Every company at a certain point in growth wants to expand its business in foreign markets. Strategic alliances are one of the forms that enable companies to do this. Strategic alliances are one of the fastest growing strategic partnerships. The formation of strategic alliances dates back to the distant past and of course continues to this day. Alliances are formed in order to achieve common goals of two or more partners. Participation in alliances brings companies the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. Like all forms of company entry into foreign markets, strategic alliances have numerous advantages, but also disadvantages. It is also important for companies to find out what are potential risks that participation in alliance can bring them and how to deal with them. Numerous authors of professional articles, books, etc., have different typologies of alliances, and this deals mostly with bilateral and multilateral strategic alliances, domestic and international, vertical, horizontal, diagonal and global strategic alliances. Given that the paper discusses the strategic alliances between the two food giants, it was also explained how the food sector affects the economy of the Republic of Croatia. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize the impact of globalization that has left its mark on the business of Croatian companies and how companies should cope with globalization and integration trends. An example of the application of this form of entry into foreign markets are exactly two food giants, the Croatian company Podravka and the Swiss Nestlé, which in 2003 signed a strategic partnership agreement.