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Introduction: Awake, a Canadian chocolate corporate launched in 2012, expects to expand its business internationally after earning the massive sales in the first year. Its objective is selling 400,000 units in the potential host country within the first year and maintain a target growth rate of 15%. The potential host countries has been narrowed down to 4 target countries: Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, and France. Through my selection criteria and scoring method below, the rank order has been estimated as Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, and France.

Selection Criteria: The selection criteria involves five dimensions:

Demographic: it includes the total population, age, income level and education level. Large total population indicates that the potential market is larger and may sell more units of chocolates. However, due to the target market for Awake is university students and young adults aged from17 to 30, so the population between 15-64 and the educational level will affect the decision. For instance, the number of higher education students increased from 2006 to 2011 in Switzerland, which shows that the target market for Awake is increasing. Besides, Sweden has a student-friendly environment and better education, also interpreting that it has strengths in our target market. Additionally, income level will also determine the consumption of our products. If the average income level was low, it is not likely for people to purchase more non-essential goods, such as chocolates.

Economic environment: it involves three main economic indicators--economic growth, inflation growth and unemployment rate. These indicators can better describe the economic circumstances in the country and will be greatly contributed for foreign investors to evaluating whether should make investment or expand its business here. Both Switzerland and Sweden have positive economic growth, low unemployment rate and low even zero inflation growth, telling that they have a stable and healthy economic...