If racism doesn’t affect your everyday life, it’s easy to not think about it or to tell yourself that it doesn’t matter. Maybe you also tell yourself that if you saw racism in your workplace, you’d recognise it and call it out immediately. But is that really the case? On this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we talk to Ayisha Koyenikan, a passionate and successful woman who’s achieved a brilliant career in the food industry, about the obstacles she’s faced being black in the workplace. 

Ayisha tells us about her lifelong passion for food and how it led her to study food science and then switch tracks to a career in NPD and then food insights. She shares how her mum prepared her from a young age for the challenges of breaking into the corporate world as a black person and we hear about some of the incidents of overt and subtle racism that she suffered. You’ll learn the difference between equality and equity and how to challenge the ‘whataboutism’ question that’s often raised when affirmative action schemes are on the table. Listen out for ideas on how you can help to improve diversity in your company and help people from marginalised communities to enjoy a career in the food industry. 

If Ayisha’s story inspired you to think about transitioning into a career in NPD, you can find out more by joining our upcoming NPD Fundamentals course! Whatever your professional background is, we’d love to see you there and share tools and knowledge that’ll benefit your career in food.

Timestamps

[1:58] Welcome to the podcast, Ayisha!

[3:35] Ayisha’s food obsession and her food career from food science to NPD

[8:14] How diverse is the food industry? 

[9:54] Ayisha discusses how a lack of representation made her feel about her career

[12:52] “So I said something”: How Ayisha stood up to racism in the workplace

[16:38] Why we have to discuss racism in the workplace 

[17:56] “I just don’t have the energy for that”: What Ayisha does and doesn’t do to fight racism

[22:58] Two paid internship programmes for young black people 

[24:43] Equality vs equity: Why they’re not the same

[26:35] Ayisha explains why travelling is different for black people

[29:56] Following Ayisha’s career journey into NDP and insight

[31:58] “Talk about imposter syndrome!”: How Ayisha overcame her self-doubt

[34:12] What’s next for Ayisha?

[36:33] Giving a leg up to the people coming up behind you 

[38:41] Can you be an expert in diversity?

[42:05] How to get in touch with Ayisha 

Links and Resources

Find out more about our NPD Fundamentals course

Ayisha Koyenikan on LinkedIn

Ayisha Koyenikan on Instagram

Our previous episode on diversity and inclusion with Amie Burke

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Daymer

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Email: [email protected]

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If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn

For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn

See you next time!

If your career involves any level of contact with an NPD team, you’ll know that it’s a high-pressure job with a lot of tight deadlines, strict workflows and tons of industry jargon. And you might have thought that that was all you needed to know, but on this week’s episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we’re here to correct you and deliver some exciting news: our NPD Fundamentals course is back!

We walk you through who this course is for and what you’ll get out of it. We share the benefit of our hindsight and why we would have loved an NPD crash course at the beginning of our food industry careers. You’ll learn what you’ll get out of the NPD course even if you’re not on an NPD team and why it’ll benefit your career and make your company more efficient. Plus we break down the common pain points around NPD and how you can prevent them from happening. It’s every question you had about NPD but never had the time or the courage to ask!

We’d love to see you on our NPD Fundamentals course, which starts very soon! 

Find out more about the course here

 and if you have any questions, then please reach out to us on 

Facebook or LinkedIn  See you there!

Timestamps

[1:45] Hi folks! Today we’re talking about everything you need to know about the NPD process

[4:31] Understanding the how and the why of NPD

[7:27] Why it’s hard to get to grips with the Stage-Gate process

[10:21] Food industry process: The theory and the reality

[14:45] Why NPD is relevant to EVERYONE in the food industry

[17:31] How to stop those pain points from slowing down your NPD process

[21:39] Benefits for you, benefits for the business

[23:35] “It deserves to be talked about” 

Links and Resources

Find out more about our NPD Fundamentals course

Our previous episode on seeing the bigger picture

If you’d like to know more about today’s sponsor, find them online at: 

Daymer

Daymer on LinkedIn

Daymer on Twitter

Email: [email protected]

You can follow us here on instagram

If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn

For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn

See you next time!

