From Fragmentation to Scale: Using FrieslandCampina Playbook for Aba Shoemakers

FrieslandCampina is a Dutch multinational dairy cooperative headquartered in Amersfoort, Netherlands. At its core, the company is owned by dairy farmers. The model is simple but powerful: one farmer produces two truckloads of milk, another produces five, another eight. Individually, they are too small to command attention or negotiate global markets. Collectively, they become formidable.

Those farmers aggregated their output, standardized quality, built a trusted brand, and orchestrated distribution. The result is one of the world’s largest dairy companies, with annual revenues exceeding $13 billion. In Nigeria, you have your PEAK Milk from them. Scale did not come from any single farmer; it came from coordination.

The question before us is straightforward: can the same playbook work in Aba?

Imagine a single brand like Enyimba Leather Products owned and controlled by the shoemakers and leather artisans themselves, organized as a cooperative. Each small producer continues to do what they do best, but feeds into a shared brand that guarantees standards, market access, and demand. As the naira weakens and consumers increasingly turn to locally made products, such an aggregated model becomes not just attractive, but necessary.

Aggregation creates scale. Scale enables orchestration. And orchestration unlocks markets.

Under this model, the brand makes a clear promise to producers: “If you meet our standards, we will buy what you produce.” Once the demand side is fixed, production will naturally scale. Artisans will invest, hire, and expand, not because of subsidies, but because uncertainty has been removed.

Remember, the most potent business model of the 21st century is Aggregation and there are many ways to execute the playbook.

Connect via my LinkedIn | Facebook | X | TikTok | Instagram | YouTube