Starting a quick-serve or fast-casual restaurant brand in any country is a huge endeavor. It takes money, time, planning, and commitment. As you can see, it takes a lot to get a restaurant brand off the ground.

And even then, there's no guarantee of success. So why even consider taking your brand outside your country's borders in search of more profit? Well, for one thing, there's a huge pool of potential customers out there, and if a restaurant brand can tap into them in the right way, there's a good chance that brand will be successful.

 But there are some very important things that must be considered first:

Domestic Strength: Brands that are struggling domestically are likely not a good fit for taking their show on the road. If a restaurant sets up shop in a foreign country without a strong domestic operation, and the foreign operation fails, there's a good chance that brand may also fail domestically as well. It's better to avoid foreign expansion to avoid tarnishing a brand with consumers.

Brand Promises: It's almost inevitable that a restaurant brand will have to slightly tweak itself before, or shortly after, entering a foreign market. Depending on the local economics, this may include brand changes that make it more accessible to a consumer base of varying economic resources, or it may be more of a cultural change to invite more inclusion. Either way, it's important that these tweaks don't contradict the domestic brand promises in any way.

Proper Support: Proper support for international expansion goes beyond just monetary support. From operations to quality control, brands that expand into international markets have to provide the same kind of support to international locations as they would to their domestic ones. This has been something that has somewhat plagued American brands that have chosen to go abroad - and some have paid the price as today's consumer is only a few clicks away from a negative tweet or Facebook post that can be seen by the entire world.

The bottom line is this - domestic brands that want to expand into international markets have to do their research and be dedicated to the process. Initial success in a foreign market does not equal future success and brands must be prepared to offer the necessary support and make the appropriate tweaks to ensure long-term success and not just an initial burst of profit.

There will likely be a period of time where the domestic side is supporting the international side - until it gets established and generating profit that’s sent back to the head office. But once established and profitable, international operations can be a huge boost to a company's revenue and have an overall positive impact on a brand's global value.

Can you think of some brands you'd like to see internationally? Some brands you’d like to go back to wherever they came from? Let us know in the comments.