My food & drink job: Stevie Grieves, digital coordinator, Lovely Fodder

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Stevie Grieves_Lovely Fodder

One of the most satisfying parts of the job is seeing products from concept through to launch, says Stevie

Name: Stevie Grieves

Age: 22

Job title: digital and e-commerce coordinator

Company: Lovely Fodder, Nottingham

Education: University of Manchester, English Literature and French BA

Why did you decide to go for a career in food?

Lovely Fodder is a fast-moving startup in the food and drink industry, which attracted me as it was at such an exciting point of product development and company size, which gave me the opportunity to learn about all aspects of the business and have a creative input that other, more established brands would not have afforded me.

Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two):

I take care of all the social media for more than three brands, as well as looking after all of the digital platforms and trying to get our food and drink products out to the people.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I get to talk to people all day, from customers, to people on social media, to people working with us

From kneeling in the grass to try to get a creative shot of the drinks, hosting fake brunches to showcase Bloody Marys for Instagram to co-ordinating PR and web designers, the job is as varied as I make it. Despite mostly being based in an office, I get to talk to people all day, from customers, to people on social media, to people working with us, it’s a great part of the job.

Tell us about how you went about applying for your job. What was the process like?

At first I started doing social media for Lovely Fodder on a freelance basis, and after I got to know the business, Gavin (the found of Lovely Fodder) asked if I would come on board full-time to help with more than just the socials. Toughest question was probably that I had to admit that despite him owning or working with three chocolate brands, I wasn’t a massive fan… five months of eating it nearly everyday has changed that, though!

What’s the best part about working for a food company?

Seeing the process from conception all the way to production and eventually retail is really exciting

I would have to say the constant innovation! Gavin is constantly innovating and thinking of new products that will fill gaps in the market, such as our newly developed Benefit Water, that came from an idea to have a refreshing drink that delivered more than just a great taste, and would also be vitamin enriched. Seeing the process from conception all the way to production and eventually retail is really exciting, and so gratifying to see your company’s products on shelves.

And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink?

I would have thought that it would be that you get to spend your whole day snacking…but that does seem to be true here.

What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry?

I think in general it’s good to be flexible and open to trying new things that may not be necessarily what you though you wanted to do straight away; taking jobs that are more local, venturing into different areas of businesses, and making sure you are learning as much as possible could lead you into a career you didn’t even know existed in the first place!