My food & drink job: Isabella Lugmayer, customer experience agent, Hunter & Gather

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Isabella Lugmayer Hunter & Gather

Name: Isabella Lugmayer

Age: 20

Job title: Customer experience agent

Company & location: Hunter & Gather, Essex

Education: A Levels: Law, History & Sociology

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? As a child, I always wanted to be a teacher. I loved the idea of helping people learn and grow, and being someone who could guide and support others. It’s funny how that stays with you – I’ve always been drawn to roles where I can help and connect with people.

Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? I actually landed my role at Hunter & Gather because I really resonated with their ancestral approach to food – prioritising real ingredients and avoiding things like seed oils, grains and gluten.

As a teenager I struggled with an eating disorder, so I’m really passionate about not demonising food. For me it’s about understanding how to nourish your body properly, keeping things balanced, and helping others feel more confident in the choices they make around food. That’s something I find really meaningful in the work we do.

“I love being able to educate and support people at all stages of their real food journey”

Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): My role is a mix of reactive and proactive customer care. I support customers day to day by answering questions, responding to emails, socials and calls, but I’m also always looking for ways to improve their overall experience. A big part of what the customer experience team do is championing the customer internally and making sure their voice is heard across the wider team.

What does a typical day look like for you? I usually start the day by making sure our customer queries are up to date, replying to emails, messages, calls and reviews so everyone feels supported as quickly as possible. In the afternoons I often work on customer experience projects, which can be anything from organising surprise birthday orders, engaging with our Facebook community, or brainstorming and working on new CX ideas with the team.

We’re always looking for ways to make the experience feel really thoughtful and smooth for our customers, and I’m really proud to be part of that.

Hunter & Gather Avocado Mayo

Tell us how you went about applying for your job: I applied for the role after spotting it on LinkedIn, and I also reached out directly to Amy, our co-founder, to share how much I resonated with the company values and mission. The process included an initial interview, a phone call, and then an in-person interview.

As I hadn’t worked directly in CX before I was definitely a bit nervous, but because I felt so passionate about the brand and what Hunter & Gather stands for, I found I could talk about it for ages! Luckily that passion really came across.

What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? The best part is that it’s such an ever-evolving sector. Especially for us, the conversation around real food and avoiding ultra-processed ingredients is becoming more and more prominent, which makes it really exciting.

I love being able to educate and support people at all stages of their real food journey, whether they’re just starting out or already really knowledgeable. It’s a space that’s always moving, always adapting, and it’s great to be part of something that evolves with the way people think about food and health.

And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? I think one of the biggest misconceptions is how many people and moving parts are involved behind the scenes. Before working in the sector, I definitely underestimated just how much goes into running a food and drink business.

From product development and quality to marketing, logistics, customer experience and everything in between, there’s a huge amount of work that goes on to bring a product from an idea all the way to someone’s kitchen cupboard. It really is a full team effort.

What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Follow your heart and try to find a brand whose values you genuinely connect with. When you truly believe in what a company stands for, it makes the work feel so much more meaningful and your passion naturally comes across.

The food and drink industry is so broad and always evolving, so staying curious, being open to learning, and getting stuck in wherever you can is really valuable too.

What’s your ultimate career dream? My ultimate career dream right now is honestly to see where the journey with Hunter & Gather goes and how much more I can bring to the customer experience as the brand grows. I’m still young, so I try not to put too much pressure on having everything mapped out. I focus on learning as much as I can, developing my skills, and making a positive impact in everything I do.