e a breath of fresh air. Farm Rio, or Farm as it is better known in its native city of Rio de Janeiro, first entered the fashion scene 27 years ago. The company was co-founded by designer Kátia Barros and business administrator Marcello Bastos who were disappointed with the lack of brands representing Brazil’s deep cultural love for bright colors and bold patterns. The two decided to fill in the white space themselves and started with a small booth at an independent fashion market. From these humble beginnings, Farm has captured the heart of its home country and built an impressive retail presence with over 100 brick-and-mortar stores and 2000-plus points of distribution in Brazil alone. The brand has no plans to stop there. Farm, strategically rebranded as Farm Rio to appeal to an international audience, has been hard at work introducing itself to the rest of the world over the past decade. Through a series of chess-like moves, ranging from unique brand partnerships to category expansion, the brand is slowly but surely taking the world by storm, one tropically patterned print at a time. It all began with Adidas Farm Rio CEO Fabio Barreto told Inside Retail that the idea for international expansion began with a unique brand partnership.  In 2014, German sportswear juggernaut Adidas approached the Brazilian company about a collaboration. While the retail industry has gotten used to unexpected brand pairings in the past few years, such as Tiffany & Co x Pokémon, The North Face x Gucci, or Kate Spade x M&M’s, partnerships of this nature were a bit more unorthodox at the time. But something about the unique amalgamation of Adidas’ streamlined, sporty aesthetic, paired with Farm’s tropically inspired designs and hues, just worked. Fans of both brands fell in love with the spunky and sporty apparel, and the collection immediately sold out online and in numerous Adidas stores around the world, ultimately helping sharpen Farm Rio’s focus on the opportunity for global expansion. From there, Farm Rio further established its US retail roots in 2016 through a print design alliance with the apparel and lifestyle retailer Anthropologie, and it continued to build international consumer awareness through collaborations with brands including Levi’s, Sézane, Marimekko and Havaianas, another Brazilian-born brand with an international presence. Over the past 10 years, the team has focused on growing in the US market. But, as Barreto pointed out, this wasn’t done without conducting the proper research on the needs and interests of the international customer beforehand. Understanding an international audience After a less-than-successful showcase at a trade show in New York in 2015, the company realized it needed to diversify its merchandise for its global customers. For instance, where a fleece jacket or a puffer coat would make no sense for a customer living year-round in the southern hemisphere, it is a major fashion staple for the Farm Rio shopper living in a colder, more varied climate.  “We started thinking of what Farm Rio would be like if it were born in the northern hemisphere,” Barreto recalled. “What would we be doing, what would we be wearing during different parts of the year, and what would the Farm Rio lifestyle be like in this different environment?” After new merchandise styles were added, new color palettes and elevated materials were thrown into the mix, though the brand’s iconic prints stayed true to its founding aesthetic. With the right design formula, sales from the US market have exponentially grown to where they now make up nearly half of Farm Rio’s profits. Barreto confirmed that the brand generated about $117 million in international sales in 2023, apart from $269 million in its local Brazilian market.  But what is behind the US consumer’s love for this Brazilian brand? The ‘carioca’ spirit, Barreto and Daniel Martinez, Farm Rio’s global retail director, replied. The term is used to refer to a native inhabitant of Rio de Janeiro. Introducing the ‘carioca’ spirit to the world  When you think about Brazilian culture, the country’s rich foods like feijoada, a bean and meat stew, or brigadeiros – spherical and chewy chocolates – or lively music like samba or bossa nova may come to mind. But another key characteristic of Brazilian culture is the bright and often eye-catching ensembles worn by many of its inhabitants. Many Brazilians are not afraid to live life boldly, and Farm Rio’s tagline, “Dress in Happiness”, seems to have struck a chord with the US audience at precisely the right time, Martinez mused. The brand opened its first US store in 2019 with a flagship at 113 Prince Street in Manhattan’s SoHo district, right before retailers’ and consumers’ lives changed drastically. With consumers stuck inside during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, Farm Rio noticed exponential growth in e-commerce in 2020 that not only stabilized the business but helped it thrive during this difficult time. In 2020, Grupo Soma, Farm Rio’s parent company, was able to maintain 80 percent of the previous year’s overall sales, despite its doors being closed. Once physical stores were open to the public again, shoppers were rushing back to Farm Rio to get a hit of “dopamine dressing”.  The term was coined by Dr Dawnn Karen in 2020 to explain the practice of wearing specific types of clothing to elevate your mood, a trend that played a major role in Farm Rio’s growth in the US market, according to Martinez. “People wanted to dress as they wanted to feel and people wanted to feel happy,” he said. “After a very sad period in their lives, they need[ed] happiness again and I think Farm Rio played a great role in that.”  Since 2019, the brand has launched four more stores in the US, including one in Miami, two in Los Angeles and a second location in New York, in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, which opened in October.  In the same month, the brand celebrated the 10th anniversary of its partnership with Adidas, marking a true full-circle moment for the business. Keeping their eyes peeled on the global prize While Farm Rio has achieved notable recognition amongst celebrities and everyday fashion lovers for its colorful garments, the brand doesn’t want to stop there. Barreto said the brand plans to catch up with its fashion peers that derive at least 30 percent of business from bags, footwear and additional accessories, which currently account for about 5-10 percent of Farm Rio’s business. In February 2024, Grupo Soma confirmed a merger with leather goods specialist Arezzo Group. With this deal in place, Barreto explained, Farm Rio has a stronger capacity to dive into these product categories and plans to have them available in the market by spring 2025. With product expansion and additional retail initiatives in store, Barreto forecasted the company will experience a steady growth of 25 percent a year over the next few years. While Farm Rio is still focused on the US audience, the brand has been making moves to enter new international markets, such as Europe and the UAE. In June 2024, Farm Rio opened its first European flagship store in the lively Marais district in Paris. It opened a shop in Dubai at the prestigious Mall of the Emirates the following month.  When asked about Farm Rio’s interest in entering Asia, the global retail director remarked that it’s on the table but not in the near future. Much like its foray into the US, Martinez said, Farm Rio would need to develop a fully formed strategy across merchandising, marketing and brand positioning to ensure its offering met the needs of that consumer base.  For now, Farm Rio plans to focus primarily on the US, UK and France, with the goal to open 15 to 20 more stores by the end of 2025 and perhaps an additional 10 in the following year. In a similar vein to how brands like Havaianas and Melissa have become internationally recognized names, Farm Rio plans to do the same and continue spreading the message of dressing in happiness the world over. This story first appeared in the December 2024 issue of Inside Retail US magazine.