Consumer Products

CMS is one of the few firms to fully support each step of the consumer value chain. From the factory floor all the way to the shop door (or the customer’s front door). We help consumer facing companies create, deliver, and sell their goods, protecting their innovation and market position every step of the way. Our team is well positioned to advise clients on the transition that the consumer products market is undergoing, as digital distribution channels become the primary means of getting products to the end user. This transition requires a risk-based approach to emerging risks where regulation has not yet caught up.

We support our clients on new manufacturing and research and development projects. We advise them on the hugely complex technology, logistics and fulfilment contracts that underpin how goods reach shops and customers. We help them manage vast store portfolios. We help them navigate the rules that govern product safety and customer engagement. We protect them when crises hit or prevent them altogether. We help them grow through transformative partnerships and M&A.

Our integrated & cross-border approach

Looking to Africa, urbanisation, increased IT and technology access, growth in population and middle-class entrants are continuously creating opportunities for growth, diversification and new market entry. 

This must be balanced with an ever-changing environment that is increasingly impacted by regulatory requirements, risk management capabilities and the pursuit of standardized operational solutions.

Our South African based team of multidisciplinary dual qualified UK and South African lawyers are supported by more than 150 lawyers in over 80 offices including our offices in Angola, Mozambique, Mauritius, Kenya and Morocco.

Our services

We can advise you on:

• commercial (including sales & distribution) 
• corporate/M&A
• consumer protection & regulation
• corporate governance & compliance
• financing
• financial restructuring & insolvency
• legal due diligence
• private equity
• product liability, insurance & recalls
• property & leases
• management and franchise agreements
• tax structuring