4 minute read.

Recently, we were lucky to catch up with Sara Hickmott, Key Account Manager at Hunter. Sara plays a pivotal role in Hunter, having joined over 8 years ago. With her experience in luxury brands and cosmetics, Sara maintains a number of important relationships with some of Hunter’s key clients.

What does Account Management mean at Hunter? 

When asked the question, Sara is quick to make the point that the traditional sales-buyer relationship is no longer enough for major key accounts. Luxury packaging customers expect more – more service, more idea generation, more innovation, more creativity, more understanding and more results.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach here. Customers these days are looking for a partner, someone who really understands and can add value to their business. At Hunter, establishing essential relationships is one of our most important competitive advantages.

With Sara’s extensive experience at Hunter, she focuses her efforts on building long-term relationships, regularly meeting our customers to help with long term planning. Sara embodies Hunter’s efforts to position the company as an extension of our clients’ marketing teams.

Being focused in the luxury packaging sector allows us to really know our craft. At Hunter, a lot of our focus is on supporting our clients, not only in keeping our fingers on the marketing pulse and staying informed, but also in ensuring that they understand what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.

What are the hallmarks of Hunter’s approach to account management?

Empathy and an ability to put herself in the shoes of the person she’s working with have always been top of her priorities. “At Hunter we’re more than just a packaging supplier – we work alongside our customer’s teams as a de-facto outsourced member. I always ask myself what can we do for them to help them reach their goals? What luxury packaging innovation can we bring to the table that would help their brand achieve record-breaking sales?

There’s also a very strong commitment to streamline the client experience, whether it is in regards to reporting, communication, or monthly meetings. “At Hunter we want it to be easy for our clients!

What role does technical knowledge play in your customer relations?

A practical and current understanding of materials and how they work with different construction approaches is key to Hunter’s success with global brands.

There’s different ways to make the same luxury gifting bag and each will have a different price point. The key here is to maximise quality through a practical knowledge of different construction alternatives, while delivering good value for our clients.

And what about inspiration and innovation?

Having worked for the world’s largest cosmetics and spirits brands, Hunter is well positioned when it comes to supporting clients and their brands.

Our 360° expertise is no empty claim. We are constantly monitoring and gathering market intelligence. Vision and the ability to spot trends is one of our competitive advantages. This is reflected in our signature Inspiration Workshops that have become established dates in our clients’ diaries.

What makes Hunter a trusted partner?

“Our supply chain and sustainability protocols are aligned with our clients’ mission, vision and values. We act on behalf of our clients to ensure 100% compliance of the brand’s truths, helping them deliver innovative products to customers across multiple growth markets and geographies in a timely, cost-effective, efficient and socially sound way.”

How do you think your customers see Hunter?

The best measure of Hunter’s ability to walk the talk comes from the testimonials we receive from our customers:

“Working with Hunter is an absolute pleasure from start to finish in our developments. Our businesses work together in true partnership every step of the way, right from initial design conception through to execution of finished product. They are open minded, flexible, collaborative and great at problem solving.”

~ Senior Product Manager PZ Cussons.