All businesses communicate all the time, but they don't often think about it. Whether they’re persuading leads to become customers, supporting existing customers, handling shareholders or managing employees, it all comes down to good communication skills. On this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we’re talking to business founder and NLP therapist Neil Sykes about how better communication can drive businesses forward. 

Neil tells us how he came from his market research background to launching his consultancy business during the Covid pandemic. He gives us a digest of his NLP training and explains how he uses his skills to help businesses to innovate new products and processes. Listen to him tie the “Six I’s” model for innovation into the Stage-Gate process we use in Food product development and unpack how each of the stages links to an overriding purpose. He gives us great tips on how to get better at innovation and how we can start to communicate better with our colleagues and clients. 

Thank you for being such a brilliant and interesting guest Neil! If you have an idea of who you’d like to hear appear next on the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, fill in our quick survey and let us know! 

Timestamps

[1:33] Welcome to the podcast, Neil!

[3:03] Neil’s transition from market research to working with the food industry

[7:33] Using neuroscience in NPD

[10:12] Setting up a business during Covid

[12:47] The 6 I’s model of innovation and how they link to the Stage-Gate process

[17:37] Why purpose is the most important ingredient of food innovation 

[20:30] “We don’t live our life on paper”: Communicating processes

[22:30] How NLP helps to unpack our daily interactions  

[27:00] What Neil does to help companies to communicate better

[32:57] Taking the restrictions out of innovation 

[36:27] Why “soft skills” are your biggest assets

[39:50] Neil unpacks the four learning styles 

[43:41] How to get in touch with Neil

Links and Resources

Sign up for the Invisible to Influential course  

We would LOVE your thoughts on how we can make the podcast even greater! Please take a few minutes to fill in this podcast survey

Neil Sykes on LinkedIn

Food4Innov8tions

4MAT Learning Style

Six I's innovation model

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If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn

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See you next time!

You’re about to deliver your presentation to the board and you thought you were doing fine. Great, even. But then you notice that your hands are shaking, your knees feel weak, your back is sweaty and your mouth has gone dry. Ah, performance anxiety! However it feels for you, it can hold you back in your career and prevent you from achieving the success you deserve. So on this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we’re giving you the tools and techniques you need to nip your nerves in the bud. 

We discuss what performance anxiety is and how it might show up in your workplace. Then we go through the techniques that we use to recognise and reduce our own performance anxiety, from working on our mind-body connection to visualising our way through stressful situations. Stick around until the end of the episode to hear some exciting news about the ‘Invisible to Influential’ course that’ll help you to show up better in your career!

If you’d like individual support to work on your performance anxiety, don’t hesitate to reach out to us and find out how we can help you. We always love to hear from you!

Timestamps

[1:34] Hello! Join us for our discussion on overcoming performance anxiety

[3:34] So, what is performance anxiety?

[5:18] How performance anxiety might show up in your workplace

[7:55] Our fear of being judged

[9:15] The fight/flight/freeze mechanism and our mind-body connection

[11:50] Yes, we do all feel like this!

[15:19] So, what can we do about performance anxiety? 

[21:12] Visualise to realise  

[23:38] A grounding technique for instant stress relief

[27:30] Exciting news about the ‘Invisible to Influential’ course! 

Links and Resources

Sign up for the Invisible to Influential course  

We would LOVE your thoughts on how we can make the podcast even greater! Please take a few minutes to fill in this podcast survey

The Chimp Paradox by Professor Steve Peters on Amazon UK

Our previous episode on the menopause

You can follow us here on instagram

If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn

For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn

See you next time!

On this week’s episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we talk to former professional chef Stephanie Kingston who traded her chef whites in for a factory uniform when she set up her nutrition-based to-go food business, Pollen + Grace. Steph lifts the lid on the Pollen + Grace story and tells us about future developments coming up for her business baby. 

