Name: Freya Weston
Age: 26
Job title: Senior assistant brand manager – Babybel
Company & location: Bel UK – Sevenoaks, Kent
Education: BA Business Management at University of Reading and MSc Marketing at University of Bath
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I was an ambitious kid and one ambition that sticks with me was the desire to be a commercial pilot like my dad, but I very quickly realised I had my mum’s creative genes and shifted towards my current career in marketing.
Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? At university, I knew I wanted to work with large brands making a significant impact on the industry – this was a no-brainer. The food and drink industry is so dynamic, with lots of different career opportunities, so I knew this was where I wanted to be. It really doesn’t get more iconic than the UK’s top-selling snacking cheese, Babybel!
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): Working in brand management means overseeing all aspects of running a brand – from strategy and campaigns to finance and operations. My role spans different departments, both locally and globally. The endgame is to continually grow Babybel as an iconic brand in a profitable, and sustainable, way.
“Instead of a normal cover letter, I put my key achievements on to The Laughing Cow packaging as the header”
What does a typical day look like for you? I work very collaboratively with a marketing manager and a marketing intern. On any given day I can go from conducting market analysis, assessing our brand or campaign performances, taste tests of NPD, or working with our strategic insights manager.
Tell us how you went about applying for your job: I applied to Bel UK during the final term of my masters. It was still Covid times, so I knew I had to do something different to stand out.
Instead of a normal cover letter, I put a creative spin on it by putting my key achievements on to The Laughing Cow packaging as the header (the first Bel brand I worked with). It was a risk, but it paid off! I had an initial interview with the marketing director, and then a second, consisting of a case study presentation involving data analysis, creative thinking and problem solving with the marketing director and HR director.
What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? One of my favourite things is having the creative licence to launch exciting, playful and impactful activations. We have many examples where this has been exercised - one of my favourites, of course, being the Maxi Babybel we launched last Christmas as a seasonal limited edition.
But sometimes it’s not just about product launches. I am proud to say that we have partnered with Comic Relief for 25 years now, and each year we donate £150,000 to the charity alongside a comprehensive 360-degree campaign. Our total donation amount over the years has now surpassed £1.75m.
Most recently, I’ve been busy completing this year’s Summer of Sport campaign. It was designed to inspire people to get off their sofas and get active in response to research that found just 20% of us intended to actually take part in sport during the summer, despite planning to spend hours glued to the TV watching it.
Tapping not only into Babybel’s playful side and sense of purpose, it also highlighted its credentials as a healthier snack. The larger-than-life 3D billboards in London and Manchester really tapped into Babybel’s opening experience showing our iconic red wax dramatically being peeled back, getting attention all over socials. We also wanted to add a personal touch with communities and launched a grass-roots sports club competition to support local clubs making a difference.
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And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? I think most people see brand management as just producing marketing campaigns and social media posts, but a lot more happens behind the scenes, especially when it comes to corporate social responsibility.
Having a corporate sense of purpose is important to me, especially since I have recently taken on leadership of our Bel UK CSR team. We believe that responsibility and profitability are intrinsically linked. One of my favourite initiatives is our methane reduction programme using an incredible feed additive called Bovaer. Surprisingly for some, methane actually has a greater warming effect than CO2, accounting for 40% to 50% of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms, but Bovaer can reduce methane emissions from dairy herds by 30% and Bel Groupe is the first business to use it commercially.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Find a brand whose values align with your own, and one you’d actually buy yourself – it is more motivating and enjoyable. If you don’t believe in your product, how can you expect anyone else to?
What’s your ultimate career dream? I know it might sound like a cliché to say ‘I’m already working in my dream job’, but I truly am! In my future, I want to continue working for big, impactful brands that leave a positive mark on the nation through good nutritional recipes, impactful marketing campaigns and sustainability initiatives.
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