The good thymes for a good time

Nayla Menhem, Liliane Elias Youakim and Aliaa Khoury

Sitting on October 25, 2018, in the middle of his thyme field in Kfarhouna, Fady Aziz was Nayla Menhem and
perplexed! He was very proud of the thyme that he produced in an artisanal way and wondered Liliane Elias Youakim are
if he should accept the monthly orders of more than 13,000 kg that he had just received from both based at Business
abroad. Department, Lebanese
University, Beirut, Lebanon.
In January 2016, Fady Aziz, a branding specialist living in the capital Beirut, who knew Aliaa Khoury is based at
nothing about agriculture, made a bet with the priest of his village Kfarhouna on his ability to Department of Research,
ESA Business School,
invest in an agricultural activity. The idea of thyme appeared at a breakfast with his children
Beirut, Lebanon.
where he realized their huge consumption of this product to such a point that his daughter
when she stammered her first words “dad, mom” also pronounced the word “zaatar” which
means thyme. He went to the market to meet the industrialists and learn about the
specificities of this product. Shocked by the unethical practices of the thyme production
(20 per cent thyme and 80 per cent sawdust and other residues), he decided to create an
authentic thyme, purely artisanal and totally different from what was being sold on the
market.
He obtained the right to exploit a plot of land belonging to the Monastery of St. George
where he sowed 25,000 thyme plants on an area of 6000 m2. Today, staring at his field, he
wondered about the future of his thyme in case he would accept the received orders that
exceeded his production capacity, which was 7000 kg per month.

An overview prior to the launching of “The Good Thymes”

Subsequent to his market research and his visits to some industries, Aziz discovered that
Lebanese thyme:
䊏 Was part of the trio of the main products (the other two being the “bzurat” and the
“baklawa”) that Lebanese people and tourists undoubtedly took with them abroad.
䊏 Was a major product among the other seasonal products prepared in the villages, and
being part of what was called “mouné” (which results in the preparation and
preservation of products for consumption during the off-season).
䊏 Caracoled in sales of dough stuffed with thyme known as “Man’ouché”.
䊏 occupied a prominent place in Lebanese cuisine. It was used to decorate certain
dishes and it took the first place in the famous “Lebanese sandwich” for children -
especially schoolchildren – as well for adults. Disclaimer. This case is written
solely for educational purposes
and is not intended to represent
䊏 had neither an identity nor an image like Aleppo thyme or Jordanian thyme. successful or unsuccessful
managerial decision-making.
M. Aziz wanted to differentiate his thyme from this classic “mouné” image. He had a specific The authors may have dis-
goal: create a story about thyme to put in light his village -Kfarhouna-, show both Beirut guised names; financial and
other recognizable information
citizens and foreigners that this thyme comes from a forgotten village in the south of to protect confidentiality.

DOI 10.1108/EEMCS-05-2019-0113 VOL. 9 NO. 3 2019, pp. 1-22, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2045-0621 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 1
 Lebanon and promote this place that was dear to him. He also tried to show that it was
possible to set up a business outside Beirut and make it stand out.
Weaponed, due to his consulting profession, with a wide network of contacts and VIP in his
client portfolio (presidential palace, ministries, LibanPost, celebrities, etc.), Aziz multiplied
the chances to promote his own brand according to international standards. These
underlying motives to Aziz’s tacit reflection led him to create “The Good Thymes”, a star of
natural items in the culinary world that he sought to propel internationally.
Passionate about this project, Aziz opened his first store in Kfarhouna on his parents
building. This store was not only a point of sale but the modest production workshop as
well. It was stretched over an area of 28 m2 (3.5 x 8 m2) where one household appliance was
housed to grind the ingredients in addition to two tables on which all the work has been
done so far (preparation, grinding of ingredients, packaging) and three shelves where the
range of products has been exposed.

