Name: James Magee
Age: 25
Job title: Assistant brand manager
Company & location: Belazu – Greenford, London
Education: Bsc Marketing & Management (with a year abroad), University of East Anglia
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? As a massive chocoholic, I was set on becoming a chocolatier.
Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? Having grown up in rural France with a family of avid cooks, my interest in food was sparked at a young age. From a career perspective, I’ve always loved how varied the food and drink industry is and the opportunities it provides to work internationally.
“I didn’t think I could become so passionate about olive oil!”
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): I help co-ordinate product launches, marketing campaigns, shopper retail media, market research, analytics and reporting. I also lead on some of our biggest events, like our presence at Taste of London.
What does a typical day look like for you? One of my favourite aspects of the job is the variety it offers.
Today, I’ve been finalising preparations for the Waitrose Food & Drink Festival, collaborating with teams across the business to ensure everything goes off without a hitch. I’ve also been moving forward an innovation project to maximise the potential sales of one of our core product ranges having conducted market research and product testing.
Tell us how you went about applying for your job: I joined William Jackson Food Group as part of their general management graduate scheme, which involved rotations across their different companies – one of which was Belazu.
The application process involved submitting your CV along with a couple of questions explaining how you align with the company and your passion to work in the industry.
This was followed by a phone interview and a one-day assessment centre, which involved a face to face interview, presenting, team work challenge and business case.
What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? The people and, of course, being able to try some of the best products in the market. I didn’t think I could become so passionate about olive oil!
Read more: The Jolly Hog partners with Belazu to launch Pork Cheek SKU
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? People may misconceive how dynamic, fast-moving and creative it is.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Ensure your passion for food really shines through, and make sure to be aware of current fmcg trends.
What’s your ultimate career dream? My dream is to be managing director or have my own successful business.
Interested in finding out more about food & drink careers? Check out GrocerJobs for the latest vacancies
No comments yet