Alannah RossCommercial retail channel strategy and partnerships for consumer brands shaping the future of health, experience and how people live
Turning emerging behavioural shifts into commercial advantage
-
Where healthcare meets behaviour, lifestyle and identity — and where the right partnerships create disproportionate first mover advantage.
I work with brands and organisations redefining how people engage with their health — from founding a women’s health and preventative care company to advising longevity and integrated wellness companies. Shaping new categories in wearables, translating clinical and behavioural insight into market ready strategy, and supporting consumer health brands in building trust, relevance and long term engagement. -
The partnership infrastructure and commercial frameworks that take a brand from launch to lasting market presence — retail channel development, distribution partnerships, go-to-market execution and market entry across US, EMEA, APAC and the UAE.
-
As a former Director of Buying and Design Manager at Next and Lovisa, and a trend forecaster at WGSN, I help consumer brands decide what to make, what to cut and where to place their bets. That means turning consumer and market signals into product direction, building ranges around proven best sellers while finding the next ones, and working with manufacturers across China, India and Korea to take products from concept to shelf at the right cost and quality.
-
My work starts here — with understanding how people are changing: what they value, how they live, and how they define themselves. I translate those behavioural signals using STEEP trend forecasting analysis into strategic direction for brands, informing product development, positioning and go-to-market decisions before they become obvious to the market.
-
Where brands become places — and products become part of how people live and connect.
I advise on the design and positioning of experiences across hospitality, retail and cultural community environments, driving relevance and deeper engagement.
Areas of Expertise
These are the categories where customer behaviour is changing fastest, and where I’ve worked as a buyer, forecaster, founder and advisor.
Where foresight becomes strategy — and strategy becomes action
I work with founders and leadership teams in retail, fashion, CPG, consumer health and wellness to decide what to make, where to sell it and who to partner with, across the US, Europe and the Middle East.
I’ve spent fifteen years on the commercial side of consumer brands. As a Director of Buying I owned multi-million pound budgets and made the range, sourcing and margin decisions that determine whether a season works. At WGSN I spent over a decade turning consumer intelligence into product and strategy decisions for more than 35 global retail and CPG clients. Since then I’ve closed retail distribution deals, brand partnerships and enterprise agreements across the UAE, Europe and the US.
I’ve also built companies of my own in femtech and women’s health, held COO and C-suite roles, and led teams across USm EMEA, APAC and MENA, advising businesses from early stage ventures to £500M+ global brands.
What clients get is someone who has done the job, not just studied it: clearer product bets, the right retail and distribution partners, and launches that hold up once they reach the shelf.
Ways to Work Together
I work with founders and leadership teams on the product, retail and partnership decisions that shape a consumer brand’s next few years, either alongside your team or inside it.
-
For companies that need a senior commercial, partnerships or retail strategy leader in the team. I’m open to interim and permanent roles with consumer brands in the US, where I can own a function rather than advise on it.
-
An ongoing senior partner on a retainer, embedded across product direction, retail channel strategy, partnerships and commercial planning, for brands that need that experience without a full-time hire yet.
-
A clear scope, deliverables and timeline. Retail and market entry strategy, go-to-market plans, partnership frameworks, product and range direction, and foresight reports, delivered by someone who has owned the budget and managed the launch.
-
Focused half day or full day sessions to pressure-test a decision, align a leadership team, prepare for a buyer or investor meeting, or review a commercial plan, in person or remote.
What You Get
Every engagement is shaped around a decision you need to make. Most fall into one or more of these.
Strategic Direction & Foresight
Using structured foresight methods, including scenario planning and horizon scanning, to help you decide which market to enter, when to move and what to launch, grounded in fifteen years of reading consumer signals before they show up in the sales data.
End-to-end Product Development
From category insight to finished product — category strategy, supplier sourcing, design direction and buying for consumer brands building at scale.
Partnership & Ecosystem Design
Identifying the right partners, structuring the commercial framework, and activating alliances that create genuine competitive advantage — across brands, retailers, distributors, platforms and ecosystem partners. From first conversation to signed agreement and beyond.
Go-to-Market & Experience Strategy
The commercial and experiential launch infrastructure that takes a product or brand from ready to known — channel strategy, market entry, distribution partnerships and the brand moments that make it culturally relevant.
‘I don't just define strategy — I help build the partnership ecosystem required to deliver it.’
Trusted by
Hospitality & Regenerative Living Futures Report
We’re entering a new era where hospitality developments are no longer judged solely by location, size, or service—but by the systems they regenerate, the approach to healthy living they restore, and the communities they uplift.
The question forward-thinking developers, investors, and operators are now asking is:
“How can we embed regenerative living into the core of hospitality—so guests leave better than they arrived, and the land thrives in the process?”