An activity in its beginning

Aziz employed in his Kfarhouna shop six local Lebanese people (housewives and university
students) who were paid on an hourly basis. He also hired seven foreign workers working in
the fields, on a seasonal basis whose main task was to ensure the picking and the cleaning
of the thyme in the lands. Given the shortage of labor in his village, he paid his workers on a
daily basis four to five times their counterparts in agricultural areas. He did not employ any
permanent staff and, in the absence of work opportunities in the area, the workshop team
and workers returned to work upon request. He recently employed a driver to make the
local deliveries on Saturdays (mission initially performed by M. Aziz).
For prompt delivery, he temporarily turned a room in his apartment in Beirut into a temporary
storehouse to put in the weekly stock he brought back from Kfarhouna, to send it to various
outlets, individuals and abroad at the end of the week.
Financially, Aziz did not benefit from any external subsidy, did not depend on any investor
and practiced the self-financing while reinvesting the modest profits in the development of
his activity. He had some serenity as he was not tied to investors and had no bills to pay.
Aziz still does not have a business plan in good standing. He relied on his experience in the
field to manage his business in his own way, without any formal constraints whatsoever. He
took the risk of investing “as if he was simply playing the lottery”. The return on investment
was at the rendezvous because he believed in putting aside the calculating mind of an
investor 1 + 1 = 2.

Harvest and farmers’ selection conditions

To ensure quality criteria, certain conditions must be met at different levels:
䊏 The harvest collection conditions: the climate played a preponderant role during this
phase where it was essential to pick the flowers after their maturation, in other words,
when they became white, and especially not before this moment to get a good taste of
thyme. Respecting this condition was essential because an early collection generated
a large volume to the detriment of the quality. Based on these requirements, Aziz could
only pick the flowers twice a year, knowing that farmers in the field, who cared less
about quality, reached the five times, which means three times more than him.
䊏 The farmers’ selection: as the amount of harvest that Aziz had was not enough for him,
he sought to obtain partial supply of thyme from farmers in the neighboring villages.
Nevertheless, to maintain the quality criteria he had set, he required the following four
conditions to be met when selecting these farmers:

PAGE 2 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j VOL. 9 NO. 3 2019

 – determine the timing of the harvest himself as farmers were generally interested in
the volume while he was looking for quality;

– send his own seasonal staff to pick them from their land;
– not to have in their fields, from near or far, plantations requiring the use of
pesticides to preserve the thyme natural aspect; and

– do not use chemical fertilizers.

From the process of cultivation and preparation of raw thyme to the creation of mixes
The cultivation and the preparation of raw thyme went through various stages (Figure 1) and
must continue, according to M. Aziz, to be based on a purely human intervention “my dream
was not to have a thyme factory. I absolutely wanted, to maintain the human intervention, to
keep the stamp of a village product, of a purely artisanal product but respecting the
international standards with a restricted introduction of the machines in accessory tasks.
There was as well no automation possible or planned to treat thyme other than manually”.
As well as thyme, sumac, a basic material in all mixes, was purchased in stems and
processed directly in the workshop by Aziz’s staff where it was cleaned, dried, beaten and
sifted to be separated from seeds.
The other ingredients (sesame seeds, cashews, almonds, pistachios, etc.) were either purchased
from local suppliers or imported from abroad. As for the assortment of all kinds of nuts and dried
fruits, they were directly cleaned in the workshop and partly ground into small pieces.
Once these raw materials were processed, the mixes preparation was Aziz’s sole
responsibility. He decided, in this context, to create 10 thyme blends to speak of “pure
Lebanese thyme”. The range “The Good Thymes” was quite wide and includes 39 products
of which only 12 were marketed and numbered from 1 to 8. Those numbered from 1 to 8
(Figure 2) were available all year round while the remaining four did not have numbers
because they were rather seasonal (Wildmix, infusion, etc.).

Figure 1 Raw thyme cultivation and preparation process

The process steps Description

The thyme cultivation was done once and was renewed when
The cultivation plants were weakened, every five to eight years, unlike other
plants such as vegetables.

The harvest in the The picking was carried out respecting the harvest conditions
lands presented above.

The drying of thyme This operation was done in the shade and had to take its time to
avoid the subsequent mold of the product.

The picking of the

It was a matter of separating the flower from non-consumable
flower used in the
stems.
product

The thyme cleaning This step was to separate the thyme from all sorts of residues
through five sieves (sawdust, sand, dust, etc.) that could affect its quality.

This partial grinding allowed the customers to see the components

The grinding of raw of the product since a grinding in the form of powder generates
thyme in thick suspicions about the credibility of traders because of what they
texture could hide in their products (sawdust, sesame crusts, etc.).

VOL. 9 NO. 3 2019 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 3

 Figure 2 The good thymes mixes

07 Oriental Mix
Pistachio, Fennel, Cumin,
Aniseed, Pumpkin seeds.

06 Kfar-Houne Mix 08 Green Mix

Goat Kechek1, Black Creole, Fennel.
seeds, Garlic powder.

