After ten years in the food industry, I’ve now found a role that gives me everything I’ve been looking for

Tell us about your career journey so far

I’m originally from Belfast and moved to Leeds to study Nutrition at the University of Leeds. I knew I wanted to work in the food industry, but wasn’t sure exactly what this would be. During my degree, I completed a placement year in marketing at a food flavouring company, which gave me my first exposure to the strategic, commercial side of food, and I was instantly hooked.

After graduating, I gained a lot of different experiences in a relatively short space of time. I started in product development, but knew I wanted to be closer to strategy, decision-making, and overall business performance. That led me to join Co-op as an Assistant Own Brand Manager on a maternity cover contract. I later moved into a Buyer role and managed our yoghurt category. I loved my time in both of these roles, and they’re great examples of how Co-op supports colleagues to branch out in their careers and try new things.

Most recently, I joined Co-op Wholesale as a Propositions Lead. Although the role was quite new to me, the more people I spoke to and the more I learned about it, the more it felt like exactly the right move. And I’m so glad I did it!

What does your role typically involve?

As a Propositions Lead at Co-op Wholesale, I look after how we shape our pricing, store formats, and promotional plans for our wholesale partners. We use a mix of market insight; things like order data, customer feedback, and local demographic information, to build proposition packages that suit each partner’s individual needs. Because our partner base is so varied, we’re moving away from a “one size fits all” approach. For my team specifically, which is made up of Propositions Assistants and Managers, we jump on a call every Monday to review how things performed the previous week, make sure we’re all aligned, and agree where we need to focus our efforts next.

Our wider team is structured around partner segments, and I work on the Corporate and Speciality segment. This includes a wide range of partners, from Co-op Live and garden centres to holiday parks and a bunch of other exciting businesses.

 What do you enjoy most about your role?

The best part of my role is building partner relationships and seeing our strategies make a real difference to the way they operate. I’m also heavily involved in product range strategy and own-brand advocacy. We know how strong our Co-op brand is within wholesale, and I’m working on ways to champion it and make it more accessible to our partners and their customers.

I also love how much we collaborate. I work really closely with our trading, sales, and insight teams, and our success depends on sharing our different knowledge and expertise. I also spend a lot of time supporting my team in their professional development, identifying gaps or duplication in our total product range and building clearer, more structured processes for new product requests to make sure there’s mutual benefit for us and our partners. Honestly, there’s so much about my role that I enjoy, it’s hard to choose just one!

What do you enjoy most about working at Co-op?

From my very first day at Co-op, I’ve felt genuinely supported in developing my career. Whether it’s by taking part in learning groups through the Aspire colleague network or building my leadership skills through our ‘Grow as a Leader’ sessions, I’ve been able to progress and grow time and time again.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to give something back by supporting the next generation of talent. Through the Co-op Academies Trust, I’ve volunteered at Connell College, helping students prepare for interviews. It’s been so rewarding to share my experience and help build the confidence of my future colleagues.

What makes Co-op Wholesale different?

The pace and energy of Co-op Wholesale makes it different from anywhere else I’ve worked before. It feels faster and more immediate. You often see ideas land in stores within weeks rather than months, which builds real momentum and motivation.

Being in the office genuinely feels different, too. Our Managing Director, Katie, brings everyone together weekly to talk openly about business performance. There’s also a big focus on celebrating colleagues, which adds a very human touch. Katie’s honesty, realism, and warmth creates real trust and a shared sense that we’re all working towards something special, and I can’t wait to play my part in what comes next.

Katie Brown, Propositions Lead