Name: Sarah Haworth
Age: 26
Job title: Brand manager
Company & location: Mondelez International, UK
Education: BSc in Management with Marketing at University of Bath, and MSc in Global Business Practice at University College Dublin
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I was fortunate enough to live in different countries growing up, so I had always had an interest in learning more about the world. Geography was my favourite subject at school, so I thought I’d want to explore a career in that field.
Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? I did work experience in the drinks industry, which is where I really got to experience marketing in fmcg for the first time and haven’t looked back since! I enjoyed the fast-paced, ever-changing environment and find the role food and drink plays in people’s lives really interesting.
“It’s not always about the role or category, but about what skills you’ve learnt and how you apply them throughout your career”
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): I am currently brand manager for Sour Patch Kids and Trebor in the UK, leading the full end-to-end ownership of these brands. I oversee and develop brand and channel strategy including innovation and integrated marketing campaigns, and support commercial execution.
What does a typical day look like for you? Given I oversee entire brands, this can pull me into a lot of different conversations and tasks. Tasks can span from developing equity campaigns with external agency partners, to managing short-term execution of commercial plans with cross-functional teams and developing long-term brand and innovation strategy.
Tell us how you went about applying for your job: Applying to my first job at Mondelez consisted of a full-day assessment centre including group and individual presentations. When moving internally at Mondelez, the process consists of an interview with hiring managers focusing on competency and functional-based questions, taking performance reviews into consideration as well.
What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? My favourite part of my job is the opportunity to work on brands that play such an important role in people’s lives and the impact you can have! I also enjoy the fast pace of the industry and how trends are constantly evolving!
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? I think people underestimate the amount of time and planning that goes into innovation! We always want to bring the best possible product to consumers, so it can sometimes take years of recipe development and unlocking the right capabilities to bring a concept to life.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Every experience is for learning and is an important part of your career development! It’s not always about the role or category, but about what skills you’ve learnt and how you apply them throughout your career.
What’s your ultimate career dream? Continue learning and gaining experience across the industry to one day be director level within marketing! This function is a real passion of mine and I’d love to continue having an impact on consumers and growing incredible brands!
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