Graduate Project Executive

Working within apetito’s Specialist Nutrition (SN) Team this role will work alongside the Senior Category Executive and the Head of Specialist Nutrition to support in the delivery of commercial strategies and plans to drive growth of the SN categories.

Encompassing marketing, business development, customer acquisition and retention strategies, consumer and customer insight and much more this commercially focused role will offer real breadth to someone wishing to develop their skills and experience.

The successful candidate will work in close partnership with our sales and marketing teams, raising the awareness, understanding and passion for growth of our SN categories throughout the business. The role will work with these teams to identify opportunities and develop a wide range of initiatives to deliver greater sales and profitability of SN categories.

The role will involve a lot of time also spent with customers, researching new sales/marketing initiatives, supporting our teams at events and exhibitions as well as presenting and demonstrating our SN ranges to existing and prospective customers and industry stakeholders.

The Specialist Nutrition function and product range is of huge strategic importance to the apetito and Wiltshire Farm Foods business. The high-profile nature of the division and breadth of commercial experience offered has helped provide a springboard for previous team members to develop their careers within apetito UK, and also led to opportunities further-afield in apetito Germany, Canada and USA.

Wiltshire Farm Foods, part of the apetito group, is the UK’s largest ready-meal supplier, cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK primarily to the elderly, their family members and healthcare professionals.

We're dedicated to making a real difference to our customers' lives, by bringing sunshine to their doors through our commitment to provide good old-fashioned service.

Our intense pride drives us to continuously innovate and improve, ensuring our products and service exceed our customers' needs.

This is all whilst being an ethical and sustainable organisation that believes in doing the right thing.

This role is part of our 2 year graduate programme, during which you will have exposure to mentoring, leadership training and support to achieve your full potential.

You will have opportunity to present to the executive team on your work.

The aim of our programme is to train and develop graduates into future leadership roles.

Over the past 15 years, apetito has established itself as a world leader in the provision for specialist diets. Since revolutionising the market in 2010 with an industry leading range of moulded Texture Modified meals, we have developed what is now a ‘best in class’ offering of over 100 dishes for people living with swallowing difficulties. We’ve also developed revolutionary ranges for people at risk of malnutrition, a unique range of finger foods for those living with co-ordination & dexterity challenges alongside a market leading ‘Allergen Free’ range for those living with multiple or severe food allergies.

Each range has been developed so that they can be successfully sold across our business including Care Homes, Healthcare and to consumers at home through Wiltshire Farm Foods.

It is our ambition to double our market share over the next 5 years.

Not only have we achieved financial success, we believe that these products have clearly enabled us to differentiate apetito from it’s competition across core markets. The products embody our mission of ‘Making a Real Difference’.

The apetito & Wiltshire Farm Foods Specialist Nutrition ranges are:

• Texture Modified Foods – A world leading range of products for those living with dysphagia (swallowing difficulties).
• Finger Foods – A world first. Providing meal options for those who may be living with dementia, have a loss of dexterity and struggle to use cutlery, pace or become distracted at mealtimes
• Mini Meals Extra – A range of smaller portioned energy dense, higher protein meals designed to tackle malnutrition.
• Free From – A delicious range of meals free from the main 14 allergens.

For more information on the apetito/Wiltshire Farm Foods Specialist Nutrition offering please click here to be taken to our online brochure.

• Development and ownership of major new commercial initiatives to step change growth of the SN categories. These may include developing new routes to market for SN products, identifying new system and service solutions which will grow SN sales or leveraging apetito’s market leading status to create opportunities for growth by working in partnership with other industry stakeholders such as care and healthcare providers.
• Working with our Analytics and Finance Teams to identify opportunities for growth such as new and underserved customer groups, gaps in our sales and marketing plans and new market opportunities. Once opportunities are identified working with the relevant teams to deliver strategies and plans to capitalise on them.
• Working in partnership with our colleagues in Sales and Marketing to drive growth of the SN categories. Provide support to sales and marketing teams to help win and retain business and to support with strategies and plans for new SN launches.
• Become the voice of SN in the business. The role will include a significant amount of presenting on the SN proposition to customers and a wide variety of stakeholders to support all business units in the winning and retention of business. This will also include providing demonstrations of our products at both our visitor centre in Trowbridge as well as some events throughout the UK including exhibitions, conferences and apetito sales presentation events.
• Delivering our SN customer insight programme in conjunction with the Senior Category Executive providing commercially valuable, actionable insights and data generated through quantitative and qualitative research and time spent with customers.
• Provide key support to the Head of Specialist Nutrition and wider team across a broad spectrum of projects.

The dynamic nature of this business unit dictates an evolving strategy which means that projects vary, but a flavor of projects both past and present include:

• Development and launch of award-winning Texture Modified ranges
• Developing an SN only proposition for small care homes
• Developing strategic partnerships with major national care sector providers
• Trialing an innovative new concept aiming to tackle malnutrition in care settings

Skills and Experience

• This role would be well suited to a recent graduate looking for an exciting new opportunity to build their commercial skillset.
• Having studied/gained some experience in the fields of marketing / sales / wider business studies or nutrition would be beneficial.
• The role requires someone with strong interpersonal / influencing / relationship management skills.
• They will have some experience of successfully managing projects with multiple stakeholders.
• They will be both analytically minded and financially literate.
• Experience in the food/care industries would be beneficial but not essential
• Full UK Driving Licence required 

 Desired Personal Qualities

• Genuine passion for making a real difference
• Drive and ambition
• A self-motivated individual looking to own and manage their workload – A proven self-starter
• Effective communicator, confident presenting
• They will need to be resilient and determined. They will need to be able to deal with setbacks and respond well to challenge. They must be diplomatic but assertive.
• They will require a high level of attention to detail and be very comfortable with numbers.
• Fantastic interpersonal skills – able to build strong relationships and positively influence others.
• Growth mindset – An optimistic outlook with determination to make things happen.
• Interest / passion for food.

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme
• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%
• Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
• Subsidised canteen
• Free parking
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
• apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts

As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.

We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers.

We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer.
Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.