Monthly Archives: October 2011

What is Business Development?

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The term “business development” is broad and has different meanings to different people. There’s no use in trying to pinpoint a single definition. It is my belief that business development is basically any effort made to advance the business by ways that aren’t part of the trivial, ongoing, “organic” daily tasks. As opposed to organic business growth, which derives from marketing and sales efforts, business development aims to advance the company through non-organic methods, for example partnerships, acquisitions, mergers and entrepreneurship.

 

Business development has various levels, starting from a small partnership surrounding a single product to a large scale acquisition of strategic and transformational significance to the business. Accordingly, and dependent on the company’s size, business development executives work throughout the corporate hierarchy. In small companies, business development is often handled by sales, marketing or finance employees.

 

All about the business development team at Strauss Group.

 

A correct business development process aims to implement the company’s strategy. However, business development executives are not there just to execute company policy. In order to succeed in the implementation stage, business development executives must be involved from early on in the planning stages, even in the market research itself, and throughout the competitive analysis and general strategic thinking process. The business development process is not a one-off operation but rather a series of ongoing activities; a constant study of the marketplace to achieve a higher understanding of consumer needs, difficulties, gaps, competitors and opportunities.

 

 

“The term “business development” is broad and has different meanings to different people.”

 

As a company that constantly strives to move forward, and break through boundaries, we at Strauss devote much attention to business development. At Strauss, many take part in business development, either within the subsidiaries (Strauss Israel, Strauss Water, Strauss Coffee…) or at the corporate group level. Our business development executives work closely with the ‘hands on’ crew at different business units, making sure we spend quality time together while researching the diverse market characteristics, leading trends in the food industry, exploring unprovided consumer needs and business opportunities. After we recognize a promising business opportunity, we try to define the best way to begin – be it internal development, acquisition, or partnership. The moment we define our strategy, we act fast and efficiently towards its implementation.

 

The sky is the limit

 

Strauss’ business development activities exist on two levels: the first involves Strauss’ Israeli operations, and the second involves Strauss’ global expansion. Each process, whether at home or abroad, involves many people who all bring their own knowledge and professional experience to the table. Product managers, innovation managers, marketing and finance executives, food engineers and many others – all of them adding great value, and igniting and creating new developments at Strauss.

 

Strauss is a company that constantly strives to break out of familiar boundaries. Since starting out as a local Israeli company for dairy products, with two cows in the family’s backyard, Strauss has never stopped reinventing itself and is currently involved in many diverse areas: dairy, sweets, coffee, snacks, water, salads and more. Some of these activities were built from the ground up by Strauss, while others were created through partnerships, such as PepsiCo and Danone, or acquisition, such as our coffee and water subsidiaries.

 

Please tune in to my future posts where I will further discuss the topic of business development, the different directions it can take, and methodologies towards opportunity recognition.

Elad Komissar

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Elad Komissar is married with 3 children and lives in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

 

His professional career began as a commercial lawyer before traveling to London where he received his Master’s degree at the London Business School.

 

After graduating, Elad worked at Microsoft Europe for a short period before joining Amdocs as its VP of  Business Development, where he was involved in the field of collaborations, mergers and acquisitions.

Hella Frenkel

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Hella has a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in macro-biology, specializing in quality management.

 

Hella has been employed by Strauss since 2009, bringing over 20 years of prior experience in the industry, including more than a decade of expertise in development and innovation in the field of drinking water.

 

In her line of duty, Hella addresses issues regarding technology innovation, while understanding the global needs and requirements for water, all so important towards implementing the research and development process.

 

Hella is a member of numerous international organizations in the field of water and possesses a treasure of knowledge on this topic. In her leisure time, Hella enjoys the company of her family, reading and engaging in art.

Determining the Quality of Water

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Water is the most needed element on earth and for all living creatures on it, and sometimes even for inanimate forms. Water is essential for all things, from simple organisms like bacteria to complex creatures like humans, and makes up over 50% of our bodies. As opposed to many other basics, we cannot take water for granted. In order to guarantee water of a high enough quality to drink, a large investment in resources is needed, as well as trained water experts.

 

Water makes up a large percentage of the earth’s surface, but only a small percentage of it is actually suitable for use. And from this small percentage we produce even a smaller quantity of high quality water. Water’s ingredients, the quality and even taste, differ from area to area. The difference derives from the basic components in the water  and the treatment, or lack thereof, that it undergoes. Nonetheless, if we properly utilized the small number of drinking water sources that exist, we most probably wouldn’t suffer from a water shortage. But as we know, this is not the case. We are facing a critical water shortage, which is worsening over time.

 

Nowadays water is not what it used to be

 

It’s important to remember that in our time, the water that flows through our home taps is not the same as the water that our ancestors drank. Perceptions about water, as a natural and basic fluid that needs no interference, has changed throughout the years. Drinking water is first treated at water plants, with chemical treatment and filtration. This is followed by the addition of chemical disinfectant to micro-biologically purify the water.

 

 

Water makes up a large percentage of the earth’s surface, but only a small percentage of it is actually suitable for use. 

 

From the treatment plant to our homes, the water passes through pipes. As it travels it collects different substances, from sediments to industrial waste, which permeate and contaminate the water, causing taste degradation. Don’t forget that only 2-3% of the water that reaches our home is used for drinking and cooking. This small fraction of the water must be treated responsibly, and isn’t to be taken for granted.