4 ingredients
found in all thyme mixes:
05 Fruity Mix
Raw thyme 01 Classic Mix
Apricots, Cranberries, Sumac (Basic thyme
Dates, Figs, Aniseed. Sesame seeds consumed by all).
Salt

04 Hot Mix 02 Nutty Mix

Pepper, Ginger, Garlic Almonds, Cashew,
Powder, Dried tomatoes2, Peanuts, Pecan
03 Superfoodie Mix
Mint, Sunflower seeds.
Goji Berries, Walnuts,
Pumpkin seeds, Black
seeds, Chia seeds, Flaxseed

1 2
1
M. Aziz bought the “Kechek” he used in a mix The dried tomatoes were
bearing the name of his village ("Kfarhouna mix") prepared by village women
from a woman in “Kfarhouna”. He refused to supported by associations
imposing their own
substitute the local production of this ingredient for
conditions.
a cheaper “Kechek”, prepared by immigrants and
nomads, available on the market.

For Christmas 2018, a new product, a blend of thyme and chocolate, was launched and
quickly ran out of stock. It was the same for a seasonal infusion based on thyme having had
great success and whose quantity deserved, according to Aziz, to be tripled for the
following season.

Specificities of “The Good Thymes” products

The Lebanese market knew brand’s plethora of thyme distributors regardless of the
companies and individuals who marketed it without brand name. Aziz aimed to create a
brand that communicated to foreigners and reflects international standards.
The choice of the brand “The Good Thymes” was not random but recalled the good old
days when people spent good time in the fields and where the crops were abundant “The
Good Thymes as a good product”.
“The Good Thymes” products were part of “Gourmet” products.
Some mixes were intended for people with a traditional taste and enjoying spicy products,
others were for the younger generation such as mix n˚3 (“superfoodie”) which became the
second bestseller after the mix n˚1 (« classic mix »). The latter was suddenly very
successful as buyers realized the authenticity of the product compared to what they used to
consume on the market. They realized that the thyme used was empty of any undesirable
material that could be added.
Addressing the young people, Aziz had a specific goal: to make thyme “a trend” so that
young couples started looking for this product like their parents.

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The “classic mix” represented the basic and most consumed thyme. It was hardly
perishable when kept at room temperature. On the other hand, for the mixes containing
tomatoes, hazelnuts, almonds, chocolate, “kéchék”, dried fruits etc., their preservation in
the fridge was indispensable. It had been also through these new mixes that Aziz managed
to make a difference in the design and marketing of thyme.

Commercialisation approach
The first packets of thyme were sold in the store of Aziz in Kfarhouna on the 25 of July 2017,
to Lebanese people living abroad. At midnight, a car having noticed a sign in English,
stopped in front of his door while he was quietly preparing and testing his mixes.
Subsequent to a small tasting, the husband, silently enchanted by the variety of blends
offered, took a carton and filled it with the assortment spread on the shelves to offer these
products to family members and friends in Michigan. Aziz was thus comforted regarding
the importance of thyme and the place it had among the products that may be of interest to
any traveler. At that time, the product was still packed in transparent bags, without any
proper brand.
Three weeks later, at Assumption Day, the people of the village and those living in Beirut
and their friends discovered his shop, tasted his products and rushed on the mass
The discovery of
purchase. Sales reached their peak that he realized the importance of his offer. He then the Thymes at
tripled the amount for Beirut Design Fair, held in September 2017, in which he participated Assumption Day
to launch the “The Good Thymes”. It was a big leap forward for him because the media, the
journalists and the people were all present.
Then, he participated in exhibitions such as “Souk El Tayeb” in Beirut and placed his range
of products in thirty selected outlets (dedicated to the sale of natural products, craftsmen, Exhibition
gourmets). But, they were also available online. He recently explored the business market preparation (Souk El Tayeb)
by attracting restaurants, caterers, hotels, etc.
In March 2018, Aziz was invited to an exhibition in Qatar. The craze for his products was at
the rendezvous to such an extent that he was out of stock on the second day. His stand was
among the three foreign stands to have hosted the Prime Minister accompanied by five
ministers. “The Good Thymes” was presented to them as one of the forum stars and they
were invited to taste it. Since this exhibition, Aziz began receiving many orders from abroad.
Impressed by their growing numbers, he recognized that word of mouth seemed to have
been the most convenient channel to boost sales. In addition, anyone receiving a gift of
thyme could later become a potential customer. Moreover, the customer return rate was
around 70 per cent and there were public testimonials from customers pleading for the
authenticity of his thyme. Aziz had no salesmen and did not go to the sales outlets to take
orders, as it was the case in other companies, but rather expected the people in charge of
the points of sale to provide orders according to their needs and then the driver delivered
the required quantities. He opted for delivery all over the world, via DHL but at the expense
of the customer. Local orders started and he was able to satisfy them but when it came to
export his products, he was unable to do so in the absence of the required certificates.
Customers to whom Aziz spoke were generally not price-sensitive, but they focused on
natural products that had a history. They were, therefore, ready to spend 15 000 LL ($10) for
a package of 350 g of classic thyme or 30 000 LL ($20) for mixtures considered original
(nutty mix, hot mix, fruity mix), price considered to be quite high compared to market prices
(ranging from $10 to $20). Aziz was aware of this reality and assigned the high price of his
products to the fact of being entirely natural and to the increase in raw material prices
(30 per cent increase in sesame seed price). He also stressed on the charges imposed by
the development of the brand (registration fees, purchase and maintenance of barcodes,
needed certificates, packaging, labeling, marketing and communication, distribution,
copyright, design, etc.) and operating expenses (irrigation system, labor costs, investment

