My food & drink job: Sara Ashworth, senior brand manager, Lucky Saint

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Sara Ashworth Lucky Saint

Name: Sara Ashworth

Age: 29

Job title: Senior brand manager

Company & location: Lucky Saint, London

Education: BSc in Sports Science and Physiology at University of Leeds

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? As a child, I had pretty high expectations for myself – I wanted to be an Olympian! I absolutely loved sport growing up, and I still do. I quickly realised it was an incredibly tough path to follow, and I’m still in awe of anyone who reaches that level of sport.

Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? My priority has always been to work for a brand with a clear purpose to drive positive change, especially in the health space – and many food and drink businesses share this mission.

At Lucky Saint, our purpose is to ‘inspire the world to drink better’, and it’s something I truly believe in. I’m proud to be working for a brand that can do that as more and more people drink alcohol-free beer as a part of their daily or weekly routines. Without that sense of purpose, I’d struggle to stay motivated day in and day out.

I’ve also learned that I thrive in fast-paced environments where no two days are the same – and the food and drink industry definitely delivers on that front.

“You might spend months planning a product launch, and the moment you get to hold, taste, and see that product on shelves is incredibly rewarding”

Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): I currently lead the brand team at Lucky Saint, covering everything from social media, events and partnerships to influencers and community. I also project-manage all our marketing campaigns to grow brand awareness, drive consideration, and build a community of brand advocates.

What does a typical day look like for you? It really varies. I might be signing off editorial and promotional emails to our database, leading a project planning meeting in our office (The Lucky Saint pub in London) for our Dry January campaign, catching up with brand partners like Strava, or heading out with the events team to set up an activation.

lucky saint lemon

Tell us how you went about applying for your job: I applied on LinkedIn in the middle of lockdown, which made for an unusual process – I had three interviews and didn’t meet anyone in person due to restrictions.

I’ll never forget the final interview question. Our MD, Emma Heal, gave me two minutes to estimate the 24-hour footfall at Heathrow Airport. At the time, it felt random but in hindsight, it was the perfect test. It assessed how I processed information and solved problems under pressure – essential skills when you’re part of a fast-moving marketing team at a startup.

What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? There’s nothing better than seeing your work come to life in the real world. You might spend months planning a product launch, and the moment you get to hold, taste, and see that product on shelves is incredibly rewarding.

It’s also amazing to see friends and family enjoying Lucky Saint as part of their everyday lives, whether that’s a pint in the pub or our brand-new lemon lager at a friend’s BBQ.

And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? That you need specialist knowledge about food or drink to work in the industry. For example, some people think you need to have prior knowledge around beer styles and brewing techniques to start working for a beer brand – that’s not the case.

What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? There are so many interesting and varied roles so be curious, be proactive, and don’t be afraid to reach out to people in the industry.

What’s your ultimate career dream? To be the CMO of a global brand.