Julio joined the Ebro Group 13 years ago. He is currently heading an exciting expansion stage of the Group in the markets in the Middle East, Africa and the Nordic Countries.
After studying Law and Business Administration, and starting out as a lawyer, he made a radical change and joined Herba. After three years in the Foreign Department in Seville he moved to the head office of Euryza in Hamburg, where he spent four years heading up the Industrial part of the business in Germany and Scandinavia. From there he returned to Seville as Director of International Markets of the Ebro Group.
- Both in recent presentations of results and at the last Annual General Meeting, the Group publicly announced that one of our main aims was to increase our presence in Africa and the Middle East. Within these geographical areas, which are rather large, what specific countries has the Group currently set its sights on? We are working in all the countries in the Middle East, although our main focus for the time being is on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In Africa we are also working in numerous countries, but Ghana has been playing an important role lately.
- How are you managing the company’s expansion in these markets that a priori seem so different? I consider it an investment in the future. People say that by the end of the century 90% of the global population growth will be in Africa. Of the 10 countries in which the population will grow most in the next few decades, only 4 are not in Africa. A quick look at birth rates gives us an insight into what is happening. Both Africa and the Middle East have enormous potential. True, they are very different countries, but we analysed them well and reached consumers with solutions to their problems. Where are the main challenges? There are many and very different: currency, geopolitical problems, legal insecurity, economic instability, etc. It is essential to mitigate the risks.
- Is a single strategy followed? Not at all. Rice consumption, GDP per capita, awareness of the brands with which we work and the quality of the Distributors vary greatly from one country to the next. In some countries we focus more on generating brand awareness, while in others we are more focused on launching new products. How is the strategy defined? The first thing we did when we arrived 5 years ago was to analyse what we had. We spent almost two years studying the markets, especially the distributors. At the end of those two years we decided to change our strategy and we replaced practically all our distributors. That was a difficult decision because we had been working with them for many years with “reasonable” volumes, but we went for the change and it has been successful on all counts.
- I imagine that both consumers and their expectations, tastes and needs must be completely different. What brands are you using? Some markets consume more Basmati, others Jasmine, and others medium grains. We work mainly with 5 rice brands: Abu Bint®, Tilda®, SOS®, Cigala® and Peacock® and we are starting to work with Garofalo® pasta. How do you decide what brand to use in those countries? Well it depends on the rice consumption in each country, whether the brand is better or less known and whether the country has come under colonial influence from any European country. Very briefly, Tilda® is the leading brand in Basmati Premium, Peacock® in Jasmine Premium and we are working with Abu Bint®, SOS® and Cigala® with a view to converting them into umbrella brands at affordable prices.
- So would Peacock® and SOS® be the most important brands to spearhead the Group’s expansion in Ghana, Togo, Libya…? What presence do we have at present in those countries? SOS® and Abu Bint® are very strong in North Africa and they are the brands we use there. In West Africa, the consumption of Jasmine rice is very strong and we have decided to commit to Peacock®, which is bringing us very positive results. We are also introducing Tilda® in those African countries that consume Basmati and it is doing very well. Cigala® we sell it in all Portuguese-speaking countries within Africa.
- Saudi Arabia is another target market for growth through the brand Abu Bint®. What are your plans for that country? We have a very ambitious plan. Saudi Arabia has 32 million inhabitants, 65% of the population is under 30 and rice consumption is around 50 kg per capita. Abu Bint® is very well known, but it is firmly anchored in the parboiled rice category. We want to harness the awareness of the brand to launch it in other much larger categories, such as Basmati or others that are gaining weight, such as Jasmine, but the star launching will be the DOYS RTH. We are going to try to develop the category from scratch, which will require considerable educational work as well as perfect symbiosis between the marketing team and the commercial teams. With Tilda® we are also going to commit to the RTH category. If we can connect with young people, it might be a historic project.
- Tilda®, for example, plays a very important role in the United Kingdom and for the past three years, approximately, Tilda International has also been a major feature in Dubai. What opportunities can you see in the medium-long term? There are numerous opportunities. The Dubai team is doing a wonderful job. We have grown in all the markets, new products have been launched and, just as with Abu Bint®, we are going to invest strongly in RTH. Tilda® has also started with RTH in the UAE and Qatar with considerable success. Our idea is to introduce it in all the countries in the Middle East.
- I can’t imagine your travel agenda, constantly moving from one part of the world to another. How do you work with the local teams to ensure the successful integration of our operations in these new countries? Communication is key. We don’t merely sell. We are fully engaged with the local teams in the day-to-day management. We set the promotions, activations, marketing… we hold frequent meetings with them and that shows.
- What skills to you consider essential, for both yourself and the members of your team in the context of international expansion in these countries? There are many, but perhaps the most important skills are personal relations, the human factor. Customers in Middle East and Africa always take an interest in the family, culture, etc. They often talk about personal issues at work meetings, then business is discussed in the last 5 minutes. They are also very familiar with the rice market, so it is essential to have a sound knowledge and be enthusiastic about sharing it. Flexibility is also important, it is crucial to work with all Group’s plants to try to find the best solution in all cases.
- On a personal level, what have you learnt about the business culture in these new markets? A whole host of things. I have never seen better negotiators than those in the Middle East. We have adapted their negotiating techniques for northern Europe and they are giving us impressive results.
- What recent achievement would you highlight in these countries? The nicest and most satisfying achievement is seeing the members of the Team grow. They almost all started from scratch and now they are top professionals. In just 5 years we have grown from 36,000 to over 100,000 mt. We couldn’t have got anywhere without this Team operating between Spain and Dubai.
- Looking ahead, what other geographical regions do you think might be interesting in forthcoming years? I think we have quite enough for now with Africa and the Middle East. Just learning the capital cities is a challenge in itself. Who would have said (to me and to my wife) that today I was going to be in Lomé and tomorrow in Accra…
Thank you Julio and congratulations on the fantastic work that you and your team are doing to strengthen and expand the Group’s international presence. You are clearly an example of dedication, good work and enthusiasm. We wish you all the best with all these expansion plans… and less travelling 😉
