She Built a Brand, Lost It, Then Bought It Back | Unaiswi Nyikadzino | HUMHR Career Insights
She was the first female Executive Director at Schweppes Holdings Africa. She named a brand, grew it, and bought it back when she left. Now she’s building on her own terms. Unaiswi (Una) Nyikadzino has spent more than 20 years in FMCG, agribusiness, and exports — working with The Coca-Cola Company across 15 countries, launching the FarmStyle brand in 2017, and eventually founding StandOwt, her own business growth consultancy. In this conversation with Batje, Una gets honest about what corporate life taught her, what entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe actually looks like, and why Africa’s food value chain is one of the continent’s biggest untapped opportunities. She also shares the advice nobody talks about on marriage, faith, governance, and the risk management lesson she learned from a sadza vendor. If you’re building something in Africa, this episode is for you
Unaiswi (Una) Nyikadzino made history in 2014 as the first female Executive Director at Schweppes Holdings Africa. She named and launched the FarmStyle brand in 2017. She became Commercial Director at Beit Bridge Juicing. And then she walked away from corporate to build something of her own.
In this episode, Una sits down with Batje to talk about 20+ years in FMCG, what it felt like to buy back a brand she had created ("my baby"), and why Zimbabwe's food value chain is one of Africa's most exciting, untapped frontiers. She also gets candid about faith, marriage, governance, and the risk management lesson she learned from a sadza vendor.
If you're building something or thinking about it this one is for you.
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