Find stories from our employees and how they find life at Britvic.
Name: Millie Hunt
Job title: Multi-skilled Maintenance Engineer Apprentice
Department: Engineering
Location: Rugby
How long have you worked at Britvic?
Six months.
Why did you decide to join Britvic?
I found out about Britvic through my training provider when I applied for an apprenticeship. I wanted to join after I had a tour around the Rugby site – I met some of the staff and felt very welcomed and comfortable. I could imagine myself working here in the future.
Can you describe what you do day to day?
Right now, I’m in the first year of my apprenticeship so I spend every day at my training provider, Midland Group Training Services.
How does what you do make everyday moments better for customers?
My job will be to make sure that production runs smoothly by keeping all machines in perfect working order – this means there’s a constant supply of soft drinks for our customers.
How do you think outside the bottle?
I haven’t had any experience working at the Britvic site yet – but I’m looking forward to putting my training to use!
What’s it like to work here?
Britvic has a professional yet friendly and welcoming culture which is reflected through their staff. They take care of their employees and are giving me the chance to pursue a career I’m passionate about.
Name: Micah Allman-Williamson
Job title: Mechatronics Technician Apprentice
Department: Engineering
Location: Beckton
How long have you worked at Britvic?
So far, for about two years.
Why did you decide to join Britvic?
I found out about Britvic through my engineering college – it’s local to the Beckton site.
Can you describe what you do day to day?
Most days I shadow an Engineer, so I can ask questions and make notes and, when possible, I also get to help out. I’ve gone from strictly watching the Engineers I shadow complete their assigned tasks, to also assisting and completing some tasks of my own.
How does what you do make everyday moments better for customers?
While I’m in training, I support the fully qualified engineers, so they can complete their tasks faster. Once I’m fully qualified, I’ll be taking on more responsibility around machine breakdowns and overhauls – making sure that the supply of soft drinks to customers runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
How do you think outside the bottle?
Sometimes machine operators adjust pressure gauges depending on how the machine is functioning. Although most of the time this works out well, sometimes when there is too much pressure in a system it can damage parts. I showed initiative by fitting pressure release valves which are designed to reduce pressure at hazardous levels.
What’s it like to work here?
Britvic has a family type of culture where people get along well with each other and help each other out on their day-to-day duties. Britvic has helped me with my mental wellbeing – I wake up not regretting or feeling stressed out about the day ahead.
Name: Mike Cunningham
Job title: Maintenance Manager
Department: Engineering
Location: Beckton
How long have you worked at Britvic?
Ten years.
Why did you decide to join Britvic?
My dad worked for Britvic for 37 years.
Can you describe what you do day to day?
I started Britvic as an Operator, so my job role has changed massively over the years. First, I went for a mature apprenticeship and became a qualified Engineer. Then I became the Control Systems Specialist before I was promoted to the job I’m in today: Maintenance Manager. Now, I look after the engineering budget, order spare parts and manage a team of eight Engineers. I’m also responsible for lines 3 and 4 (small PET).
How does what you do make everyday moments better for customers?
My goal, and my team’s, is to increase reliability, so my job impacts production significantly. If I don’t do my job properly my lines can’t produce any products. And if we can’t produce any products, we’ll be short for our customers.
What’s it like to work here?
Britvic is a very friendly place to work. They look after their staff incredibly well. My work/life balance is constantly scrutinised – in a good way. My manager keeps tabs on how many hours I am working, and my general mood.
Britvic’s also a fantastic place to hone real skills that will help you progress in all walks of life. People are recognised and rewarded for their achievements and always pushed to progress further.
Name: Aga Taisner
Job title: Operations Team Leader
Department: Supply Chain Production
Location: Leeds
How long have you worked at Britvic?
12 years.
Why did you decide to join Britvic?
After getting my university degree, I was working for a small company outside of fast-moving consumer goods manufacturing. My new degree meant I could look into a career in the food quality field. I saw an opportunity at Britvic and, knowing it was a world-leading company with high expectations, I decided to apply.
Can you describe what you do day to day?
My job is very challenging and varied. I manage a team of 30 people, including a team of engineers, running a total of five production lines. Day to day, my duties range from attending meetings on food safety to facilitating training plans. I’ve also played a pivotal role within the Quality department – having face-to-face relationships with external auditing bodies acting as the site's contact for quality issues.
How does what you do make everyday moments better for customers?
The Production department is like the engine room of the business. As a Team Leader, I lead, direct and manage the production activities necessary to make sure we meet our production requirements in full – and in accordance with food safety and technical standards. It’s all this activity that means the highest quality products are always available for our customers.
