FOOD & DRINK
heineken WALIA
No One Like Us: Building a Youth Identity Brand in Ethiopia.
With 70% of Ethiopia under 30, Heineken urgently needed Walia to resonate with Gen Z. As Head of Strategy, I immersed myself in youth culture across Addis and beyond, uncovering a generation that is both toughened by instability and deeply optimistic, defined by ambition, friendship, and fierce cultural pride. These insights shaped “No One Like Us,” a brand platform brought to life through a creative partnership with Rophnan, Ethiopia’s most influential musician. The work repositioned Walia as the beer that celebrates the identity of Ethiopia’s youth.
BURGER KING
From Worthy to Craveable: Making Plant-Based Mainstream.
Burger King saw plant-based growth exploding but needed concepts that didn’t feel niche or worthy — they needed to be delicious. Leading co-creation and concept testing across UK and EU markets, I uncovered a cultural shift: plant-based had become mainstream, and expectations had skyrocketed. Indulgence, texture, and satisfaction were now non-negotiable. This insight reframed the opportunity entirely and guided the development of several scalable concepts, two of which are now part of BK’s global menu.
Asahi Breweries
Asahi Breweries wanted a unified way to understand how beverage categories evolve globally. Synthesising expert interviews from 12 countries, I traced how drinks move from ritual to lifestyle to personal identity — shaped by emotional histories, social change, and cultural aspiration. The resulting framework now guides category storytelling and long-term innovation across markets.
DIAGEO
Post-Social Covid Connection
Diageo wanted to understand how social lives had changed since Covid and how people now create occasions for connection. As lead strategist, I ran global video ethnography with 21–55-year-olds across the UK, US, Spain, Germany, India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Kenya, and South Africa, uncovering new home-based rituals, revived family gatherings, and a deep longing for spontaneity. The work became a flagship global film for Diageo’s leadership summit and was so impactful it was repeated five years later as a live, multi-country moderated event exploring how social rituals continue to evolve.