Category Marketing Director, Unilever Foodsolutions, UK
As a Foodsolutions professional, I work with customers rather than consumers – that is, people who run restaurants, cafés, and all kinds of other catering establishments. What I do is hugely varied: from May to September, I pull together marketing plans, thinking through how we can best respond to market opportunities and trends. Once these plans are agreed, we go on to implement them – which involves a hectic calendar full of product launches and promotions.
One project I got really excited about was the Flora London Marathon. We promoted the Flora/Becel brand to chefs and caterers by using celebrity chef Anton Edelmann's experience as a marathon runner himself. Through blogs and a regular magazine column, Anton really helped get the brand's 'heart health' message through to his industry colleagues.
I came to this role after taking a Chartered Institute of Marketing diploma as a postgrad, and then progressing through a series of marketing positions in the FMCG sector. I was at Nestlé for several years, before deciding I wanted to work for a company with a more European feel – and I love the international flavour you get at Unilever. Another big attraction for me was Unilever's ethical record, and I was also very keen on the company's impressive 'foodie-ness' and culinary expertise.
"Right now, there are some enormous projects coming through the system, which I'm definitely looking forward to getting stuck into. And I've got the support of a dedicated, capable and driven team of people, whom I know I can talk to whenever I need to.