What’s it like to work here?
Britvic has a happy family feel. Everyone looks after one another - I’m able to work rostered hours that give me between ten and eleven days off in a three-week rolling period. This is fantastic as it gives me more time at home with my husband and two small children.
We also continuously work to make everyday moments better, for example through healthy eating. Here in Leeds, we have a beautiful canteen with a menu of fresh vegetables and fruit that changes every day.
Name: Annemarie van ’t Zelfde
Job title: Consumer Engagement & Office Manager
Department: Commercial Excellence
Location: Amsterdam
How long have you worked at Britvic?
Around three years.
Why did you decide to join Britvic?
I found the vacancy on LinkedIn. It was the first time I had heard about the Company but, after some investigation, I was very eager to learn more about both Britvic and its products.
Can you describe what you do day to day?
I make sure all consumer queries are taken care of, make sure the office is a pleasant place to work and support the Commercial Excellence team. For the last two years, I’ve been facilitating and managing the international project meetings and assisting the Commercial Excellence Director with their agenda, travel and expenses.
How does what you do make everyday moments better for customers?
I’m in a supporting role, so my impact is indirect. But, by supporting the team, I make sure they have the space to properly serve our customers.
How do you think outside the bottle?
Because I’m close to the consumers, I was able to advise the Marketing team to bring back a wonderful flavour that was delisted – I knew that consumers were very disappointed it was off the market. This illustrates how open we are and how we listen to our consumers.
What’s it like to work here?
Britvic is corporate, but it’s very people orientated. Everyone is very approachable and open and Britvic cares about everyone’s wellbeing. We’re supported with the myLife platform which has all kinds of tools to help you live a healthier and happier life.
Name: Chris Stokes
Job title: Sales & Category Director
Department: Britvic North America
Location: Miami
How long have you worked at Britvic?
15 years.
Why did you decide to join Britvic?
A former colleague of mine joined Britvic and referred me for a role.
Can you describe what you do day to day?
I’ve held nine different roles at Britvic. I started my career at Britvic in Chelmsford, Essex, working with UK grocery customers from a category management perspective. I then made the leap to sales and then back into category management, with a promotion from Executive to Manager. After working on the biggest customers in the UK, the next logical step for me was to work internationally and I’ve been lucky enough to travel extensively: to Australia, India, Vietnam and all over Europe.
Since 2014, I’ve been focused on the USA business, and am now based in sunny Miami (where we have a small office) as Sales & Category Director. I’m ultimately responsible for Fruit Shoot sales across the USA and am also the day-to-day contact for our partner here, Pepsi. I have a team of people who are responsible for geographic divisions within the USA, each based remotely. I’m also the category management expert, so developing the ‘story’ we tell our partners and our customers is an important part of my responsibilities. While Fruit Shoot is 90% of my role, I also work on our other brands in the USA.
How does what you do make everyday moments better for customers?
The unique thing about the USA is the effect it can have on the PLC share price. Many businesses try to ‘crack’ the USA because, as the world’s biggest grocery market, it is a big prize. But it’s not easy. Success here excites investors, so in the USA team we feel that responsibility to succeed.
How do you think outside the bottle?
We’re creative, which gives us plenty of opportunity to do things a little differently. Here’s a recent, practical example: a lot of the time we rely on our partners to represent our brand to customers. We know they won’t sell as passionately as we do, so we created a presentation that presents itself. The voiceover and slides are all automatic, recorded and created by us, so that every customer gets the same quality experience from Fruit Shoot.
What’s it like to work here?
Britvic, like many businesses, has values that are at the heart of who we are and what we do. These are genuinely important and our business is stronger and better because of them.
What I like personally about Britvic is that my creativity is valued and allowed to develop – we’re a small business in the USA so standing out from our competition is important. Our pockets are not as deep as many of our competitors, but the way in which we show up can be just as effective.
Britvic is also very flexible. I’m more of an office worker than a home worker but being able to do both is important to me and my lifestyle – especially with a young child at home. Britvic has a lot of tools in place to help and support people (both mentally and physically) and we appreciate those. Also, as a small family of co-workers in the USA, we have developed a great culture of our own that fits within Britvic and what it stands for.
Name: Jamie Pandya-Tuffs
Job title: Channel Finance Manager
Department: GB Finance
Location: Hemel Hempstead
How long have you worked at Britvic?
Eight years – since I left university.
Why did you decide to join Britvic?
When I left university, I was told about a role in Britvic’s PLC Finance team by my previous manager – who had recently joined Britvic herself. After finding out about all the fantastic brands that Britvic both distributed and owned, I really wanted to join the Company.
