Gaby's Earth Foods nuts about health!

30 Jul 2015

At just 23, Adriano Salgado has taken over as Director of this family-run business, Gaby's Earth Foods. From humble beginnings 20 years ago to a thriving brand distributed nationally and in some African countries, the brand has grown to be a true South African success story.

Now some may say it is a mammoth task at just 23 but this is not the case for this dynamic, down-to-earth young man. TLC Marketing Worldwide-Africa sat down with Adriano to find out how he is adjusting to the role and to find out what he has planned for the company going forward.

TLC Marketing Worldwide: Adriano, can you tell me why the company was started and why the name Gaby's Earth Foods?

Salgado: The company was started by my dad, Manuel Salgado, or Manny as he is affectionately known, about 20 years ago. My dad wanted to provide healthy foods to consumers at an affordable price, "from his family to your family", and so the business was born. All our products are dry-roasted and contain no oil, that's what makes us unique. Gaby's Earth Foods is named after my baby sister, Gabriella - it's truly a family business!

TLC Marketing Worldwide: What are the key business practices that you have learnt from your dad?

Salgado: I have learned so much from my dad. I learn from him every day. He is truly an inspirational guy. When the company was started it was not easy. My parents fulfilled many roles in the company from sales to distribution in order to build the company and it was difficult for the first three years. My grandpa even worked with us and I am proud to say that a lot of the staff that started this journey with us are still with us today. I personally have spent time in the factory learning about the business since I was five years old and have done everything from labelling to driving a forklift, to attending sales meetings with my parents. Besides the obvious practice of hard work, the most important thing I have learnt from my dad is that business is about the relationships you build with people, from suppliers to customers and staff. Strong relationships build trust and confidence and in turn, this will help your business grow.

Manuel and Andriano Salgado

TLC Marketing Worldwide: Are there any key milestones during the growth of the company that you would like to share?

Salgado: A definite milestone would be Gaby's Earth Foods being listed in Dischem. I think both our brands share the same goal in terms of promoting health and wellness.

TLC Marketing Worldwide: Tell us a little about yourself and what your vision is for the company going forward.

Salgado: Well, I graduated from UCT with an Honours in Finance and was considering pursuing a career in investment banking in the UK. The opportunity then arose for me to take over the director role from Dad and so I chose my first love which is my family and the company. I do realise that I am in a privileged position which I am so grateful for and it's something that I would never take for granted. My vision is to take the company to the next level through building the brand and engaging with our consumers. The Gaby's Earth Foods Facebook page is launching at the beginning of August and it will be our platform to share health and wellness content. The other project I am very excited about is the revamp of our current packaging which will filter into stores in September.

TLC Worldwide Africa is a global MarTech solution that rewards consumer behaviour with experiences. For 30 years, we've been connecting people with experiences that match their passions. The uniqueness of our business model is doing this for a fraction of the cost, making it commercially viable for brands to offer free experiences to their consumers as a reward for sales, engagement, and retention. Now operating from 14 worldwide hubs, the TLC Platform connects millions of consumers with over 150,000 experience reward partners. We trust in decades of proprietary data to ensure we offer the right experience to every individual.