Rola Khachab

If you’re a ₹60 snack with ₹8 margin and a 30-day replacement cycle, you’ve already lost to the ₹40 pack with ₹6 margin and 3x faster rotation. This is the reality of GT and MT. Most new FMCG brands price for gross margin but very few price for the channel. A ₹99 price tag might look clean on Instagram. But the retailer sees it as a ₹15 margin. And if your product doesn’t move in 15 days, that shelf space goes to someone else. Here, distributors aren’t brand ambassadors. They’re investors. They’ll only back what they believe will turn. A great formula for pricing strategy per channel is - channel psychology + product velocity + capital cycles. At DISHA, we unpack how to think like a founder and an operator from pricing decisions to GTM rollouts to building a business that works at ₹10 Cr and ₹100 Cr and beyond. 📍 Nov 1 - 5 / Justice K.S. Hegde Institute of Management, NITTE Link in comments to register. UK&Co K. Ullas Kamath Center for Family Managed Business Manjunath Shenoy / Ullas Kamath

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Food is quietly outperforming. Unilever’s H1 2025 results prove that. Food beat personal care, home care, and even beauty in underlying sales growth. Foods USG: +2.2% Ice Cream USG: +5.9% - the highest across all categories! What does this actually mean? •⁠ ⁠Indulgence is now routine. Ice cream is no longer just a Sunday reward or a party dessert - it’s become a midweek craving, definitely beyond an occasional celebration. •⁠ ⁠Flavour-first “shortcuts” are winning. Products like spicy mayo, truffle drizzles, or curry pastes are replacing long prep. •⁠ ⁠Habit is beating novelty. The brands growing fastest aren’t launching 20 new things - they’re doubling down on the 3 - 5 products that keep getting reordered. As someone building in this space, I find this interesting because every two years you'll see food bump up with a new trend. At the end of the day, we cannot forget food is emotion, utility, and identity - all rolled into one. (dropping the link to the report in the comments)

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The one thing that keeps great people? Make them feel seen! In Dubai, turnover is expected. But that doesn’t mean we accept it passively. At RAW, we ask two simple questions during performance check-ins: “What are you learning?” “Where do you want to grow?” People stay where they’re seen as humans, not just roles.

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For us, a festive season is not just a peak in demand- it is a test of preparedness, agility, and #customercentricity. As retailers and producers, meeting #customer expectations during festivals is not possible by simply scaling up production. It requires foresight, precision, and meticulous planning. A few key aspects we always keep in mind while preparing for the festive season:  •  𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗲: Anticipating surges and building resilience into supply chains.  • 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Strengthening last-mile capabilities to ensure seamless delivery.  • 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁: Every touchpoint — from packaging to delivery speed — shapes trust and loyalty.  • 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝘆:  Play the devil’s advocate; hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Business success, regardless of the season, depends on holistic thinking, advanced planning, and strong team alignment. To sum it up, we are already in the excitement phase of festivals, preparing not just to meet demand, but to delight every customer.

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Did you know that 85% of Mars products sold in the European Union are produced locally within the EU, which is also an export hub to over 100 markets around the world? We recently announced that Mars is investing €1 billion to boost manufacturing and innovation across the European Union by the end of 2026. This investment will build on the €1.5 billion we invested in the region over the past five years, supporting consumer-driven innovation, economic growth, resilience, and modern, energy-efficient infrastructure. With more than 90 years in Europe, this investment will support our 24 factories across 10 EU countries and the 25,000 Associates we employ in our direct operations.   A great example of what this investment is helping us to achieve, is our recent announcement that all ten Mars Snacking factories in Europe are now powered by renewable energy. This covers the annual production of around 900,000 tonnes of some of the region’s favorite brands, including SNICKERS®, TWIX®, M&M’s®, SKITTLES® and ORBIT®/EXTRA®.   You can read more about our investment in the EU here: https://lnkd.in/eP-BQwN2 and about our EU Snacking factories being fully powered by renewable energy here https://lnkd.in/eVEjNBC6 #ProudlyMars

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