Name: Anya Garland
Age: 26
Job title: National account executive
Company & location: Unrooted Drinks, London
Education: Health, Exercise and Nutrition at University of Bedfordshire
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Can I say… popstar?
Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? Working in food & drink allows me to bring my personal interests into my career, which was a big draw for me. I was particularly interested in B Corp values and working with mission-driven brands that have a genuine purpose behind what they do.
Within the food space, there’s a real niche for brands that care about health, organic food and looking after people, and that really resonated with me. Being able to work in an industry that aligns with my own interests and values makes the role all the more rewarding.
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): My role involves a mix of diving into data, building relationships with customers and selling our high-fibre baobab products.
No two days are the same, and I’m often out and about rather than sitting at my desk. Between trade shows and travelling to meetings at retailer head offices, there’s plenty of variety, whether I’m visiting Ocado in Hatfield, Holland & Barrett in Nuneaton or Booths in Preston. It’s a role that combines the analytical side of the business with getting out there, meeting people and building customer relationships.
“You can build your knowledge and experience as you go, so don’t let not knowing everything put you off taking that next step”
What does a typical day look like for you? A typical day can involve anything from analysing data and preparing presentation decks to heading out on store visits. There’s a real mix of work, depending on what’s happening across the business and what needs my attention. I might spend part of the day looking at performance and preparing for customer meetings, then find myself getting involved in something completely different, like being roped into filming content by the marketing team!
That variety is what makes the role interesting, as there’s always something different going on.
Tell us how you went about applying for your job: I went through a recruiter I’d worked closely with before, who understood what I was looking for in a role and was able to put me forward for the opportunity.
The process involved a first-stage interview over Teams, followed by a second-stage interview in person, which included a task.
One of the challenges was getting to know the company, as it wasn’t necessarily a household name. I also had to present to my future boss, their boss and their boss, which was quite daunting!
The commercial task pushed me outside my comfort zone, too, as I hadn’t had any previous experience with that kind of work in my international account executive role. It was a great opportunity to challenge myself, learn something new and push beyond what I’d done before.
What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? For me, it’s the opportunity to connect with people who share similar interests and values. I really enjoy trade shows as they’re a great way to meet people and build relationships across the industry.
There’s also nothing quite like the feeling of winning a new listing or securing higher distribution for a product. Seeing that hard work pay off and knowing you’ve helped get a product in front of more customers is a real highlight, and the excitement of those wins never gets old!
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that having a great new product is enough to get it onto shelves.
In reality, every sell-in takes a huge amount of hard work and preparation behind the scenes. You need to spend weeks researching, understanding the customer and preparing a tailored presentation that shows why the product is right for them. It’s about much more than simply having a good product; you need to understand each retailer and put together a compelling, customer-specific sell-in to give it the best possible chance of success.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? My biggest piece of advice would be to work for brands you genuinely believe in and are excited about. The workload can involve a lot of thinking time and independent work, and it isn’t always as social as people might expect, so having that genuine connection to the brand and what it stands for makes a difference.
I’d also say that you don’t need to know everything before you get started. Having a good personality, being willing to learn and being open to pushing yourself are all really important. You can build your knowledge and experience as you go, so don’t let not knowing everything put you off taking that next step.
What’s your ultimate career dream? Sports nutritionist.
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