Founder and Manager
Em Ali
Total years of experience :12 years, 10 months
Founded a Causal Dining Restaurant specializing in the Lebanese traditional Saj cuisine focused on a healthy dough (gluten/sugar/oil free) offering exclusive mixes and fillings that offered a point of differentiation versus the competition in the market.
• Created a business plan and strategy, developed the business model, the brand and participated in all the facets of the business development.
• Recruited, trained and managed all personnel: 2 chefs, 2 waiters and an accountant.
• Procured industrial equipment and high quality ingredients from local suppliers.
• Negotiated and managed 3rd party aggregators to establish various delivery options which
increase sales by 28%.
• Developed and managed marketing campaigns and sponsorships to drive awareness and
footfall to the store.
• Served over 700 walk-in customers on a weekly basis, averaging out to 100 customers on a
daily basis.
• Drove promotions to capture ‘office lunch orders’ and drive sales.
• Sponsored and partnered at various food festivals in order to establish brand awareness
within the community.
• Reaching 3, 000+ organic followers on Instagram through word of mouth.
• Created a brand video which received over 2, 000 views organically.
• Managed social media platforms along with the content plan and creation for the brand page.
• Engaged with consumers on digital platforms and managed relationships with local and
international bloggers, foodies, influencers and magazines.
• Ranked as #1 Top 10 New Restaurants in Lebanon, 2018 (travelingwiththyme.com).
• Profiled in Le Commerce du Levant (lecommercedulevant.com).
• Connected with potential investors in Qatar and Egypt to expand the brand.
• Overcame challenges due to economic volatility and a global pandemic.
• Ensured quality of ingredients was consistent through a continuous auditing of suppliers.
• Adjusted prices in order to combat the devaluation of local currency to manage P& L.
• Capitalized and catered to increased demand by taking quick action with material planning
and supply chain during the uprising.
• Expanded services by offering catering for outdoor parties, gatherings and events.
• Updating the menu with new products to excite customers and adapt to commercial trends by
providing travel-friendly packaging for the tourist consumer base (i.e. - packaged thyme, labneh).
Reported to Marketing Manager solely managing Cinnabon, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Carvel Ice Cream brands in the UAE.
• Developing and implementing annual strategic objectives, marketing calendars and budgets across portfolio.
• Preparing and aligning achievements and initiatives to local and global management.
• Implemented various BTL activations and B2B partnerships (key success is: Cinnabon Rolling &
Baking Event).
• Attended online “Focus Brands” webinars for debriefing on upcoming brand updates, innovations
and quarterly strategies.
• Developing & innovating new local products based on the market trends in coordination with
global teams (ex: Nutella Mini Bon).
• Briefing and managing creative, social and PR agencies to insure implementation of marketing
initiatives whilst insuring brand identity.
• Conducted weekly store visits targeting underperforming stores to identify opportunities for
growth & develop an action plan accordingly
• Researched and tracked competitor activities to identify customer trends and develop and monitor
pricing strategies
• Supported 8 store openings with operations team, leading the marketing implementation
Handling two of the main categories at Americana - Seafood and the cooked categories - across the GCC and Levant markets.
• Responsible for the marketing budget and in-store branding including the design, production and distribution of promotional materials to support the marketing campaigns.
• Analyzing the market, including competitors and consumers, to evaluate and execute marketing strategies effectively and identify adverting opportunities.
• Responsible for introducing new products to the market and pricing them accordingly.
• Attending and organizing sales promotional events, school events and exhibitions in order to
sample current and new products throughout various cities.
• Managed the relationship between Americana and Fatafeat TV to promote brand awareness by
creating exclusive content for on-air.
• Handling a local and a global agency to manage the design and production of marketing materials
for product developments such as: in-store branding, catalogs, leaflets, artworks, and new advertising elements to be used for Americana across various markets.
• Responsible for VISA’s yearly media plan and its various campaigns on the various offline media.
• Prepared competitive reviews for the client on daily, monthly and quarterly bases on all media.
• Came up with innovative new opportunities for the client to increase awareness in the GCC, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Morocco markets.
• Prepared full fledge presentations to the client covering the plans implemented along with the result analysis.
• Coordinated between the advertising agency and the suppliers for the creative material and strictly made sure all deadlines were met.
• Reported to the Account Director on a weekly and monthly basis.
• Built an unrivalled partnership with the client throughout the time.
• Responsible for client’s needs and working closely on planning and implementing BTL campaigns and relevant projects
• Handling multiple accounts for DSF with main focus on Jumbo electronics full campaign during 2008 (GITEX, DSF and some Radio and print campaigns).
• Responsible for jumbo’s in store signage.
• Handling Samsung mobile catalogue.