I was born and raised in France, in a little town about 30 minutes away from Paris. I moved to the city for university, where I studied a Masters’ Degree in Marketing, specialised in Retail & Customer Relationship Management. I then spent a gap year traveling around Australia and New-Zealand, before coming back to Europe and moving to Scotland for further education in Fitness & Nutrition in Dundee.

It only took a few months for me to fall in love with Scotland, so I started researching full-time positions which would allow me to stay in the country for good. I already had some working experience behind me albeit short-term – including internships at Nestlé and L’Oréal headquarters in France – and I thought a graduate role would be the best fit for me. You gain access to top-class companies with an entry-level role, so really it’s a win-win for both the successful candidate and the company.

I was looking for a role that would combine my interests in the food industry and my skills in marketing. I’m also a salmon addict, so when the job advert came up, I didn’t hesitate one second! I was particularly interested in the product development side of things, which I had touched on previously but not explored in great depth. I liked that Aquascot was a dedicated supplier to Waitrose, which is a badge of great product quality. I was a bit reluctant to uproot myself another time to move to the Highlands, but the environment is ideal for an outdoor enthusiast like me.

I believe the first year of joining Aquascot taught me the major characteristics of the business: its employee-owned culture and its values. Working here is totally different to working in a multinational, in the sense that every person feels part of the same team – it’s almost like everyone plays a part in strategic decision-making. Some of my missions I have carried into the new role, such as researching food trends and analysing competitor product releases, but my main area of expertise is now communication – I manage all internal and external communications, including this newly redesigned website I helped launch!

It is crucial to come with an open mind, and to work hard to gain everyone’s trust. A lot of people have been in the company since before I was even born, so you need to understand their perspective in order to comprehend the way the business works. Even if you are assigned with a specific role, it is important to step outside your team ‘bubble’ and join cross-functional projects to get comfortable working with different people in various departments and get a broad understanding of the organisational structure.

To me it seems as if everything that happens at Aquascot does so for a reason – every process/decision is well thought through, with the approval and back-up of partners through the Partnership Council. It’s not very often that you come about a company that cares as much about their employees. Not only, but the products that we deliver are respectful of the environment and the society as a whole, so it feels like I am making a difference.

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