Actors & Partnerships
Behind every sourcing relationship is a deal, a partnership, an acquisition, or a bet: major houses investing in niche brands, groups securing direct ties with producers, cooperatives finding new buyers. This pillar tracks the players and the relationships defining who controls access to Africa, the Gulf and Asia's raw materials, and how.
3 articles
K-beauty's Saudi push: how Seoul is engineering Gulf market entry
Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups is matchmaking K-beauty brands directly with Saudi Arabia's largest wellness retailer. A state-backed export program, not a single platform, is what actually controls who gets into the Gulf.
Firmenich's sourcing in India and Africa: lessons for smaller players
Firmenich, one of the world's fragrance giants, has long secured its supply in India and Africa through direct, sometimes surprising sourcing methods. What it teaches about the producer-buyer relationship.
Profile: Matière Première, the Kering Beauté-backed brand exploring new sourcing territories
With backing from Kering Beauté, niche brand Matière Première is broadening its sourcing horizons. A textbook case on how major groups invest in single-material brands.
Get the Africa-Gulf-Asia sourcing brief
Raw materials, market, regulation and the actors worth watching: a digest, not a deluge of emails.