VOL. 9 NO. 3 2019 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 5

 costs in the field and in the new premises, etc.). In addition to some hidden costs such as
sterilization of the workshop, preparation of the land and the creation of a new road linking
the land to the main road. However, the decline in the purchasing power of Lebanese was
not without repercussion on the purchase of “The Good Thymes” products.
A slight price reduction was granted to customers visiting the store in Kfarhouna and a gift
was sometimes offered as new mixtures for tasting.
He sought to increase the reputation of his range via Facebook and Instagram but he shyly
invested in the media ($450 in two years). He used organic traffic to promote his products
range and drew a lot of interest from exhibitions mainly in Souk El Tayeb where he
especially met the Arabs (exhibition held every Saturday in the Beirut downtown and
primarily intended to the gourmet products). He also wanted to involve people in the harvest
of thyme. He organized in 2018 a small event for his friends inviting them to participate in
the thyme harvest. But, as others showed their will to live this short adventure, he found
himself with 105 people. He asked the women of the village to prepare the food to be
served in the field.
In January 2019, Aziz was asked to exhibit his range in the shop of the Lebanese National
Museum.
Aziz opted for biodegradable plastic bags, but despite this specificity, he learned that their
post-degradation released fine particles that could later harm the fish. Their replacement by
glass was the best alternative but it remained skeptical because the production of glass
was, in turn, ecologically harmful to the environment, not practical to handle and even less
to transport. In the absence of convincing alternatives, he maintained the first option.

The Good Thymes, what future?

Two years later, considering the small size of his initial store and seeing its activity growing,
Aziz took the right to exploit, for ten years, an old school which was no longer in service and
turned it into a new workshop. He wanted through this step to revive abandoned sites in his
village, on the one hand, and acquired the various certificates (from the Ministry of Health,
Trade and Industry, etc.) that let him access properly the international market, on the other
hand. This need for a more spacious place was especially noticed when a non-
governmental organization “Merci Corps”, working in the economic development of
disadvantaged communities, offered him two new machines (one for “vacuum”, the other
for “filling”) as a support in his project. The purpose of these machines was simply to make
the packaging process faster and more hygienic.
The initial intention was to meet the challenge with the priest by invigorating an untapped
heritage in southern Lebanon far from any kind of calculation, putting in sight the return to a
natural and artisanal production of Lebanese thyme.
Today, “The good Thymes” had acquired its credentials as a natural product worthy of
being exhibited at the Lebanese National Museum. The keen interest in this range of
products was only getting stronger and witnessed through the multiplication of orders both
on the local and international market. The question was to know whether by fulfillment all
Keywords:
these orders and the monthly 13,000 kg, Aziz would be able to remain faithful to the
Social enterprise,
Value chain, philosophy that led him to invest in his village without impairing the natural and artisanal
Value creation aspect of his thyme!

Corresponding author
Liliane Elias Youakim can be contacted at: lyouakim@sodetel.net.lb

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