Building trust in fragmented CPG ecosystems

“First they ignore you. Then they fight you. Then they buy you.” That arc perfectly captures the journey of Balaji Wafers, now rumored to be in acquisition talks with Pepsi, ITC, TPG, and Temasek. What began as a small regional snack brand is now a case study in how trust, localization, and consistency compound into strategic value. 1️⃣ Long-term loyalty > short-term margins During COVID, Balaji took the hard call not to raise prices — even if it meant running at near-zero profit. The signal to consumers was clear: we’re in this together. That decision cemented loyalty at the base of the pyramid. Today, that loyalty is the real equity global giants are circling to buy. 2️⃣ Localization as a moat Balaji cracked flavors, price points, and pack sizes tuned to the rhythms of local markets. Global competitors tried, but often with diluted or generic offerings. Localization wasn’t just a tactic — it became their moat. 3️⃣ Ignore → Fight → Buy Balaji was once ignored. Then it became a competitive irritant. Now, it’s an acquisition target. This cycle plays out across CPG: Craft beer once ignored → now acquired by AB InBev. Indie beauty brands once niche → now part of L’Oréal or Estée Lauder. Coffee, dairy, snacking — the pattern repeats. 4️⃣ The compounding effect of trust + distribution With ~13% share of India’s potato chip market, Balaji isn’t just a brand, it’s a distribution powerhouse. Decades of building last-mile reach are now being monetized — because investors aren’t just buying factories, they’re buying loyalty. 💡 The bigger lesson for CPG leaders We often talk about personalization in the AI age. Balaji reminds us that sometimes the most enduring personalization is deeply human: being local, consistent, and trusted. The winners will be those who can balance global scale with local authenticity — delivering not just products, but a sense of belonging. 📖 Story reference: Economic Times coverage (https://lnkd.in/grhZ6gCN) #ConsumerGoods #CPG #BrandLoyalty #Localization #MergersAndAcquisitions #Trust

COORDINATION BEFORE SCALE We often describe ecosystem challenges as gaps. Funding gaps. Skills gaps. Data gaps. Policy gaps. But sitting with recent reflections from a Nairobi convening of around 30 Kenyan entrepreneur support organisations I wonder if this is the correct picture. The issue may not be absence. It may be disconnection. The session, convened by ASSEK and with the Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship (AGCAE) at Stellenbosch University, worked through seven pillars of the entrepreneurial ecosystem: policy, finance, markets, culture, support, human capital, and data. Participants were asked to work inside those pillars, not around them. That distinction mattered. Once we began comparing realities from their own organisations, familiar themes surfaced quickly. 🔓 There is capital in the market, yet many viable businesses still struggle to meet it in the right form and at the right time. 🔓 There is talent across the ecosystem, yet capability is unevenly mapped, poorly shared, and often rebuilt from scratch inside separate organisations. 🔓 There is more data than before, yet much of it sits in silos - collected, reported, then parked. It looks like scarcity. But often it is fragmentation. Another layer was evident in the conversations: Trust. Very practical and seemingly simple. Trust. ◽️Can data be shared without losing advantage? ◽️Can referrals happen without territorial behaviour? ◽️Can institutions collaborate without needing to control the outcome? ◽️Can actors back a common process even when credit is shared? These questions rarely appear on agendas, yet they shape what becomes possible. Because coordination is not only a systems challenge. It is a relationship challenge. Where trust is thin, every organisation builds its own pipeline, its own network, its own evidence base, its own language for success. That creates activity. But not always progress. What felt useful about the convening was not that it produced dramatic new answers. It created a room where patterns became harder to ignore. Finance connected to data. Data connected to trust. Trust connected to collaboration. Human capital connected to all of it. That is often how ecosystems mature. Not through one breakthrough, but through clearer sight. There is enough happening across the ecosystem to justify optimism. But optimism should be disciplined. ◽️More programmes will not automatically create stronger outcomes. ◽️More actors will not automatically create stronger systems. ◽️More conversation will not automatically create coordination. And coordination itself may not be the first problem to solve. It may be trust? If that is true, then the next phase of ecosystem building is less about adding new structures, and more about strengthening the relationships that allow existing structures to work. That is slower work. But it is usually the real work.

