Marketing Leader in Retail FMCG | Omnichannel Marketing | Brand Management | Digital Media Strategy | 3X Revenue Growth for Unilever in 5 Years
𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 Five years ago, during a business trip to Korea, I traveled over two hours to visit one of our lip care contract manufacturers. We had just launched our lip care line with them in 2018, buoyed by exceptional consumer feedback. 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫 However, gaining traction with key retailers was a challenge initially, leading to sluggish growth that didn’t meet our business case expectations. Our partner, having already invested in a production line on behalf of us, was facing less than 50% capacity utilization and understandably nervous. I felt responsible to reassure them of our product's potential and that growth would follow. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 Meeting the Owner and CEO for the first time, I realized we shared a common goal—exponential growth. I communicated our vision for the Vaseline lip care line and the building blocks to achieving it, stressing how crucial his team would be when (not if) we unlocked more markets and retailers. With a clearer understanding of our growth journey, we leveraged mutual trust and respect to brainstorm strategies for winning over retailers, including emphasizing our 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬-𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 pack—a crucial factor in the impulse purchase category. This laid the foundation for our long-term commitment to our common goal - exponential growth. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 Though it took time, we eventually secured the necessary retailer listings, expanded into new markets, and got our 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬-𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 pack listed in Walmart—a significant milestone and growth driver. With regular check-ins, our partner proactively invested in more lines and capacity on behalf of us, anticipating new listings. Today, despite the initial challenges, we have grown the lip care business by 10X since our first meeting, establishing Unilever International as the largest and fastest-growing lip care business within Unilever. This success was made possible by a shared vision with our partner, who also grew their factory to become one of the five largest lip care manufacturers in the world. A true win-win situation. 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 This experience taught me valuable lessons about building strong business partnerships: · Align on shared vision and goals · Build mutual trust and respect · Leverage complementary strengths · Focus on long-term commitment · Recognize and appreciate contributions We often share our visions internally but sometimes forget that our partners are equally invested in our growth journey. Through this partnership, we’ve not only grown our business but also built a stronger and more cohesive team. Now, whenever I meet a partner, I make it a point to take a picture to remember the moment. Who knows where our partnerships will take us five years from now? #UniquelyUnilever #UnileverInternational
Abdul Zahir
2mo
Very nice write up.
Giving value-add to drive retail trade & a meaningful customer experience | Commercial Finance Manager & Strategy | ASX Top 10 - WES (Kmart Group)| Retail | CA | RITP | Ex Restructuring & Turnaround
1moThe importance of a shared vision in business partnerships with suppliers 👏