Steph charts her journey into the food industry and tells us how her food intolerances made her pivot into the health food space. We discuss how she built Pollen + Grace from the ground up and transitioned it into making ever higher volumes of food to meet their growing list of distributors. You’ll hear how Steph balances out the competing needs of innovation and sustainable growth and the advice she’d give to her younger self on the cusp of starting a food business. There’s also some exciting news about what’s next for Pollen + Grace and for Steph! 

If you have any thoughts about this episode or about the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, then we’d love to hear them! We’re asking our listeners to fill out this short survey so we can carry on making podcast content that you love to hear. Thanks for helping us out!

Timestamps

[1:34] Welcome to the podcast, Steph!

[4:24] “Food has always been my world”: Steph’s journey into the food industry

[9:32] How Pollen + Grace got stocked in major supermarkets

[13:26] Natural products, functional food: The Pollen + Grace philosophy

[17:36] Why a co pack manufacturing model made sense for the business

[21:06] Steph’s insight on the real value behind the Pollen + Grace brand 

[22:00] More distributors, more categories: What’s on the horizon for the business?

[24:08] “We needed to rethink how we looked at product development”: The challenges of innovating 

[28:37] Juggling motherhood and a food business (AKA two babies at once)

[31:35] Steph’s advice to her younger self 

[35:13] Where to get in touch with Steph and Pollen + Grace

Links and Resources

Sign up for the Invisible to Influential course  

We would LOVE your thoughts on how we can make the podcast even greater! Please take a few minutes to fill in this podcast survey

Stephanie Kingston on LinkedIn

Pollen + Grace

Pollen + Grace on LinkedIn

If you’d like to know more about today’s sponsor, find them online at: 

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Daymer on LinkedIn

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Email: [email protected]

You can follow us here on instagram

If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn

For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn

See you next time!

Too many people believe that you either are entrepreneurial or you aren’t, and this myth needs to be busted! On this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we’re drilling down on the qualities that make up an entrepreneurial mindset and giving you tips on how you can apply them to your own life, even if you don’t have your own business. 

We begin by tackling the misconception that ‘employees don’t need to be entrepreneurs’ and we show you how useful entrepreneurial thinking can be in your workplace. Then we examine what an entrepreneurial mindset is and how you can start to adopt some of the characteristics of entrepreneurial thinking. We also give you some handy tips on how to balance out your entrepreneurial mindset to make sure that you don’t slide into overwhelm and burnout. 

Scoot down the page to find links to several of our previous episodes where we’ve covered topics like influencing people, networking and finding your purpose, all of which are a helpful resource for your entrepreneurial journey. You can also learn more about running a thriving food business by subscribing to the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast as we release new episodes every week. We’d love it if you could give us a review too!

Timestamps

[1:28] Welcome to the episode! Today we’re talking about how to boost your entrepreneurial mindset

[4:50] Bigger businesses need employees with an entrepreneurial mindset too!

[5:36] Spotting the opportunities, connecting the dots

[8:30] The ups and downs of risk taking 

[12:17] Can you balance out risk taking and the Stage-Gate process? 

[13:46] “Staying safe doesn’t mean that you’re happy”: Reliance and adaptability  

[19:57] “You sometimes have to give up to get on”: Reframing giving up

[23:45] The positives and negatives of the entrepreneurial mindset 

[25:58] How to save yourself from entrepreneurial overwhelm

Links and Resources

Sign up for the Invisible to Influential course  

Get instant access to our masterclass series

We would LOVE your thoughts on how we can make the podcast even greater! Please take a few minutes to fill in this podcast survey

Our previous episode on finding your purpose

Our previous episode on how to influence people

Our previous episode on managing overwhelm

Our previous episode on how to network

If you’d like to know more about today’s sponsor, find them online at: 

Daymer

Daymer on LinkedIn

Daymer on Twitter

Email: [email protected]

You can follow us here on instagram

If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn

For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn

See you next time!

