Why I Left My Executive Job at Schweppes to Build a Food Manufacturing Business| Unaiswi Nyikadzino

Description

What does it take to spend 20 years building other people's brands and then go build your own? In this episode, Batje sits down with Unaiswi (Una) Nyikadzino consultant, entrepreneur, and founder of StandOwt. Una made history in 2014 as the first female Executive Director appointed at Schweppes Holdings Africa, named and launched the FarmStyle brand in 2017, and later went on to become Commercial Director at Beit Bridge Juicing, the fruit processing division of Schweppes. When she finally left corporate life, she didn't just start a business. She bought back the brand she had built with her own hands. This is a conversation about what it really means to build with intention in Zimbabwe and why the continent's biggest opportunity might be sitting on your dinner table. In this episode: · How Una became the first female Executive Director at Schweppes Holdings Africa in 2014 · The FarmStyle origin story: naming a brand, growing it, losing it and buying it back ("my baby") · Why Zimbabwe's food value chain is one of the biggest untapped opportunities on the continent · What 20 years in FMCG taught her about export standards, The Coca-Cola system, and thinking beyond borders · The honest truth about entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe power cuts, governance gaps, and all · Her advice to women building businesses: "Marry someone who won't find you to be competition" · The one thing she'd fix with a magic wand: water · The risk management lesson she learned from a sadza vendor Timestamps: 00:00 Cold Open — Building in Zimbabwe (The Air Fryer Story) 01:50 Introduction: Who is Unaiswi Nyikadzino? 04:30 From BAT Graduate Trainee to Executive Leader 07:00 First Female Executive Director at Schweppes 08:00 Exporting from Africa: The Compliance Challenge 11:00 Mindset Shift: Local Dominance Before Export 14:30 Competition vs. Collaboration in African Business 16:00 Why Entrepreneurship? The EventPro Origin Story 20:00 Buying Back "My Baby" — The FarmStyle Brand Story 24:30 Juice University, Texas — Grove to Gl