Name: Natalie Campbell
Job title: Co-CEO
Company: Belu Water
What was your first job? I worked for a retail temp agency that specialised in luxury retail. I turned 16 on a Tuesday and went to work in Daks of London (on Jermyn Street) on the Saturday. I worked hard and sold my butt off over a nine-hour shift – that was the day I fell in love with retail.
My favourite place to work was High Street Kensington, back when the Barkers Arcade existed. It was home to a small Morgan de Toi. I joined that business a few months later as a weekend sales assistant. ‘Morgan’ became my first bricks and mortar business when I bought the franchise to operate in Lancaster. I opened the shop a week before my 21st birthday and in my final year of university.
What’s been your worst job interview? I interviewed for a job at The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales and my final interview took place in Kensington Palace. I decided to have a coffee to, you know, calm any nerves. Every time I sipped and put the cup down on the saucer my shaky hand played the interview panel a little tune – I got the job though. My 16-year-old self was very proud that day, the place I often looked into on my lunch break was somewhere I got to know very well.
“If you only care about price, just say so. Don’t claim to be interested in social value”
What was the first music single you bought? Salt-N-Pepa’s Push It on the A side and Let’s Talk About Sex on the B-side. It was on eight-inch, the good old days.
How do you describe your job to your friends? Generally, I say I’m a busybody in the pursuit of good things. I wear many hats and I don’t see any of them as a job, what I have the privilege of doing each day is more like a vocation.
What is the most rewarding part of your job? Leading a business that gives away all of its profits to realise its purpose: to change the way the world sees water. This is made real through our impact partner WaterAid, where we contribute to transforming lives by providing access to clean water and sanitation and through Wrap, Blue Marine Foundation and Thames 21 we’re restoring waterways around the UK.
What is the least rewarding part? Leading a business that has to fight to do all the things I mentioned. Access to clean water is a human right, no matter where you are.
What is your motto in life? Feel good, do good, live better.
If you were allowed one dream perk, what would it be? If I can choose anything, it would be sunshine on my face every morning before I start my working day. There’s no material perk that could top that. If I can gift my perk on, then it would be access to clean water for everyone!
Do you have any phobias? Turnstiles and rotating doors – I have an irrational fear of being hit by them. Totally odd. I’ve passed it on to my co-CEO Charlotte Harrington.
If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? Levels of honesty about purchasing. If you only care about price, just say so. Don’t claim to be interested in social value, ESG, supplier diversity, sustainable development goals or even call suppliers partners if all you do is push down on price and ask for money back via ‘incentives’. For businesses like ours you leave no margin for our mission.
What luxury would you have on a desert island? The ability to get off the island.
What animal most reflects your personality? My twin Russian toy terriers. Mister Dudley is fiery, earnest and loving. Buddy is a hermit that prefers sleep to people.
What’s your favourite film and why? Love Jones – it’s about love with a blissful soundtrack.
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What has been the most embarrassing moment in your life? I don’t take myself too seriously so I can’t remember anything majorly embarrassing as I would have laughed it off. At the moment my lack of memory is leading to a few moments that could be considered embarrassing but it’s just life.
Which celebrity would you most like to work with and why? Rihanna, she’s my in-person spirit animal. For Belu, not a celeb but a politician. The Chancellor Rachel Reeves because we need to get small businesses on the growth track and the piecemeal policies coming out at the moment only risk the opposite, from ENIC to EPR. There is a better way!
What would your death row meal be? A Jamaican Sunday roast – cooked down meats, rice and peas, plantain, festival, coleslaw, mac and cheese – all covered in gravy. Apple crumble for dessert, with a small side of rum cake. Guinness punch to close.
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