The English are on the way. So are the Dutch, Germans, Danes, Swiss, and various other Europeans driving a surge in foreign direct investment – FDI in the U.S. at the moment. FDI increased $266 billion to $5.86 trillion by the end of 2025, with most of the increase coming from Europe and manufacturing remaining as the biggest target.
And we know why this is happening – Companies seek possession of the deepest consumer market and pool of capital in the world along with U.S. talent — and, of course, manufacturing on American soil is a protection against tariffs.
This is good news for policy makers searching for measurable wins.
It has been heard from a number of European CEOs that they intend to establish American businesses with deep roots. Galderma is one of them. The Swiss dermatology company, which sells everything from Cetaphil and Alastin to injectable fillers, including Sculptra and Restylane, earned $5.24 billion in revenue in 2025. The U.S. was its fastest-growing market and made up 40% of those sales. Galderma said in 2025 that it would invest $650m in U.S. manufacturing by 2030.
As per its CEO, Flemming Ørnskov, “If you want to be successful, you have to be successful in the US.”
And an investment of $650m in U.S. manufacturing by 2030 is a prime example of it. In addition to this, access to R&D talent was Ørnskov’s first priority. He added that “The business was in Fort Worth, and I said, ‘If we want to be competing against Sanofi and everybody else, let’s move it to Boston.’” (The French drugmaker Sanofi’s Dupixent competes with Galderma’s Nemluvio in treating skin conditions such as eczema.)
Galderma’s primary competitor is Allergan Aesthetics, a U.S. injectables leader that is owned by AbbVie, the maker of Botox and Juvéderm. Ørnskov does not think they have succeeded until they go on to close the gap to Allergan in market share.
This is the primary reason why geography is so important – He chose Miami as the location for the U.S. headquarters of Galderma due to the fact that it serves a rapidly expanding consumer market and is an entry point to Latin America. He is also making a statement for Orange County, California, because the aesthetic business, as per him, “is reliant on specialized skills, and that professional knowledge is so centralized there.”
The fact is that Fort Worth continues to be a major distribution hub.
As per Ørnskov, of course, there are some obstacles for companies looking for a presence in the U.S.
He adds, “The bar for aesthetic products approval is the highest in the U.S.—by far the highest—and it’s become even tougher … but it’s such an important market that we have to do whatever it takes.”