Name: Niall Healy
Age: 29
Job title: Brand manager, EMEA
Company & location: Minor Figures, London
Education: University College Dublin. Bachelor of Commerce International (Spanish)
Why did you decide to go for a career in food? Although I grew up in Dublin, I spent a large part of my childhood in the south east of Ireland. The quality of the fruit & veg from this region is truly outstanding and I am so fortunate to have been around beautiful countryside from such a young age. While working in a bustling Dublin hotel during university, I’d chat with the chefs for hours about the menu choices when I should have been doing other tasks. I was also very fond of spending far too much time talking to the restaurant goers, stopping just short of pulling up a chair to join them for their meals. Both of these experiences growing up demonstrated the importance of food and drink, both as a source of sustenance and also a kind of social nourishment – food plays a part in our mental wellbeing and human social interaction that I found myself drawn to.
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): Minor Figures is a B Corp certified coffee company specialising in barista-quality Oat M*lk and plant-based products. As brand manager, I’m essentially the internal link between our creative and global marketing crew and the sales team to bring the Minor Figures brand to life in the EMEA market. I love contributing to the rapid growth of Minor Figures through our marketing touchpoints and seeing the impact internally and externally every day.
What does a typical day look like for you? I’m lucky that Minor Figures is a very collaborative structure where everyone is invited to the party – whatever that looks like on a given day. Our office is full of people weaving together their skills and expertise with a maverick mindset, always looking for the most unexpected and unconventional way to do what they love.
We all have our fingers in a lot of pies, so a typical day can be loaded with many ongoing projects and spinning plates. I have recently been spending my time planning and executing campaigns and activations with our wider marketing team, liaising with operations and NPD on forecasts, and briefing in new ideas to support the sales team.
Tell us about how you went about applying for your job: Prior to joining Minor Figures, I was based in Panama in an awesome role with a global Irish whiskey brand. I found myself hanging out on permaculture projects on the weekend and spending a lot of time on some of the best coffee farms in the world. I moved to London as it is currently a melting pot of innovation when it comes to food and drink trends. I was familiar with Minor Figures but was surprised to see such an amazing presence in coffee shops and independent retail across east London.
I found and applied for the role on LinkedIn. Shortly after applying, I learned the team would be at the London Coffee Festival a week later, so I rocked up and introduced myself. I then had an initial introductory interview, followed by a second round in which I was asked to present an end-to-end campaign execution plan with a strategic budget split. I was hired as export brand manager, which was a great transition from working with distribution partners in South America to building out our support plan for our European commercial partners. I have progressed internally to now cover all of EMEA, with a focus on the UK & Ireland.
What’s the best part about working for a food company? Being on the cusp of new trends, getting close to some of the most creative people I have ever met, and rubbing shoulders with the movers and shakers of whatever city you are based in. There is a great sense of community in the food industry. I love being able to visit a café with buddies and show them the hard work and dedication of a friend in the hospitality sector and see how my role at Minor Figures can positively add to their story.
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food and drink? Many people believe that life in the food and drink industry is only the fun stuff and socialising, but there’s so much hard work put in behind the scenes that we rarely get to shout about. There are a lot of great examples in this industry of brands that start off as a passion project and eventually evolve into a viable business thanks to the sheer passion and commitment of people who have a genuine belief in what they do and why they do it.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food and drink industry? Learn as much as you can and don’t try to define your path too quickly – try various roles and sectors with a sponge mentality and take it all in early. Meet as many amazing people as you can. Listen to their stories. Ask questions. Our industry thrives on human connection – embrace it. Most importantly: enjoy the experience. Seek out the exciting cultures and nuances the food and drink industry has to offer.
What’s your ultimate career dream? I love brainstorming ideas, strategising and executing campaigns, as well as supporting the people around me in their own journeys. In many moons to come, I can see myself coaching teams and advising brands using the knowledge, contacts, and experience I have gathered along the way. For now, however, I have a razor-sharp focus on the continued growth of Minor Figures.
No comments yet