Breaking cost barriers, solving global business problems

Ross students ace real-world market challenges abroad

Story and photos by Fernanda Pires
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After delving into the company’s history, analyzing competitors and assessing consumer needs in the United States, Team #5 is confident that Waterdrop Inc. can successfully enter the American market.

The European hydration brand faces the unique challenge of conveying taste and flavor without selling liquids—with packaging playing a critical role.

“With the right strategy, Waterdrop has the potential to become a leading hydration brand in the U.S.,” said University of Michigan business student Vanessa Perozo, as her Team #5 pitched bold marketing ideas during an intensive spring break course at Wirtschafts Universität Wien (Vienna University of Economics and Business).

“We learned that Waterdrop is in perfect alignment with the American consumer trends, positioned at the intersection of convenience and sustainability. Leveraging multiple marketing channels to build credibility and brand awareness is crucial.”

A sophomore at U-M’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Perozo and her team suggested insights from their research and designed a campaign that can resonate with U.S. consumers.

Waterdrop, known for its eco-friendly microdrinks—designed to enhance water’s taste while reducing single-use plastic—has made strides in the U.S. beverage market but aspires to become a leading hydration brand.

“It was inspiring to see the representative from Waterdrop being so excited and appreciative of our insights,” said Victoria Pinto, U-M master of management student and a member of Perozo’s work group. “This experience sparked my curiosity about what it takes to sell goods internationally. The course was fast-paced and really got me on my feet, prompting me to think critically and deeply.”

The Vienna Spring Break program aimed to provide 13 Michigan Ross undergraduate and master’s students with hands-on experience. Rather than having the students work on hypothetical case studies, WU Wien assistant professor Eva Marckhgott—who taught the class—collaborated with a real company facing real business challenges.

“This created a win-win situation: The company gained fresh insights and the students gained valuable experience working on real-world problems,” Marckhgott said. “As a consumer researcher, my primary focus is understanding consumer behavior.

“Change is challenging without knowing why consumers act as they do. I always encourage students to step into the consumer’s shoes. This introspective approach allows them to reflect on their own behaviors and gain insights into the motivations behind their purchasing decisions.”

For Lina Mežapuķe, senior product manager for e-commerce at Waterdrop, partnering with business students is essential to keep the company’s ideas sharp and innovative.

“Their fresh perspectives help us spot blind spots and explore angles we might have missed,” she said. “We deeply value external feedback—understanding how others perceive our brand and what we can learn from it. The students bring incredible energy, insights and creativity, diving into research and proposing ideas that challenge us to rethink our approach. It’s a constant source of inspiration.”

While abroad, students also learned about major societal issues, including the climate crisis, mental health, aging populations and resource scarcity. They explored the evolution of consumer needs and behaviors and how businesses can respond responsibly.

“As a hands-on learner, I appreciated how they structured the program,” Perozo said. “Unlike a traditional classroom setting, this immersive, small-scale learning experience fostered meaningful connections between professors and students and among peers. Experiencing their depth of knowledge and expertise was incredibly valuable, enriching my learning and overall experience by providing insights I wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.”

Participation in short-term global programs has always been costly, especially after the pandemic. This challenge motivated the Ross Global Initiatives team to rethink their model and collaborate creatively with trusted global partners.

They proposed a new design: Rather than sending faculty overseas for short-term immersions—often relying on costly third-party providers for logistics—they leveraged partner schools’ expertise, with local faculty delivering high-quality, customized academic experiences and teaching regionally relevant topics.

Each Michigan Ross student paid approximately $950 plus airfare for a one-week, 1.5-credit marketing course in this version. By comparison, last year’s faculty-led spring break trip to Italy cost about $3,000.

Applications to Ross’ short-term immersion programs jumped from 72 last year to 156 this year, with confirmed participants rising from 27 to 93.

“We launched the new model and we saw a huge uptick in applications,” said Jessica Oldford, managing director of Ross Global Initiatives. “We are sending three times the amount of short-term students this year compared to last year. This keeps the financial impact to a minimum for students while also promoting their mobility—the true spirit of study abroad.

