Our monthly series of portraits is back, and for the last one of the year, we spoke to Elena, working at the Sales Business Development department at Ferrero Group global HQ. Discover her career path and the international impact her job has. This portrait also looks at the current challenges of e-commerce in the food industry.
An international career
Originally from Barcelona, Spain, Elena began her career in the Spanish and Portuguese Food and Beverage markets. She has worked for Fast Moving Consumer Goods giants Unilever and PepsiCo.
In 2021, Elena decided to try her luck at Ferrero Group global HQ. Like many of us, Elena grew up enjoying Ferrero’s iconic brands. The Ferrero dream quickly turned into a career opportunity with international scope for Elena.
"I was in contact for a position in London with an HR recruiter there, the position was unfortunately covered, but my profile was fit for another position here in Luxembourg."
Elena was thus open to a move abroad and, after being recommended by her contact in London, she landed her first interview for the Sales Business Development department in Luxembourg. Her previous experience in the consumer goods industry and her analytical skills made her stand out. After a few interviews, Elena began her career at Ferrero Group global HQ in the Offline channels team in Europe, with a focus on Germany, Poland and Eastern European countries. Shortly afterwards, she was offered the opportunity to change jobs internally in the Ecommerce channel on a global scale. Today, she is in charge of e-commerce development in the Area North America.
"The way I see it, is that at Ferrero you are not just a number, career development is taken as an important matter for employee development and motivation."
Her job finally has the international aspect she dreamed of. Every once in a while, depending on business requirements, she even has the chance to travel to the United States to work hand in hand with the local team.
When asked what she's most proud of since joining the company, she talks about one assignment in particular when she started in the e-commerce division:
"Maybe it’s not the accomplishment I’m most proud of, but it definitely required a lot of planning and time management, when I organized our annual eCommerce convention one month into the role, where representatives of 20 countries flew in the Headquarters."
E-commerce in the food industry: challenges and opportunities
Elena has to keep up to date with trends and the market. She also faces a number of challenges. E-commerce is an increasingly widespread commercial practice where competition is strong, especially in the Food & Beverage industry.
As a reminder, e-commerce (or online commerce) is the process of bringing buyers and sellers together via the Internet to purchase goods or services.
According to Elena, the biggest challenge for food companies historically selling in physical outlets such as supermarkets, restaurants or bars, is to "maintain the same quality in online interactions".
"The shopper is used to having a seamless path to purchase in the stores where it is easy to find the product as per colour coding and clear corridors."
When putting a product or service online, it's important to stay true to the brand image, the quality of the product or service, the aesthetic appeal and the clarity of the information and the details provided, to not lose the buyer in this path or after their purchase. The online customer journey is totally different from the in-store customer journey. You have to be able to keep a potential buyer's attention right up to the point of purchase, without being able to call for help from an advisor or a person, as you would in a physical store.
Finally, as with offline commerce, "you also need to keep special track of what the competition is doing to adapt to trends and shopper needs".
A festive brand image in tune with the employer brand
Ferrero's brands are closely associated with festivities and gifting in the minds of consumers, all the holidays and major events of the year generate sales peaks. Although some products are sold throughout the year, such as Spreads, Mints and Biscuits.
We wonder whether this festive, magical and communal atmosphere is also conveyed internally. It would appear that this is the case!
Elena talks about Ferrero Group global HQ as a warm, family-run business however, with a big scope.
"The work environment is friendly and in general, everyone is open to taking a bit of time of their day to help or train on a specific topic. Ferrero has an incredible talent team, employees have diverse backgrounds, enabling peer-to-peer learning."
Company life is also often marked by festive occasions, where employees often enjoy live tastings or new product launches. Ferrero Group global HQ recently organized their end-of-year party comparable to a Christmas chocolate advert, just like we love them!
Ferrero Group global HQ Christmas tree
Did you enjoy this portrait? You too can share your experience and journey with the community! Contact us at communication@moovijob.com.
