Name: Tom Jordan
Age: 25
Job title: Co-Founder and Beer Dealer
Company & location: Jubel Beer, Cornwall
Education (including school or university name): University of Exeter
Why did you decide to go for a career in food? It was off the back of a ski trip to the Alps with a best mate where we discovered a dangerously refreshing alpine beer tradition that was too good not to share so we started Jubel because it was the beer style we wanted to drink that no one brewed.
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): I look after all things Sales - so making sure we’ve got the wholesalers on board to supply the pub groups and independents who want our beer and once we’re in, do stuff to get pub goers drinking our drop.
“The application process wasn’t your conventional one… we sunk our savings into a big brew and quit our city jobs the next day”
What does a typical day look like for you? I’ll do my follow ups in the mornings with new wholesalers or pubs we’re trying to get onboard, spend the afternoon out on the road visiting new bars and pubs, and usually have an event on in the evening either doing a staff tasting session or a tap takeover night.
Tell us about how you went about applying for your job. How many stages were there, what did you have to do? Any particularly tough questions? The application process wasn’t your conventional one… to get the job we needed to launch Jubel - so we sunk our savings into a big brew that flew at a festival and decided to quit our city jobs the next day. To answer the question - there was only one stage; did people like the beer, we had to sell out at the festival to get the job. Toughest question? Shall we quit our stable jobs and go for it…
What’s the best part about working for a food company? I love how social the beer industry is and how varied the role is as co-founder. I always have a few beers on me so almost every meeting includes a tasting and a good beer chat whether that’s with a buyer, staff training or networking with other F&B start ups. There is also a wicked sense of discovery to the sales side of the job - it takes you to all parts of the country that you wouldn’t necessarily visit in search of the next up and coming drinking experience / venue / group.
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? I think some people see it as a bit of a jolly, and whilst I absolutely love how social the industry is, its been a real challenge starting a drinks brand from inception and it draws on experience across marketing/sales/finance/ops, plus building strong relationships in the industry
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Whatever your idea is, get into the market and test it and your assumptions. Keep it simple and make sure the idea is scalable.
What’s your ultimate career dream? To run a business that has a lasting positive impact on the environment
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