international cuisines.

That meant Tigermilk could not simply enter the market positioning itself around cuisine authenticity alone.

Unlike Paris, where experiential Latin American concepts were relatively underdeveloped when Tigermilk launched, London consumers already had access to a wide range of established operators across Mexican, Peruvian and broader Latin American dining.

This required a strategic pivot.

Rather than competing purely on food credentials, the London strategy focused on translating the feeling and emotional identity of the brand.

That included:

• Experience-led dining

• Strong visual identity

• Accessible luxury positioning

• Atmosphere and energy

• Shareable interiors

• Strong cocktail culture

• Perceived value

  
  

The focus became less about “selling Latin American food” and more about creating a hospitality experience consumers emotionally connected with.

The Rise of Experience-Led Hospitality

One of the strongest themes throughout the conversation was the evolution of hospitality toward experience-first dining.

Historically, many restaurant markets, particularly France, were heavily food-led and traditional in format. Yet over the past decade, a new generation of restaurant groups has emerged blending hospitality, entertainment, design and social culture into a single proposition.

This shift has accelerated globally through social media, international travel and changing consumer expectations.

Today, restaurants increasingly compete not only against each other, but against broader lifestyle experiences.

Consumers are looking for:

• Atmosphere

• Energy

• Identity

• Occasion

• Escapism

• Social currency

  
  

As discussed on stage, unless a restaurant operates at Michelin-star level, exceptional food alone is rarely enough to sustain relevance in competitive urban markets.

The most successful restaurant brands increasingly create emotional experiences rather than simply meals.

Why Value Perception Matters More Than Price

A particularly important insight from the discussion centred around value.

The Tigermilk team repeatedly emphasised that accessibility was fundamental to the brand’s DNA, but value should not be confused with cheapness.

In hospitality, value is psychological.

Guests need to leave feeling the overall experience exceeded expectations relative to what they spent.

That calculation includes:

• Food quality

• Service

• Atmosphere

• Design

• Music

• Drinks

• Energy

• Portion size

• Occasion

This becomes especially important during periods of economic pressure, where consumers remain selective about discretionary spending but continue prioritising memorable experiences.

Brands capable of delivering “affordable luxury” are increasingly outperforming those positioned awkwardly between value and premium.

Adapting a Restaurant Concept for the UK Market

One of the most practical aspects of the conversation explored the localisation work required when entering London.

The Tigermilk team explained that menus, flavour profiles and guest expectations all required refinement for UK consumers.

This included:

• Increasing spice intensity

• Amplifying bold flavours

• Adjusting menu breadth

• Understanding UK dining habits

• Rethinking beverage mix

• Balancing energy with operational efficiency

  
  

These may appear like small adjustments, but collectively they become critical to market fit.

This is where many international restaurant brands fail.

Too often, operators attempt to copy-and-paste successful formats into new markets without recognising the importance of behavioural nuance, cultural rhythm and customer expectation.

Successful localisation requires deep market immersion.

The Tigermilk leadership team even temporarily relocated to London as a family during the launch process to better understand the city’s hospitality culture and consumer mindset.

That level of commitment is increasingly necessary in highly competitive global gateway cities.

Cocktails, Design and the Economics of Modern Hospitality

Another notable takeaway was the importance of beverage strategy and visual identity.

Cocktails became a deliberate anchor point within Tigermilk’s value proposition. By offering high-quality cocktails at accessible pricing, the brand created a strong psychological signal around affordability and generosity.

This also has significant commercial implications.

In the UK, beverage sales can account for 30–35% of restaurant revenue, substantially higher than many European markets.

Alongside this, visual identity and photogenic interiors play an increasingly strategic role in hospitality marketing.

Restaurants today operate within an ecosystem driven heavily by:

• Organic social sharing

• Instagram visibility

• Influencer culture

• User-generated content

• Digital discovery

  
  

However, the conversation reinforced an important point often overlooked in modern hospitality:

Aesthetic design alone is not enough.

Social media-friendly restaurants only succeed long-term when strong design is matched by operational consistency, value perception and genuine hospitality.

What Hospitality Brands Can Learn from Tigermilk’s Expansion

The Tigermilk story offers broader lessons for hospitality operators looking to scale internationally.

The brands succeeding globally today are rarely those chasing trends or attempting to replicate concepts identically across markets.

Instead, they are the brands capable of balancing:

• Brand consistency

• Local cultural adaptation

• Operational discipline

• Experience-led hospitality

• Emotional connection

• Strong value perception

  
  

As the conversation between James Hacon and Tigermilk demonstrated, hospitality expansion is ultimately about understanding people, not simply property or menus.

The restaurant brands that win internationally are the ones capable of making guests feel something, regardless of geography.