Ali Shariat

Ali believes that business should be a force for good, and wants the fruit of his life’s work to be in economic development. To achieve this, he is the Director and CEO of Coconut Merchant – a exciting company that wants to revolutionise natural foods. They do this by providing coconut products that are of premium quality, competitively priced and (most importantly!) are ethically sourced. Since starting, they now have listings in supermarkets (Sainsbury’s, Tesco, ASDA, Morrisons), pharmacies (Lloyds), department stores (Selfridges, Fenwicks) and health stores (Holland & Barrett).

Key to Ali’s success has been the unique approach to using the internet, particularly Amazon, as a means to connect with customers, build a brand following and leverage this to get further sales in traditional distribution channels. Ali then partnered with fellow Amazon Seller, Zamir Cajee to start the This Way Up Project, and later This Way Up Education, with Karen Riddick. Here they share their practices, tools and expertise to help other brands to the same in their own categories.