Olly’s Olives, producers of olive snack pouches, had been successful in the UK market, with their products being sold in the major multiples as well as on Virgin Trains, EuroStar and EasyJet.
The founder Olly, who had no prior FMCG experience, was serious about growth and built a business on bringing in experts for every key strategic move.
Having built a strong position in the UK, they were receiving countless emails from international distributors asking to launch the products into their local market. Having heard a number of fellow brands’ horror stories with international expansion, the team were adamant that they would not make the same mistakes.
They were aware of the huge commercial potential of getting it right, and therefore the business case was strong to invest in specialists to support them.
It took a while for the business to decide it was the right time to export and when they did, they reached out to their network to find the right consultant to support them. They were ready to invest but wanted to work with someone we all trusted.
We introduced Olly to an independent consultant that we have worked with for many years and who has had a fantastic track record with other YF brands. The consultant joined the business and started by establishing the Olly’s international brand DNA and running a project to define the priority international markets.
Together they assessed the options and decided to focus on France as the primary strategic market, followed by Belgium and Holland. The consultant then worked with Olly’s to position their brand to the buyers of the retailers in those countries. With a different competitive-set in each market, they needed to make sure they had a point of difference to stand out from their competitors. The Consultant then collated this information and provided them with a series of pitch decks.
Next, the consultant brought the plans to life, approaching distributors and retailers to begin scaling the business in the chosen markets.
With a strong strategy underpinning the business, Olly’s Olives launched in Belgium within a matter of months of starting the search process, and soon after they would launch in France with one of the country’s most well-renowned snacks distributors.
They were also finalising large scale distribution deals in the UAE and Australia. All countries were built on stable, strong and sustainable commercials that would see the business truly growing in the market.
Exporting your products can either be a tickbox exercise for some quick cash, or a long term strategic initiative to demonstrate extensability and value in the brand. Olly's took the latter view and we were so happy to have helped them find someone to really transform their business."
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