Consulting & Advisory
Strategy That Gets Built
Brand and commercial strategy, Africa advisory, IP strategy and founder counsel — from an operator who has built, scaled and protected brands, not a consultant working from theory.
ZOS Creative Co
We work with a small number of clients at any one time — and we take the ones we take seriously.
We work at operator level: inside the business, close to its model, its market and its leadership, and still in the room when the hard calls come. That demands focus, so we are deliberately selective about who we take on — not distant. If the problem is real and the ambition is serious, we want the conversation.
Capabilities
What you can engage us for.
Brand & commercial strategy
The core position, business model and growth thesis — made clear, defensible and ready to build on. For teams who can feel the ceiling but can't yet name the move.
Positioning & go-to-market
The story, the proposition and the plan to take it to market without diluting it. Repositioning that sharpens what's true rather than papering over it.
Africa market entry & partnerships
Entering or scaling across African markets with the intelligence, judgement and relationships to do it credibly — not a strategy written from a distance.
IP & brand protection strategy
Treating brand, formulation and know-how as the balance sheet they are. Deciding what to protect, where, and how it maps to how you intend to grow.
Venture building & founder counsel
Building alongside you — and the high-stakes, in-the-room counsel founders and leadership teams need when the decisions are hard and the path isn't obvious.
How we work
From diagnosis to execution.
Diagnose
We start with the truth of the business: where it really stands, what is working, and what is quietly in the way.
Position
We sharpen the strategy and the story until both are unmistakable and hard to argue with.
Build
We stay through execution. A strategy nobody acts on is worth nothing.
Engagement
Ways to work together.
Strategic diagnostic
A focused engagement to get to the truth of the business and leave you with a clear, defensible direction. Most relationships start here.
Ongoing advisory
A retained relationship for founders and leadership teams who need judgement in the room as the decisions come — not a report once a quarter.
Project & build
Hands-on work through execution on a defined brief: a repositioning, a market entry, a launch, an IP strategy. We stay until it's real.
The practice
Who you're working with.
ZOS Creative is led by Zeze Oriaikhi-Sao — founder of Malée, one of Africa's first global luxury fragrance and body care brands, and the subject of a United Nations WIPO case study on branding and competitiveness. The practice advises from a position few can claim: that of an operator who has built, scaled and protected brands across African and international markets, guest-lectured at London Business School and INSEEC, and prepared institution-grade work for FCDO-level Africa engagement — not a consultant working from theory.
Selected work
Work & recognition.
WIPO case study
The subject of the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case study "From Africa with love: branding and competitiveness" — international recognition of brand-building and IP strategy in African markets.
Spice TV Africa Honours
Honoured at the Spice TV Africa Honours (2018) for building one of Africa's best beauty brands.
The Atlanta Post
Named among Africa's innovators by The Atlanta Post, alongside Aliko Dangote.
African Fashion International
Concept and design of the African Fashion International (AFI) awards statue.
Malée Natural Science
Founder and builder of one of Africa's first global luxury fragrance and body care brands — winner of FAIRLADY Best of Beauty (2012), Mama & Baby (2017) and Pure Beauty (2016) awards, stocked by Harvey Nichols and sold across 11 markets.
How it starts
A conversation, not a proposal.
Because we work with a small number of clients at a time, we start by understanding where the business really is. Tell us the situation. If we're the right people for it, we'll say so — and if we're not, we'll say that too, and point you to who is.
info@zoscreative.com · Johannesburg · London