Following the Scent to Success to Grow her Rose Water Business: The Case of Zeina Wazzan

Zeina Wazzan, a Syrian refugee now living in Turkey, has been selling rose water and other essences on a small scale. As the case begins, she is at an inflection point. She has just obtained a business permit that would allow her to start marketing her products under her own brand name. Also, she has just bought a machine that would allow her to increase production tenfold. Wazzan wants to expand the business and is weighing these options: 1) selling more to her current and new (potential) bulk wholesale customers, 2) selling more to retailers, or 3) selling more by launching her own shop and offering not only her products, but also those of other Syrian women who produce natural goods on a small scale.

This case is part of a four-case collection, each about a real entrepreneur with a business operating in the Turkish food and agriculture sector. Other cases in the collection include:

• A Social Entrepreneur Explores Alternative Business Models During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Rawan Hudaifa (WDI # 2-918-962)
• A Cheese Producer Pursues a New Market through E-commerce: The Case of Mohamed Bakkar (WDI # 3-090-835)
• An Artisanal Bread Baker Diversifies her Product Line: The Case of Devrim Mumcuogullari (WDI # 1-121-143)

• Understand distribution channels (or “place” from the 4Ps of marketing) and their tradeoffs.
• Develop a channel strategy for a business.
• Understand the concepts of a brand and a value proposition, and their roles in creating unique value for a business.
• Create a value proposition by applying the “Start with why” framework by Simon Sinek.