The framework I use to deliver transformation across contexts that don't trust each other. I was brought in to align 9 territories that hadn't agreed on anything in 15 years. Different priorities. Different systems. Different definitions of success. The CIO's brief was clear: "Get them aligned. We're bleeding $2.2M annually because they won't coordinate." I didn't start with governance. I started with trust. First 30 days: I listened. No frameworks. No solutions. Just understanding what each territory actually needed. Turns out, they weren't resistant. They were protecting their communities from solutions that didn't fit. The framework I built: Phase 1️⃣: Shared language before shared process. We couldn't align on governance until we agreed on what words meant. "Risk" meant different things to different territories. So did "success." I facilitated 6 sessions where we just defined terms. Boring work. Critical foundation. Phase 2️⃣: Local autonomy within a unified structure. I didn't force one process. I created a flexible framework with non-negotiable checkpoints. Each territory kept control of how it worked. But everyone reported the risk the same way. Everyone prioritized using the same criteria. Phase 3️⃣: Transparent value tracking. I showed them the $2.2M we were losing. Then I showed them what we'd recover if we coordinated. Suddenly, alignment wasn't a mandate. It was a business decision. Result: $2.2M avoided in year one. $1M recovered annually after the 8-week faster rollouts. The lesson: Transformation across fragmented stakeholders isn't a governance problem. It's a trust problem. You can't force alignment. You create conditions where alignment becomes the obvious choice. I've used this model across finance, healthcare systems, school boards, hospitality and the public sector. The context changes. The principle doesn't. When stakeholders don't trust each other, your job isn't to pick a side. It's to build the bridge! #Vision2030 #DigitalTransformation #Leadership

42% of partner-driven campaigns fail. Effort isn’t the problem. Partner leaders are doing everything “right”: – Mapping accounts. – Setting OKRs. – Drafting mutual action plans. – Following every “best practice.” And still... – Registrations stall. – Intros don’t happen. – Stakeholder buy-in disappears. Why? Because partnerships aren’t about brands. People don’t buy from companies. They buy from people. If your partner program is struggling, it’s likely stuck in a brand-to-brand mindset. But ecosystems aren’t driven by brands. They’re driven by trust, influence, and human connection. Let me ask you this: Do you truly understand your network? If not, start here: – Map the people inside each partner organization. – Identify who controls the accounts you need to influence. – Replace top-down plans with co-created content that builds trust. Now imagine this: – Activating the untapped demand sitting inside your ecosystem. – Nurturing the 95% not ready today while converting the 5% who are. – Scaling partnerships by activating connections, not just contracts. That’s how partner leaders win. Ecosystem-led growth isn’t just a pipedream. It’s a competitive edge waiting to be unlocked. But it starts with letting go of transactional partnerships. Growth isn’t in your brand playbook. It’s in every trust point, conversation, and connection your network hasn’t tapped yet. If you’re ready to stop chasing brand-to-brand strategies and start scaling through trust-driven ecosystems, comment “ecosystem.” Because partnerships don’t thrive on best practices. They thrive on human practices.

Caught an insightful lunch & learn yesterday (remotely) with our Ecosystems Director, Woody, on how to navigate complex systems. Not by building more decks, but by building better relationships. One idea that stuck with me: protocols aren’t just rules, they’re inner rituals. They're how people within a system show respect to each other. Miss them, and you risk signaling that you don’t understand how things actually work. A few takeaways that stood out: Stakeholders are more than titles LinkedIn can tell you where someone works, but it can also show you how they work. Who do they engage with? What topics do they care about? What does their backstory tell you about what might motivate them? Soft power matters Formal authority doesn’t always reflect real influence. A power–interest matrix helps map this out, but it only works if you’re honest about where people actually are, not where you assume they are. Make it easy for others to win People don’t act because your priorities are urgent, they act when something aligns with what they already care about. If you can help them solve their problem, chances are they’ll help solve yours. Relationships compound If you only reach out when you need something, people notice. Presence when there’s no ask builds trust over time. That’s how you move from transactional to relational. Drop the ego Thank people. Give credit freely. Be kind even when the system isn’t. People remember how you made them feel more than what you said. If you’re wondering how to apply some of this, here are a few exercises that might help: Relationship mapping Sketch out who’s involved, who influences whom, and who’s quietly connected behind the scenes. LinkedIn and informal networks are great for filling in the blanks. Power–interest matrix Plot people based on how much power they have (formal or informal) and how much they care about your issue. This can help you focus your energy in the right places. Credibility audit Before you make an ask, ask yourself whether you’ve built enough trust. If not, what could you do to get there? And is there someone better placed to make the approach? None of this is new. But doing it intentionally can make all the difference. Curious: what's worked for you when it comes to navigating complex relationships or getting things done in layered systems?