Name: Theo Richardson
Age: 24
Job title: Category executive
Company & location: Tony’s Chocolonely in Richmond
Education: International Business at Loughborough University
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Like many people, I wanted to be a professional footballer, specifically for the mighty Hull City.
Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? I decided to go into food because it was a product I could relate to. I particularly wanted to work for Tony’s because of the deeper purpose the brand holds in ending exploitation in the cocoa industry (and the delicious chocolate that is made).
“There aren’t many typical days at Tony’s”
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): My job at Tony’s is to turn raw sales data into digestible and actionable insights, which can be used in a range of business decisions, internally and externally.
What does a typical day look like for you? There aren’t many typical days at Tony’s, but most days I will spend time analysing data on sales, price or a range of other metrics. I often have meetings throughout the day and work on internal or external presentations.
Tell us how you went about applying for your job: The interview process at Tony’s was great. Throughout the process I spoke to an internal talent scout who gave feedback on each stage and informed you if you had been successful.
There was a three-stage process for my role. The first was an informal chat with the talent scout, around how I was as a person. The second stage was with the head of category and head of sales, and I was asked about my experience and how it related to the key objectives of the category role I was applying for.
In the final stage I was tasked with a case study to present, which included a range of five questions to answer. I was sent around 1,000 data points which I had to analyse and create an insightful deck to answer these questions. At this stage I was presenting to the category manager and the country manager of Tony’s UK.
What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? At Tony’s it must be the brand’s inspiring mission and the unlimited chocolate!
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? That we basically just eat chocolate all day… (and to be fair, we actually do!)
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? To embrace all the learnings! There is a lot to learn about the food (chocolate) industry and change is constant.
What’s your ultimate career dream? I’d love to be in a leadership position in the future.
Interested in finding out more about food & drink careers? Check out GrocerJobs for the latest vacancies
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