I have worked in the food industry for over 15 years. I have always been in development and have experience across both manufacturing and retail. I joined Cranswick Gourmet Bacon from Morrisons in 2015. I started as a site NPD manager and my original role was to implement a stage and gate process and provide “back of house” support for the NPD team. However, in 2016 we pitched and successfully won a large bacon & gammon tender; this grew the size of the business at site significantly and I found myself leading the development relationship through the tender delivery and presenting to the customer again.

Cranswick have invested in me and I was fortunate enough to undertake the leadership development programme, which is one of my career highlights. It was a truly eye opening experience for me regarding how I operated; changing from a manager to a leader.

As the relationship with our customers grew, so did my role and in 2018 I was promoted to NPD controller for Cranswick Gourmet Bacon and also became the M&S fresh divisional lead.

Understanding M&S ways of working and process, allowed me to support the Sutton Fields through the cooked meats tender which we were again successful in winning. In line with this win, my role has grown again and I have added Sutton Fields & cooked meats to my portfolio. I am excited to work with the teams in convenience as we embark on this journey.