Market Entry . FMCG . Pakistan . Gulf

Salman Sayyid at Singapore Airport in 2026
Salman Sayyid at Singapore Airport in 2026

20 years in FMCG. I've done it.

Now I help others do it faster.

Market Entry, Distribution, Tariff Strategy and Growth for brands entering Pakistan and Gulf markets.

BASE
Karachi, Pakistan

ORIGIN
Hamburg, Germany

Market Entry

〰️

FMCG Distribution

〰️

TARIFF ADVISORY

〰️

720M PKR. REVENUE

〰️

Pakistan . UAE . Gulf

〰️

Private Label

〰️

Import / Export

〰️

Trade Policy

〰️

Brand Strategy

〰️

Toptal

〰️

Market Entry 〰️ FMCG Distribution 〰️ TARIFF ADVISORY 〰️ 720M PKR. REVENUE 〰️ Pakistan . UAE . Gulf 〰️ Private Label 〰️ Import / Export 〰️ Trade Policy 〰️ Brand Strategy 〰️ Toptal 〰️

WHAT I DO

I don't advise
from the outside.
I've built  IT.

I Co-founded Samrah Enterprises from zero and scaled it to 720M PKR. peak annual revenue over 11 years.

Negotiating import contract, managing key accounts and building the team from the ground up.

That is the foundation every engagement I take on is built from.

Today, I consult for international brands entering Pakistan and the Gulf, Trade bodies navigating tariff and policy complexity and founders who need a senior operator not just a strategist in their corner.

Available for fractional mandates, project engagements and select advisory roles.

ABOUT

THE STORY
SO FAR

I never finished college. I was already learning faster outside it. By sixteen I had built and sold my first 486 desktop computer and was running IT support across the homes in my neighborhood, curiosity was always the engine. The classroom just couldn’t keep up.

That same curiosity took me to Hamburg. First to Miami Ad School, Europe then to a German vocational school where I earned a Diploma in Kommunikationdesign. Entirely in German. I learned the language to B2 while studying the discipline. Hard. Exactly the kind of challenge I needed.

I worked in web, app and UI/UX design contributed to early AR projects and watched technology move from experiment to application in real time. Then came the call from Pakistan: build an FMCG distribution company from zero. I came back and did exactly that splitting three months in Hamburg, three months in Karachi for two years while the foundations were laid.

That company became Samrah Enterprises. With one imported brand in 2013. 720M PKR. peak annual revenue. 20+ international brands. A 400M PKR. processing and packaging facility. Fresh St! in UAE retail. A team of 100+, none of it funded by credentials. All of it built by showing up, learning fast and refusing to stop at the first wall.

I don’t lead with a degree because I don’t have one in the traditional sense. I lead with what I’ve built and what I know how to build for others. Today that means market entry consulting, trade advisory and founding new ventures of my own including Blitz Sports, Awj Global and Express Works LLP. The curiosity hasn’t changed. The stakes are just higher.

BY THE NUMBERS

720

M PKR.

PEAK ANNUAL REVENUE SCALED FROM ZERO

20

& MORE

INTERNATIONAL BRANDS ONBOARDED AND DISTRIBUTED

400

M PKR.

DAIRY AND FROZEN PROCESSING AND PACKAGING FACILITY BUILT FROM SCRATCH

15

& MORE

YEARS ON THE GROUND IN FMCG MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION

WHAT I HELP WITH

//01
MARKET ENTRY

PAKISTAN / UAE / GCC / GO - TO - MARKET

Entering Pakistan, U.A.E. or Gulf markets is complex. Regulatory, cultural and commercial. I design market entry blueprints grounded in how these markets actually work, not how they look on a slide deck.


//02
DISTRIBUTION DESIGN

MODERN TRADE / EXPORT / CHANNEL STRATEGY

Whether building from zero or restructuring a broken channel. I design distribution frameworks with the right partners, incentive structures and coverage models. Modern trade, export.


//03
TARIFF & TRADE

IMPORT/EXPORT / TARIFF STRUCTURES / G2G

15 years of managing import contracts, freight negotiations and tariff-efficient supply chains. I help brands and trade bodies navigate regulatory complexity and build price models that survive the real market.


//04
GROWTH & VENTURES

PRIVATE LABEL / BRAND LAUNCH / P&L GROWTH

Pricing strategy, category expansion, margin management and commercial partnerships. I’ve launched private label brands active in U.A.E. retail and built a café from concept to two operational branches.

TRACK RECORD

PROOF
OF WORK

CARREFOUR PAKISTAN, IMTIAZ SUPERMARKET, AL FATAH, SPAR, JALAL SONS

Some of the accounts negotiated and onboarded across Pakistan’s modern trade.


FRESH ST! / Private label

Samrah’s private label brands active in U.A.E. retail markets i.e. West Zone, Grandiose, Gala, Noon, Amazon and many more.


Pakistan International Airlines

Corporate tendering business secured as a distinct institutional revenue channel.


Union Pay QR Integration

USD 100,000 digital payments partnership negotiated and closed for Naheed Supermarket for QR and Web payments.


Trade delegations

Represented Pakistan’s commercial interests across Thailand, Malaysia and U.S.A.


QR Masterpass launch

Integrated Digital payments partnership negotiated and closed for Naheed Supermarket for QR payments through Masterpass App.

STATUS

CURRENT
2026

LOCATION

Karachi, Pakistan


AVAILABILITY

Yes


TYPE

Fractional / Project Advisory


MARKETS

Pakistan / U.A.E. / Gulf


VENTURES

Blitz Sports, Awj Global, Express Works LLP (Founding Stage)


I work best with brands that need a senior commercial operator, not just a strategist. Someone who has carried the target, managed the team and knows what happens when the plan meets the market.

Particularly suited to international brands entering Pakistan or Gulf and trade bodies navigating tariff and market access challenges.

GET IN TOUCH

Whether you’re entering Pakistan or the U.A.E. for the first time, rebuilding your distribution model or need a founder-level operator for your next chapter

I’d like to hear what you’re working on.

LET’S
BUILD IT.

TOP 3% TALENT

Vetted byHire me