I’m now entering my 3rd year on the Cadbury S&T graduate scheme having just returned from a 12 month placement in Australia.
My current role is within Innovation Planning in our London office (in the moulded chocolate category). I represent S&T, particularly during the start-up process of a project, in scoping and assessing project ideas and feasibility. I use the technical experience I have gathered in my last 2 roles to advise, input and manage product development projects from an S&T perspective – working closely with the marketing team. And of course working in combination with all of my S&T colleagues based in Bournville (and other sites across Europe).
This role is giving me greater insight into and experience of the commercial side of the business. It’s much more of desk and meetings environment compared to life as a product developer – but you feel much in the thick of the decision making process on projects.
My experience as a food technologist in Australia vastly widened my experience in product development – I was responsible for developing Boost Totally Nuts, launched in March this year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIyecYuyrow - which, due to excellent execution by the sales and marketing team (and not a bad tasting product!), became the number 1 selling medium chocolate bar in Australia in it’s first week in the market.
I’m now using many of the skills I developed and my contacts in the Australia and New Zealand business in global product development projects.
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