It’s so important for the future of your company, but it’s something that many companies can get so wrong: cross-functional collaboration. In the food industry, departments like NPD, marketing, sales and finance are all expected to pull together but in reality, their different goals and incentives can often get in the way. So on this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we’re brainstorming what good cross-functional collaboration is and how you can achieve it. 

We explore the challenges that block different teams from being able to work well together and unpack how you can overcome them. Then we share our experiences of collaboration and the tools and techniques that helped us to collaborate, from building trust between teams to the application of tech solutions to facilitated workshops that hit the source of the problem. Stay tuned to the end of the episode to hear exciting news about our upcoming NPD process course! 

If your company could do with an intervention on collaboration, don’t hesitate to contact us on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages! You can also find loads of free, helpful advice from us by subscribing to the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast and exploring our episode archive.

Timestamps

[1:30] Hellooooo! Today we’re helping you to have better relationships across your foods and drinks teams

[4:28] Why the deck can be stacked against cross-functional relationships

[5:27] What actually improves your collaborations 

[9:20] You don’t have to like them, but you do have to trust them

[12:06] Getting out of your echo chamber

[13:53] “It is doable”: Getting to the ‘how’ of collaboration 

[15:28] The tools and tech that will help you to collaborate

[18:51] “Ripping the plaster off” to make collaboration happen 

[21:10] How to get started reworking collaboration in your company

[23:02] Our exciting upcoming NPD course! 

Links and Resources

Collaborating with the Enemy by Adam Kahane on Amazon UK

Our previous episode on building trust in your team

Our previous episode on innovation with Simon Allison

If you’d like to know more about today’s sponsor, find them online at: 

Daymer

Daymer on LinkedIn

Daymer on Twitter

Email: [email protected]

You can follow us here on instagram

If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn

For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn

See you next time!

Why did chewing gum sales drop as smartphone sales rose? And when the economy is in a recession, why should you aim to be the most expensive food product in your category? On this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we have the pleasure of speaking with expert consultant Mark Whalley about the difference that insights make to your food business. 

Mark tracks his career journey from the start working in market research to his move into the food industry. Together, we cover what insight actually is and how it should overlap with your business strategy. Mark busts some common myths such as why data and insights aren’t the same thing and why sending out an online survey won’t tell you much about what your customers think of your product. We learn a lesson in asking the right questions that’ll move your food business forward and tease out instinct from insight. And at the end of the episode, we tell you how you can hear more from Mark – and us! – by signing up to the exciting Speciality Food Fair!

Make sure that you don’t miss our part 2 episode with the brilliant Mark Whalley by subscribing to Oh For Food’s Sake wherever you get your podcasts.   

Timestamps

[1:33] Welcome to the podcast, Mark!

[5:09] Mark’s career from a wannabe TV Gladiator to a food trend analysist

[8:03] Why Mark dug deeper on his food knowledge and moved towards product development

[11:06] How Mark navigated his career change

[12:35] The curse of industry jargon

[17:13] What actually is insight, Mark?  

[19:25] “The best application of insight is working in conjunction with strategy” 

[23:05] The complexities of searching for real, valuable insights 

[27:51] Why data and insights aren’t the same thing

[31:46] “Context is everything” 

[34:10] Asking the right questions about food trends

[36:41] Chewing gum vs. smartphones: Understanding your product category 

[39:24] The insight that leads to the decision

[42:45] Where does instinct overlap with insight? 

[44:38] What Mark does through his company, Differential Insight 

[45:55] How to get in touch with Mark 

Links and Resources

Mark Whalley on LinkedIn

The Differential

Speciality Fine Food Fair

If you’d like to know more about today’s sponsor, find them online at: 

Daymer

Daymer on LinkedIn

Daymer on Twitter

Email: [email protected]

You can follow us here on instagram

If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn

For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn

See you next time!

‘Toxic’ is a word that we seem to hear a lot these days. We call situations, workplaces  and even people ‘toxic’ all the time, but what does that actually mean? And how can you tell when your workplace is toxic? Well on this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we’re diving into the murky world of toxic workplaces to discuss how to tell if your workplace is toxic and what you can do about it. 