Can you describe what you do day to day?
During my time at Britvic, I’ve been lucky enough to gain experience across various parts of finance. I joined Britvic in PLC Finance, before moving to International Finance. I started to build my commercial acumen within Category Finance and after two years, I moved into my current role. Britvic has been great at giving me opportunities as I have moved through my career.
Working in Channel Finance exposes you to many parts of the business, so I work closely with both our Sales teams and supply chain. Here, we encourage team members to act like the Chief Finance Officer for their areas of responsibility. I’m responsible for delivery of the financial outcomes for GB Wholesale, the area of the business I partner.
Key parts of my role involve working through joint business plans, customer terms, annual price increases, yearly budgeting and weekly and monthly sales performance monitoring. We need to be able to tell a coherent performance story for our own areas. So, by always remaining curious, we question and challenge our stakeholders as needed to enable us to drive the best outcome for both Britvic and the customer.
How does what you do make everyday moments better for customers?
One example would be by inputting into and challenging a customer’s new promotional plan or by reviewing the level of trade investment we provide a customer. Externally, this impacts how our brands show up in different stores and outlets at different price points. Internally, a new promotional plan has an impact on volume, so affects our supply chain production plans.
How do you think outside the bottle?
Being true to yourself can bring diverse thinking and challenge the norm which is always welcomed at Britvic. When I was working through a customer's terms, I challenged the team to change the structure to reward the customer more for driving the more profitable areas, and less for the less profitable areas. This change resulted in the profitability of the customer increasing.
What’s it like to work here?
As you could expect of a fast-moving consumer goods company, Britvic is fast paced. Despite the pressure this can sometimes bring, everybody here is very friendly and supportive so there’s always someone you can talk to either for help with work or just for a chat.
Britvic also prides itself at putting people first, by encouraging a healthy work/life balance, and introducing various Human Resources initiatives to ensure support is always there for you when you need it.
Name: Nad Hussain
Job title: Shopper Marketing Manager (Adult Socialising and Entertainment)
Department: Channel Operations
Location: Hemel Hempstead
How long have you worked at Britvic?
Ten years.
Why did you decide to join Britvic?
I was previously working for GSK, within the soft drinks industry, and was familiar with the Britvic portfolio and brands – that’s what drove me to want to find out more about the Company. When I joined, Britvic was in the early stages of exploring its corporate future and this, on reflection, was the most exciting time to join.
Can you describe what you do day to day?
I’ve worked through a variety of roles and business channels. Starting in Foodservice, I’ve been fortunate to experience roles in New Business, Wholesale, Convenience and Licence and in driving our strategy for festivals and events. My roles have moved from commercial account management to Activation Manager and to where I am now, as a Marketing Manager.
My role and responsibilities vary on a day-to-day basis. I could be planning our brand marketing strategy or exploring new spaces where Britvic can win. Or I could be supporting customers with their activation plans or researching insights and category changes in the industry.
Influencing is a major behaviour in my role and I often spend time with our commercial teams sharing our plans and agreeing tactics to win in trade. The most enjoyable part is bringing our brands to fruition with consumers, seeing our plans come to life and seeing people enjoying our products.
How does what you do make everyday moments better for customers?
My role requires me to work with a wide range of business functions and customer teams. These teams can be our brands, category, insights and technical teams, as well as our top tier customer groups. In each instance, a joint approach ensures that the plans I create are delivered in an effective way. Both customers and internal colleagues expect up-to-date insights and understanding of consumer behaviour, which in turn helps Britvic be the number one soft drinks partner every time.
How do you think outside the bottle?
Over the past five years, I have built, created and led our Britvic strategy to build partnerships and create opportunities in the music festival and events industry. This was an opportunity that I identified and have built upon to date.
I also recently created a mixology programme incorporating our licensed portfolio and designed to support our customers, which is a new approach to marketing our products.
What’s it like to work here?
Having previously worked for a global corporate business, the culture at Britvic stood out from day one. Easily described as a friendly and respectful culture, Britvic has always managed to uphold its uniqueness and values through the many changes over the past ten years. The magic ingredient that makes Britvic ‘a great place to work’ is by far the people.
Britvic has always allowed for personal time and for me to keep work and home life equally balanced. Over my ten years at Britvic, my life priorities have changed to where I am now, married with two children, and this business has always supported me through this journey.
Name: Neil Lovett
Job title: Business Solution Manager – Finance & Procurement
Department: IT
Location: Hemel Hempstead
How long have you worked at Britvic?
Just over four years.
Why did you decide to join Britvic?
