INTERVIEW WITH ...
Q : PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND YOUR ROLE
» I have over 15 years ’ experience within procurement , in which time I ’ ve sourced ingredients from across the globe . I ’ m lucky I get to do what I love for a living . I have purchased a wide variety of commodities during my career to date , including spices from India , dried fruit from Thailand and cheesecake sauces made in the UK . I ’ ve enjoyed the progression my career has provided , starting out with smaller businesses , and now working at such a well-loved and iconic brand like Weetabix .
I joined Weetabix earlier this year as Procurement Manager for Wheat and Utilities , following two and a half years as Procurement Manager for Vibrant Foods . Before that I ’ ve also held positions at Bowman Ingredients , Samworth Brothers , Whitworths and Premier Foods .
Sourcing wheat for the nation ’ s favourite cereal is certainly a good story to share with the family around the breakfast table . What ’ s been clear since joining Weetabix is the company ’ s commitment to responsible production at every step along the journey from the wheat fields to your cereal bowl .
80 %+
of Weetabix growers have been supplying the company with wheat for more than five years
Weetabix already has a great story to tell when it comes to wheat and in fact , 100 % of the wheat used in both the classic Weetabix Original biscuits and our flavoured Weetabix variants is sourced from within 50 miles of our factory in Northamptonshire , UK . We work closely with our Growers ’ Group , who are a collective of approximately 120 environmentally aware farmers who we trust to grow , harvest , store and deliver the finest quality wheat . This has been a key part of Weetabix ’ s sustainable sourcing policy for over 12 years now with all our farmers abide by our Wheat Protocol , which sets out environmental and quality requirements to ensure we use greattasing , local wheat for years to come . Looking forward , we ’ re continuing to work closely with our Growers Group to advance our Wheat Protocol , allowing us to drive further reductions in the carbon footprint of our ingredient production .
When it comes to utilities , we ’ re constantly looking to implement best-practice in sourcing so that we can minimise our environmental impact . Although we rely increasingly on renewable energy supplied through the grid to power our manufacturing operations at
18 October 2023