Name: Mike Fell
Age: 29
Job title: National account manager
Company & location: Cawston Press, London
Education: Professional Business Practice at Sheffield Hallam University as part of the Nestlé school leaver programme
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Centre-back for Newcastle United and England. When I was watching footballers born after 2006 scoring goals in the prem, I knew the dream was over.
Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? When the government tripled university fees in 2013, I started looking at alternative higher education career paths. Nestlé, my first employer in the industry, responded by launching a market-leading sponsored degree school leaver programme, and I have never looked back.
“Every industry event is a reunion and everyone is so passionate about the role of food and drink in connecting people to each other”
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): I manage the relationship between our brand and the retailers we trade with. I need to deliver category-leading value for our grocery partners in a profitable and sustainable way for Cawston Press.
What does a typical day look like for you? I wish there was a typical day to stereotype, it would be much easier to plan! Usually I’m a mixture of home and office-based working on key brand initiatives that will deliver value for our customers.
For example, yesterday morning I was discussing our Sparkling Rhubarb summer campaign plans with Sainsbury’s, and in the afternoon I joined the rest of the Cawston Press team to hit the streets, and sample our bestselling drink to local businesses as part of our summer Rhubarb Everywhere initiative.
Tell us how you went about applying for your job: I was lucky that a lovely recruiter saw my experience and got in touch. After I created the CV I’d told them I already had, there was an introductory conversation to temperature-check both sides, an interview and a case study presentation task.
The tough part was learning about a new category in the form of soft drinks in a short space of time, enough to pitch a sales channel strategy. This is the time to lean on your network.
What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? The people! I have met and worked with so many incredible people and the industry is now littered with friends for life.
Every industry event is a reunion and everyone is so passionate about the role of food and drink in connecting people to each other. With my team at Cawston Press, we work hard on smashing our goals but always find the time to celebrate success.
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My Alternative CV: Micah Carr-Hill of Cawston Press on wine, elephants and James Acaster
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? The simplicity of the market.
So often I hear the statement “you should sell your juice in my local store, I would buy it!” and I want to respond “I know Grandma, same, working on it!”
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Try and get a mix of experience in your early career within a big business and an SME/startup. The experience will set you up for life as the talent, training and opportunities in a big business are invaluable, however if you really want to know how the industry works, have time in a smaller brand as you will have to get involved in everything.
What’s your ultimate career dream? To lead a team of high-performing individuals who love their jobs and the company culture, on an amazing, environmentally sustainable brand that brings happiness to consumers.
Interested in finding out more about food & drink careers? Check out GrocerJobs for the latest vacancies
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