Name: Ursula Runacres
Age: 27
Job title: Senior marketing manager
Company & location: Hip Chocolate and Love Cocoa, London
Education: History at University College London
Why did you decide to go for a career in food? I’ve always been a massive foodie – I love cooking, discovering new foods, eating at different restaurants – so it just made sense for me to pursue a career in food and surround myself with people who love it as much as I do. It’s also an exciting industry to be in: consumer trends and eating habits change all the time, so we’re always kept on our toes thinking about new products and ways to adapt to current trends. In marketing especially, the way people receive brand marketing has transformed in the last decade, and it keeps changing as different apps, trends and media become increasingly popular. I also love talking, so combining that with my love of food meant a career in food marketing just made sense!
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): I oversee the marketing output for both brands across social media, trade shows, influencers and digital, and everything in between.
What does a typical day look like for you? The best part about working for two different brands is that no two days are the same. Love Cocoa and Hip are both sustainable chocolate brands, but their styles are distinctive and their consumers rarely overlap. Love Cocoa is more the luxury end, while Hip appeals to a younger, dare I say, cooler demographic. So, naturally, the marketing strategies for both brands differ. We’re still a small company, so it’s easy to check in with everyone in the morning, and then I’ll chat to the marketing team throughout the day about what we’re all doing, how we’re co-ordinating and what our goals are. The only constant in my day is that chocolate will always be consumed at some point!
”It’s so important to be open-minded and willing to get involved in different opportunities, especially if you’re not sure exactly what you want to do in the future”
Tell us how you went about applying for your job. I found the job on LinkedIn and it immediately appealed to me. I applied with a cover letter and CV, before having an interview with our founder, James Cadbury, and the head of sales over Google Meet (this was during the pandemic). I could tell they were both so passionate about the company and its values, which made me really want to be involved. When I interviewed, Hip hadn’t launched yet, so I had to complete a task which was ‘How would you increase brand awareness in the first six months of Hip’s launch?’ After my task, I was offered the job and joined the team.
What’s the best part about working for a food company? I love my job and really couldn’t imagine working in another industry. The variety and fast pace that is innate to the world of food is great: it means every day is different and there is never a dull moment in the office. I also work with amazing people in a fun and collaborative atmosphere, plus we get loads of free chocolate – for research purposes of course – so there are a lot of perks!
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? I think there is a common misconception that it’s only the big industry players who can make real change, that smaller businesses can’t have the same impact or disrupt the dominant trends in manufacturing, production, selling and consumption. However, this isn’t the case. There are so many small food and drink companies out there with the values and drive to change the way we eat for the better, and each and every one of them is able to make a huge difference.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Get stuck in! It’s so important to be open-minded and willing to get involved in different opportunities in all and any areas of the industry, especially if you’re not sure exactly what you want to do in the future. There will be job roles that you haven’t even considered that you could end up loving, and the more experience the better.
What’s your ultimate career dream? I think my ultimate goal is to have my own food business one day. I love working in food. I would love to complete a Leiths diploma: I want to learn as much as I can and apply that knowledge in my work.
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