Session Partner

The Silk Initiative (TSI)

We are the future-focused insight, strategy, and innovation people.

By 2030, Asian consumers will make up 64% of the world’s middle class. With more disposable income, they will be looking for quality products from trusted global brands, tailored to their unique needs. From understanding the consumer landscape to evaluating competition, getting your brand strategy right is critical. 

TSI is one of the world’s few Asia-based consumer goods brand consultancies sitting at the intersection of foresight, strategy, innovation, and creative development. From our base in Shanghai, we help clients across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the United States make smarter brand and product decisions. Our end-to-end consulting solutions are offered entirely in-house, providing one-of-a-kind solutions for research and development, insight and strategy, as well as design and innovation teams.

With a focus on consumer goods, TSI has worked with several leading health and wellness brands, including: Edgewell Personal Care; Reckitt Benckiser; Sanofi; and, Swiss. Our experience across Europe also includes work with brands such as: Arla; Bord Bia; Danone; Pernod Ricard; and, Unilever.

Find out more at: www.thesilkinitiative.com. 

 

Our Speakers

Zarina Kanji - Business Development, UK & Nordics, Alibaba Group

Zarina

Zarina Kanji has been leading Tmall Global Business Development for health and wellness, and food and beverage brands at Alibaba UK & Nordics since September 2018.

Zarina is responsible for helping brands to enter the Chinese market and build their business by connecting them to the over 1.24 billion global annual active consumers across the Alibaba ecosystem, which includes 953 million consumers in China. She is based in London.

Prior to joining Alibaba, Zarina was VP of Fashion & Sport Brand Partnerships at Lazada Group, Southeast Asia’s leading ecommerce company acquired by Alibaba Group in 2016. She spent the first 10 years of her career as a Buyer for House of Fraser, Ralph Lauren and Jaeger specialising in Luxury womenswear and childrenswear in Europe and the Middle East. 

Zarina has a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Marketing and Communications from Nottingham Trent University and has lived in London, Dubai and Singapore.


Andrew Cameron - Director and Partner, The Silk Initiative

Andrew Cameron

Andrew is a Director and Partner with The Silk Initiative. He leads TSI’s Insights and Strategy Team and heads the consultancy’s healthcare portfolio. From securing accurate data collection to producing strategic stories from the data that’s collected, he works with clients to identify the most effective strategies to propel their brands forward.

Originally from Sydney, Australia, Andrew has worked with some of the world’s largest consumer brands including Blackmores, Kellogg’s, and Unilever. He has a real passion for research and love for China, which led him to TSI. Here, he leverages his wide expertise to help clients like the a2 Milk Company, Bacardi, Edgewell Personal Care, Reckitt Benckiser, and Sanofi prosper within the local Chinese and broader Asian markets. 

 

Antoaneta Becker - Director – Food & Drink sector, China-Britain Business Council

Antoaneta Becker

Antoaneta has lived and worked in China for more than 20 years and, as China Business Advisor for the China Britain Business Council (CBBC), has supported hundreds of British companies entering and expanding into the Chinese market.  She has a deep understanding of the challenges international companies face in China and a powerful grasp on strategies that will overcome the pitfalls encountered on market entry.  She speaks fluent Mandarin and has reported on China’s economic trends for a range of international publications, including the Economist Intelligence Unit.

 

Read the event flyer here.

Return to the 2022 China Consumer Masterclass Series homepage here.