I joined Britvic initially through a consultancy as part of the VO programme. During this and other projects at Britvic, I found it a friendly and open place to operate that I really warmed to. Seeing the transformation journey Britvic was on at the time inspired me to join as a permanent member of the team.
Can you describe what you do day to day?
I’m responsible and accountable for all IT changes related to the Finance & Procurement functional areas. Half of this role is about business partnering between IT and the functions, whether that be senior stakeholders in steering committees and discussions on planning for future work or operational discussions on improvements that could be made.
The other half of my role is about project and programme delivery. It’s ever changing and so is always different, some examples being leading the sugar levy implementation for GB and Ireland or the move to a monthly calendar for the business. The final part of my role is team management. I have a team of five currently that can often grow with temporary resources where we need to bring in specific skills for certain pieces of work.
How does what you do make everyday moments better for customers?
My role can impact the business in multiple ways, from a small piece of work for a specific area or team to a transformation project that could affect the whole business. All the work I’m involved with allows Britvic to either operate in a controlled manner through legislative changes in Finance, or to help allow us a competitive edge through the use of technology. Most of my customers are end users within Britvic so it is really important for me to take them on the same journey so they understand why change is so important to keep us relevant as a company.
How do you think outside the bottle?
I always encourage my team to present or get on with new ideas. One of the more recent pieces of work we’re doing is in direct procurement (buying materials needed to create our finished products). We have approached this in a very different way to a normal project and come together more as a collaborative task force between IT and the Procurement function to drive this forward. This approach has allowed us to move forward at pace and reap some benefits much earlier than if we followed the standard project approach.
What’s it like to work here?
Britvic has a great culture. It’s really open, welcoming and friendly. I think the people here are definitely the heart of the Company and its success. It’s really open to all with diversity becoming more and more important in all areas.
Britvic has lots of benefits that mean less to worry about in other parts of my life. They also have plenty of material and visits from partners that help you understand the importance of a healthy work/life balance.
Name: Penny Willson
Job title: Head of Innovation
Department: Research & Development
Location: Hemel Hempstead
How long have you worked at Britvic?
Six months.
Why did you decide to join Britvic?
I’ve known the Britvic brands from childhood and they’ve always been products I choose to drink, whether squash as a child or mixers in adulthood. I was approached about the role I’m in now, and it sounded like an exciting opportunity for me to grow myself, develop my career and work within an exciting category.
Can you describe what you do day to day?
My team and I are responsible for the long-term science programme for liquid and process at Britvic. So, a big part of my time is spent looking at the future and where new opportunities lie.
I work closely with the different category teams to understand their strategy and make sure we have the right research and programmes in place to ensure our brands are competitive and deliver on Britvic’s mission.
The team works to deliver this strategy in a range of ways, working closely with the Product Development and Technical Insights teams to share new ingredients. We link up with key suppliers to understand new and emerging technologies and work with academia to understand the science of drinks.
My favourite parts of my day include spending time with the team in the lab, looking at the new work they are doing, sharing inspiration with category teams and finding out new and exciting opportunities with our suppliers.
How does what you do make everyday moments better for customers?
Product innovation work supports the delivery of the long-term business strategy. As a result, linking with the category teams and looking at different market needs is critical, as is understanding their pipelines and sharing future technology opportunities.
The immediate impact is not always that obvious, but the new ingredients identified by the team really drive change for the business. For example, the work done on calorie reduction meant the business was in a great place to respond to the sugar tax.
How do you think outside the bottle?
My role and that of my team is innovation, so I do this every day. Whether it’s looking at the latest trends in water bottles, finding new technology partners, speaking with academics about the latest science developments, creating samples to bring to life a new ingredient or testing out new ways of running projects to help us deliver against opportunities more rapidly, innovation is what we do.
As a team we’re passionate about exploring, connecting and finding opportunities that deliver to business strategy or beyond. Key for me has been creating the time for the team to deliver against their work streams, as well as to explore future opportunities.
What’s it like to work here?
The culture is really focused on working and succeeding as a team and I love the combined focus on people, planet and performance.
I live quite a journey from the office and one of the discussion points in my interview was how this would impact my work/life balance. It was clear from the discussion that Britvic was focused on ensuring people have a work/life balance. The reality of this was proven in my second week when my daughter was sick, and I needed to work from home. I was slightly nervous about asking for this, but my manager was so understanding. Since I joined the business, there have been many events on wellbeing, all promoting a happy and healthy life.
Within the Research & Development team, the culture is friendly and caring – that plus the appetite to create new opportunities for the business make it a great place to work.