 

Drinking water - sometimes the simplest things are the hardest.

 

So, how can we make sure that our water is high quality and tasty? The solution used by most of the modern world is treating the water just before it’s actually used – otherwise known as the point-of-use treatment.

 

A precise and complicated technological process is needed in order to reach a high quality of drinking water for everyday use. This is a complex issue that has enormous global, political and cultural effects, too wide to be summed up in a single post. Luckily enough, there are many more posts on this topic coming in the future! In our next post we will discuss the taste of water and its influences, distinctions within different regions, and consumer preferences.

 


PepsiCo – Partners in Our Journey

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Many of you may not know it, but Strauss has a unique partnership: effectively 50% of the salty snacks division of Strauss belong to the international company PepsiCo. PepsiCo is the world’s largest snack food manufacturer with numerous production plants around the world.

 

The unique partnership between PepsiCo and Strauss is manifested in the equal division between both shareholders and in knowledge sharing. This interesting partnership involves fascinating methods of coping with local and global markets. In addition, the partnership affects and has an impact on all levels of management and employees.

 

Sharing knowledge and operation methods

 

PepsiCo works with us on infrastructure and methodology in various fields, such as employee safety, food safety, quality processes for all production lines, performance evaluation for managers and employees, equipment maintenance, and more. These changes to our infrastructure and methodology run deep, and require changes to our organizational culture. We aim to fully integrate all changes into our work methods; indeed, some fully-assimilated processes have already produced good results.

 

 


“This interesting partnership involves fascinating methods of coping with local and global markets.”

 

When we develop a new product, we actually rely on the methodology, machinery and production lines of PepsiCo. Each production line has its designated expert with whom we work on various levels: in-depth familiarity with the raw material characteristics (potato, corn grain, corn flour), good command of equipment operation, knowing the production process inside out including quality parameters, familiarity with end-product requirements and parameters, and more.

 

About the challenges of working with global methodology

 

While we rely heavily on the know-how and equipment of PepsiCo, this reliance also has an inherent challenge. Something that works well with American consumers may not work as well with their Israeli counterparts. It is important to know the target audience we are addressing, and, of course, the market and competitive environment so that we can make sure that our products meet our consumers’ preferences.

 

A good example of the challenge that lies in the import of a product is the Doritos line which we purchased in 1997. This production line was a great success in the U.S., Europe and Turkey, but when we launched it in Israel people found it difficult to swallow (pun intended…). We were just about to give it up and sell the production line, when Strauss employed a new CEO, who suggested we re-launch the product with some adjustments: a different flavor geared toward the Israeli pallet, a different pack size and a lower price.

 

Business collaboration – an added-value

 

Several years later, as many of you in Israel know, this product has become a hit. Over the years we added more flavors, developed new product lines, and are now even thinking about purchasing another line to meet growing demand.

 

 

“A good example of the challenge that lies in the import of a product is the Doritos line which we purchased in 1997.”

 

Work with an international company enables us to grow and become more professional on a day-by-day basis. We believe that the role of Operations is to provide added-value to the customer, further down the line. If we excel, we will be able to provide added-values such as cheaper products as a result of production cost cuts, improved quality, new textures, flavors and even healthier ingredients. These improvements are the results of working with the values and code of ethics of both PepsiCo and Strauss.

 

In my next post I will tell you about additional ways in which we improve our products and work processes, in order to offer tailored products to our target audiences.

Yehuda Ashash

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Yehuda Ashash, 51, has been a part of Strauss Group

for the last 13 years.

Yehuda graduated his studies in Industrial Management

and is a former officer in the paratroopers brigade.

Before joining Strauss Group, Yehuda was an Operation-

Manager at an electrical and lighting appliances company.

Yehuda started out as the Logistics Manager of the

Salty Snack Division, and later became the Production-

Manager as well as managing the bakery in Beit Shemesh.

Yehuda currently serves as the Director of Operations

in the Salty Snack Division of Strauss.

Yehuda currently lives in Ashdod with his wife and four children.

 

Rami Ronen

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Rami Ronen, 1963, married+3.

 

Rami is CEO of Strauss Water. He owns a Bachelors degree in

Electronic Engineering and a Masters in Business Management.

 

Rami joined the Strauss group with the vision to provide safe

and good quality drinking water, he does this by developing unique

technologies for the water hadeling field.

In 2009 he led the purchasing of “Tami 4″ to exhilarate the process

of Strauss water becoming a Global and International company.

 

Strauss Water- Nice to meet you

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What is Strauss Water? Who is behind it? Why was it established?

 

Take a look at this interview with Rami Ronen, the CEO of Strauss Water, and Michal Gur Shavit, the VP of Marketing - follow us into a fascinating world of innovation.

 

 

 

Michal Gur Shavit

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Michal is a mother of 2, has a Masters degree in business management

and serves as the VP of marketing for Strauss Water.

 

As part of her job, Michal is in charge on the development

and management of various company products, marketing strategies

and branding Strauss water as an international brand.

 

Michal Joined the Strauss Group in 2004 and served as

the VP of marketing.

In 2009 she joined Strauss water and has stayed there ever since.

 

As of now, Strauss water is an active brand in the Israeli market

together with “Tami 4″, in china the brand is active in

collaboration with “Hayer” and in England as an independent brand.