The CEO Magazine Asia - 09.2018

international market as well. Currently, I’m looking after both

markets, as Director.”

Exports are an enormous part of Julie’s business and the

company now exports to 80 countries around the world.

“In the past 10 years, we have been aggressively promoting

our product overseas,” Martin adds. “Exporting to 80

countries is not easy to manage. Every country has its own

culture, its own beliefs, and its own business practices. I find

that very challenging but also interesting.”

Maintaining good relationships with so many different

markets and cultures is tricky. “The most important thing is,

we work on understanding where we are in terms of each

country. At the same time, we identify every market and the

challenges they are facing,” Martin explains.

He says Julie’s relationships with its business partners are

“I’m not from the food industry originally, I’m actually

a building designer,” he says. “During the recession in the

mid 1980s I lost my job, so I was looking for work and it

was very hard. I became a door-to-door salesman, which

was difficult because not many people entertain door-to-door

salesmen,” Martin explains.

After returning to his hometown to look for work,

Martin took a job in the Julie’s warehouse. “I still remember

the director asking me, ‘Are you sure you want to work at

the warehouse? You are a designer.’ I told him I needed the

job,” Martin recalls.

From there, Martin became a delivery driver, and worked

his way up to the top. “I became a Director about five years

ago. I’ve been taking care of the domestic market for the

past 15 years; and in the past 10, I’ve taken care of the

“OUR PHILOSOPHY IS, ‘WHAT WE DON’T EAT, WE WON’T LET

OTHER PEOPLE EAT’. WE MAKE SURE THAT WE PUT ONLY THE

FINEST INGREDIENTS INTO OUR PRODUCTS. NO ARTIFICIAL

COLOURING, NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED, NO COMPROMISE.”

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