Some partner schools, especially in Europe, have more students eager to attend Ross for semester exchanges than the school can send in return. This imbalance creates a surplus of exchange credits that the school can utilize.

“As a former first-generation, self-funded college student myself, I understand the difficulty of studying abroad, so access to global programs is always at the forefront of my mind. It was truly global on every level,” Oldford said.

Since the pilot year has been successful, the RGI team is working to bring on additional short-term programs hosted at partner schools next.

“We plan to keep the current offerings and create additional programs for more options for our students,” Oldford said.

Cost was a key factor in Hussein Yassin’s decision to participate. A BBA senior minoring in music, he is pursuing a career in marketing and aims to make a positive impact in his professional role.

“While this program was my top choice, affordability played a crucial role in determining whether I could enroll,” Yassin said. “This course has broadened my perspective on marketing for positive social impact. Working with a real-life company making significant progress in promoting healthy living was an incredibly rewarding experience. Seeing how product design and positioning can drive positive change in the world was inspiring.”

Beyond academics, the program’s cultural components align with Yassin’s interests.

“As a music minor who has deeply studied the works of Mozart for years, the opportunity to visit Salzburg, Mozart’s birthplace, was extremely attractive to me,” he said. “This experience enriched my understanding of marketing and allowed me to connect with a part of history I have long admired.”

From music to history, plus business (always!)

The program’s affordability was also decisive for first-year student Molly Burke. Pursuing minors in real estate development and history to build a career in affordable housing development, she sought innovative ways to align her academic pursuits with meaningful real-world impact.

“Given the high costs often associated with international programs, this was a rare chance to gain global experience without a high-cost barrier,” Burke said. “This program abroad provided a much more hands-on, immersive environment where I could apply marketing strategies in a global context while also gaining insight into how business is conducted across cultures.”

Among the highlights of the program, working with students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds challenged Burke to adapt her communication style, ensuring her pitches were clear, compelling and universally understood, she said.

“The fast-paced nature of the program meant that I had to quickly refine my ability to present ideas effectively, a skill that will certainly benefit me in both academic and professional settings moving forward,” Burke said.

“Understanding how companies adapt their strategies across different markets is essential for global success. When approaching international expansion, I feel more confident analyzing consumer behavior and new business environments. Also, collaborating with people from diverse backgrounds will be invaluable as I pursue future opportunities abroad, whether through study programs or a career in global business.”

Cross-cultural curiosity: Global experiences and entrepreneurial innovation

Having recently graduated in computer science from U-M’s College of Engineering, Hazel Shibu wasted no time and dove into the Ross Master of Management program. Originally from Abu Dhabi, Shibu is now focused on expanding her family’s perfume business, Luxury Concept Perfumes, through strategic international marketing while aspiring to a venture capital career and supporting global startups.

“Since our family’s business exports perfumes to Europe, I wanted to expand my understanding from a European standpoint, particularly regarding Austrian consumer behavior,” Shibu said. “Learning abroad not only helped me see how marketing theories apply in different cultural contexts but also allowed me to collaborate with peers from diverse backgrounds—leading to a more comprehensive and creative final marketing project.”

For Shibu, one of the key takeaways was the power of curiosity.

“The more inquisitive I am while researching and observing, the more creative my final output becomes—shaped by well-rounded research and enriched by diverse perspectives,” she said.

With plans to integrate these insights into her family’s perfume business, Shibu aims to refine brand storytelling, enhance international consumer appeal and scale operations sustainably in global markets. Beyond entrepreneurship, the experience has also sparked her interest in venture capital.

“By combining my hands-on experience in the fragrance industry with a broader investment perspective, I hope to help businesses grow in diverse, cross-cultural environments, ” she said. “At the end of the day, the meaningful social experiences truly defined this trip for me. I created lasting bonds with remarkable peers, each bringing a unique cultural background and perspective on everyday life.

“Our conversations—covering local traditions, personal values and global business practices—broadened my perspective and reinforced how much wisdom comes from engaging with those who view the world through a different lens.”