Name: Katie Scott
Age: 28
Job title: Product manager
Company & location: The Gym Kitchen, London
Education: BSc Food Science & Nutrition at University of Surrey
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? When I was very young, I was very into performing and loved being on stage, so at the time I definitely imagined myself doing something like that. Obviously, as I grew up my education and career went in a completely different direction, but I do think the early interest in performing says a lot about my creativity, and translating that into something people can enjoy.
Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? In the latter stages of secondary school, I found myself really unsure on what to do next. I really enjoyed food technology and sciences at school and so decided to continue these to A Level on that basis. During my Food A Level I found I really enjoyed the biological and chemical aspects of the course, as well as the product development and technical work we did. Through my teacher, I became aware of the variety of roles available in the food industry, and decided I wanted to take my studies further; on to university.
“Something that may seem relatively simple can take a year or more to grow from initial ideation to full-scale launch”
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): I manage all the new product development across the brand. Essentially, I work out what kind of new products to develop and launch into the supermarkets.
What does a typical day look like for you? My days can vary hugely – from panelling and benchmarking products, meeting with suppliers, reviewing technical specifications, calculating nutritional values, liaising with retailers, and so much more. The variation enables me to be agile and jump between different tasks and projects – keeping each day exciting.
Tell us how you went about applying for your job: I had three interview stages: the first involved questions about my education, experience and career goals – as well as my personal strengths and areas for development.
For the second stage, I was provided with a product brief, and asked to develop a product concept – including nutritional, commercial and strategic considerations. During the interview I presented this in-depth, explaining insights and rationale, product nutritional and organoleptic selling points, commercial implications and P&L analysis, and key risk mitigation strategies.
As a final stage; I then met the founder in person to gain a deeper understanding of the team, brand ethos and role, ahead of receiving my offer.
What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? The variety. I love that no day is the same, the pace is agile and challenging, and I’m absolutely never bored! It’s exciting to be at the forefront of product innovation and to help drive growth of the brand with the rest of the team.
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? The time it takes to get new products developed and on shelf. There are a number of multi-disciplinary teams involved in creating new food & drink products, and a huge number of stages to go through before a product is available for consumer purchase.
Something that may seem relatively simple can take a year or more to grow from initial ideation to full-scale launch.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? The industry is huge and there are so many roles available. Learn as much as you can – through education, research, work experience – and don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for work experience. Through getting involved with a food & drink company, you really grow to understand the number of roles involved.
What’s your ultimate career dream? My ultimate career goal is to become head of product, leading a high-performing team that can manage a large number of projects at once. I’d love to build a rapid and agile product development process, where we can take an idea from concept through to launch as efficiently as possible, without compromising on quality.
Ultimately, I want to have a big impact on the product strategy and be controller of a team consistently delivering exciting and successful products to market.
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