We begin by laying out how working in a toxic environment can damage your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. Then we go through all the signs of a toxic workplace and explain how they might look to you, even if you’re used to them. Then we give you pointers on what to do if your workplace matches some or all of our toxic criteria, including how to look for a new job, exploring your legal options and how to stay in your current job without giving into the toxicity. 

This episode was a bit of a heavy one, but we hope that it was helpful to you! Never forget that you have options and that you don’t have to stay in a workplace that’s harmful to your wellbeing. You can also browse through the archives of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast to find our other great episodes on thriving in your career in the food industry. 

Timestamps

[1:30] Welcome! Today we’re discussing how to tell if your workplace is toxic

[2:52] Damaging to your confidence, harmful to your career: What a toxic workplace can do to you

[5:02] A sign of a toxic work environment: The Sunday night dreads

[6:33] How your working hours can translate to a toxic work culture 

[8:55] Putting yourself and your happiness first

[10:14] “That’s just how s/he is”: A toxic work culture phrase 

[11:35] How to tell if your working hours are toxic

[13:13] Company culture and toxic workplaces

[15:15] Does your company offer you a chance to progress?

[16:54] Why you need to think about your needs too 

[18:45] Here’s what to do if you think your workplace is toxic

[22:37] Getting ready to leave a toxic workplace

[25:00] Sign up for the revamped ‘Invisible to Influential’ course

Links and Resources

Our previous episode on employment law

If you’d like to know more about today’s sponsor, find them online at: 

Daymer

Daymer on LinkedIn

Daymer on Twitter

Email: [email protected]

You can follow us here on instagram

If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn

For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn

See you next time!

When you have a question about your job, you go to HR. When you want to make a complaint about a colleague, you go to HR. When you need support in your workplace, you go to HR. But… who does your HR person go to? On this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we invite special guest and HR expert Jennie Beasley to shine a light on another underappreciated role in the UK food industry: the HR specialist. 

Jennie gives us a walk through her HR career journey, covering her time in a job share partnership and how she transitioned from being an HR employee to the position of Head of HR. She weighs up the merits of working part-time against being in a job share scheme and unpacks some of the unique challenges of working in HR in the food industry. You’ll learn what HR is actually responsible for and why you shouldn’t try to load extra duties onto your HR representative’s plate! At the end of the episode, Jennis gives advice to other HR staff about how and why they should take care of themselves and she runs us through some of the services that she offers in her new HR coaching business. 

Jennie, thanks so much for coming onto the podcast and sharing your wisdom with us! If you work in a role in the food industry that we should know more about, please get in touch with the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast via our Facebook or LinkedIn page. We always love hearing from you!

Timestamps

[1:40] Welcome to Oh For Food’s Sake, Jennie!

[2:43] Jennie tells us her mission in the food industry

[5:53] Jennie’s potted career story

[8:37] The early days of job sharing

[10:47] Job share vs part time: Which is better?

[15:29] “A totally different feeling”: Changing jobs and moving to a smaller company 

[17:23] Clashing priorities: What HR looks like behind the scenes

[20:08] Unpacking the challenges of HR workers in the food industry 

[21:31] What is HR actually responsible for?

[24:50] “Can you just…?” Actually, no! 

[26:07] The fine line of working in HR

[28:44] Why HR workers need to look after themselves too 

[30:12] The unique position of HR during the pandemic

[32:18] What advice would you give to HR leaders, Jennie? 

[34:26] How will the food industry adapt to flexible working?

[36:48] “It’s a choice”: Dedicating time to your personal development 

[39:05] HR needs to be able to ask for help too!

[41:45] Making a safe place for HR: Jennie’s career coaching services 

[45:30] How to get in touch with Jennie

Links and Resources

Jennie Beasley on LinkedIn

Email: [email protected]

If you’d like to know more about today’s sponsor, find them online at: 

Daymer

Daymer on LinkedIn

Daymer on Twitter

Email: [email protected]

You can follow us here on instagram

If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn

For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn

See you next time!