From 'Cool American Doritos' to 'Meister Proper,' here's what 10 US brands are called around the world

Áine Cain

Jun 11, 2019, 22:56 IST

From 'Cool American Doritos' to 'Meister Proper,' here's what 10 US brands are called around the world

Bork/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Need to clean your bathtub in Germany? Meister Proper is here to help.

Brands sometimes operate under different names outside of the United States.
Occasionally, a brand will tweak its name to avoid confusion in a new market, like the UK's TK Maxx.
Other times, a company will license its brand out to a major franchisee that opts to run things a bit differently, like Hungry Jack's in Australia.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Some brands are truly global.

Take McDonald's, for instance. There's usually little difference between traveling down the road to your nearest restaurant and stopping at a different golden arches halfway around the globe, aside from a few menu tweaks.

It's widely seen as an international brand in an increasingly globalized world. There's even a Big Mac Index that delves into the market exchange rates between different currencies.

Not all brands and companies are so globally static, however. Some operate identical businesses with names that have been tweaked slightly, to avoid confusion or bridge a cultural gap.

Other times, brands in certain parts of the world begin to operate quite differently from their US counterparts.

Here's a look at some famous brands that operate under different names outside of the US:

Get the latest ExxonMobil stock price here.

Ranch dressing isn't a huge thing outside the United States. So it's no surprise that those famous orange chips packaged as Cool Ranch Doritos in the US are sold as Cool American Doritos in Europe.

TJ Maxx goes by TK Maxx in the UK because the company wanted to avoid confusion with department store chain TJ Hughes.

When it comes to the famous disc-shaped candies, the name "Smarties" never took off in Canada thanks to the existence of a Nestlé candy with the same name. Up north, these pastel-colored sweets are known as Rockets.

Mr. Clean has a number of international aliases. Our favorite bald mascot goes by Meister Proper in Germany, Monsieur Propre in France and Belgium, Don Limpio in Spain, and Maestro Limpio in Latin America.

KFC's famous initials get a major rebrand in the francophone province that is Quebec, Canada. Up there, Kentucky Fried Chicken becomes Poulet Frit Kentucky: PFK for short.

Lenor isn't Edgar Allan Poe's tragic muse in Europe. There, it's a brand of detergent that goes by the name Downy in the United States.

Source: Marketing Week, Grocery.com

Today, Hungry Jack's is Burger King's wholly owned master franchisee in Australia. But, while this burger chain offers up a few staples like the Whopper, it's also got a few regional options like the Storm Cadbury Flake shake.

Axe's US branding got the ax in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and China, according to the company's website. In those nations, the body spray is known as Lynx.

Americans with a penchant for snacking on Dannon yogurt might be surprised to learn that the dairy treat is known as Danone just about everywhere else on the planet. According to the Washington Post, Daniel Carasso, the Barcelona-raised son of yogurt pioneer Isaac Carasso, billed the yogurt differently in the US because a marketing expert told him it'd have a "better ring to American ears."

It might sound a bit like a continent from "Game of Thrones," but Esso is actually the brand that Exxon operates under just about everywhere aside from the United States.

Source: Esso

Next Story Spanx's workout leggings incorporate its signature shapewear technology - here's how they perform