Business Strategy
Experienced FMCG leader with 30 years in food and beverage sectors driving growth, innovation, and strategic partnerships across global markets.
Steve Ross
🌐 MIDEAST 🌐 AFRICA
Bio
With over 25 years’ food and beverage FMCG experience in senior positions across C-suite, General Management, Purchasing, Supply Chain Management, Sales & Marketing, and Manufacturing in companies such as Sainsbury’s Supermarket, Whitbread plc, Subway (Europe & Middle East) & Tanmiah Food Company Steve is able to apply his knowledge, experience, and insight to identify opportunities and quickly bring them to fruition.
Steve is an experienced business leader in the formation and implementation of business strategies designed to drive optimum sourcing, efficient operations and profitable sales.
In his last role, Steve was responsible for the Added Value Foods Division of Tanmiah Food Company including the NPD function whose aim is to bring insight led innovation quickly to market.
Tanmiah Food Company is a vertically integrated poultry products producer with farms and primary processing units in KSA as well as added value plants in both KSA and the UAE.
Steve is currently working freelance helping organisations drive profitable sales across the Middle East in interim and consultancy roles. As well as supporting a UK start-up tech company seeking investors.
How I Work
I can quickly understand where your brand/business can go and efficiently bring this vision to reality achieving its true potential.
Experience
Consultant
Business Development Freelance Consultant
- Created demand and market awareness for Imported and Domestic Food and Non-food brands (including Personal & Home Care Category) looking to expand across GCC, especially KSA & UAE. With a 2-year strategy to expand emerging markets.
- Using social media expanded the reach of food service brand generation by +35% additional revenue.
- Secured listings in major supermarkets and QSR customers.
Tanmiah Food Company
Supreme Foods Processing Company Limited was a joint venture between Tanmiah and is the Added Value business unit of Tanmiah Food Company
The Tanmiah Added Value Products Division is the joint venture of Tanmiah with Tyson Foods. It has three manufacturing plants across Saudi (Jeddah & Riyadh) and the UAE (Dubai) and produces raw and fully cooked Chicken and Beef products.
Chief Executive Officer - Supreme Foods Processing Company Limited(Tyson Tanmiah)
Director - Added Value Products
- Developed and implemented the 2025 Corporate Strategic Plan with the vision to grow the business 3-fold.
- Successfully led the company through COVID-19 - no layoffs nor negative impact on team remuneration by ensuring continued operations through portfolio and customer diversification.
- Grew turnover by +68% and operating profit by +144% in 3 years. Key as the parent company went public during this time.
- Streamlined the New Product Development process and restructured the Sales Teams to deliver products to market within the most efficient timeline, achieving over 15% of annual revenue from new product launches.
- Reviewed and enhanced all SOPs by working with all department heads – instilling an ethos of continuous improvement. This resulted in reduced time to complete tasks and removing non-value-adding ones.
- Initiated a program to generate EBIT benefits of over 5%. Cost saving and/or Sales generating.
SWRoss Consulting Ltd.
Managing Director/Owner
- Carried out a full logistics service provider review in KSA and saved the client 30%+. Following this, carried out a full review of the Pakistani service provider and saved the same client 40%+ while installing an improved service.
- Managed supply reviews across multiple categories. Saved over $1.3M over the first 12 months.
- Created the strategy and project plan for a new re-distribution hub to serve the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, and Pakistan.
- Formulated the strategy and project plan for a further processed chicken manufacturer’s raw material sourcing strategy and business development strategy. Plan in place to deliver benefits of $1M.
- Wrote the Sales strategy and project plan for a client’s business development to generate over $50M in additional sales.
- Rewrote the Quality Management, tracking, and reporting process for a major food manufacturer allowing for faster response times to any issues and improved corrective action process.
- Defined and managed the RFP process for the Regional beverage supplier review in a major QSR in the Middle East. Successfully met the business requirements set out by the stakeholders and saved the region over 9%.
SUBWAY® - Middle Eastern Independent Purchasing Company Ltd. (MEIPC)
MEIPC is an independent organization working for SUBWAY® franchisees stores in the Middle East & Africa. Registered in the UK with a Dubai branch office. It is one of five purchasing companies that manage the purchasing and supply chain needs of SUBWAY ® across the world.
Chief Executive Officer
- MEIPC had a positive surplus in the company accounts every year of operation.
- Delivered against the business plan hitting the financial targets set saving franchisees over $1,000,000 pa.
- Established the Dubai office including the production of the business plan and documentation to gain approval from the United Arab Emirates Municipality.
- Renegotiated 3rd party beverage agreement – benefitting the SUBWAY® franchisees by over 24%.
- Beat the FY15 budget by controlling costs and generating more revenue whilst continuing to save franchisees over $1M. Achieved by looking for new ways to reduce costs, especially in rising market conditions.
- Restructured the bread supply base saving franchisees 10% - 22% on cost, improving quality working with SUBWAY® R&D, and managing risk by adding additional suppliers.
SUBWAY® - European Independent Purchasing Company Ltd. (EIPC)
EIPC is the European equivalent of MEIPC – the Middle East entity.
Head Of Purchasing
- Consistently beat savings and other targets having;
- Developed strategies for the purchasing function of Subway Restaurants across Europe.
- Negotiated the Protein Contract worth €750M delivering a saving of 10%.
- Collaborated with sister IPCs globally to enable each business to benefit from the scales of Subway® worldwide.
- Changed the ways of working for store insurance by engaging a broker delivering benefits to the franchisee of an enhanced policy with reduced premium (saving 52%).
Whitbread Plc
UK’s largest operator of hotels and restaurants with some of the country’s most successful hospitality brands.
Category Manager (F&B)
Category Buyer (Beverages)
Procurement Mgr. (Food)
- Whitbread was a £3B turnover company with a portfolio of key Restaurant, Public Houses, Hotel, and Leisure Club brands in the United Kingdom.
- Gained experience across several categories, applying Category Management principles learned at Sainsbury’s.
- Worked cross-functionally to position Procurement and Category teams as integral parts of the Business Units rather than just a service department.
- Built and led a team of buyers to consistently deliver value and exceed profitability targets.
- Provided market intelligence to brand menu development teams, optimizing promotion timing.
Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd.
Over 150 years old and still going strong, we’re the UK’s second-biggest retailer. Every day, the nation shops with us because they know they’ll get affordable, good food and excellent service.
Buyer (Fresh Meat) & Soft Drinks Logistics
- Responsible for the Fresh Pork, Venison, and Wild Boar categories with full P&L ownership.
- Worked with marketing and buying support functions to ensure profitable portfolio performance, meeting customer needs in range, price, promotional activity, and availability.
- Successfully launched a Premium Quality Meat range within 7 days at the outset of the BSE crisis in the UK, ensuring continuity of supply and generating significant additional sales to offset lost beef sales.