[Inside FF] Lesley Bambridge joins Forward Fooding’s family as Chief Marketing Officer
We are thrilled to announce that this week Lesley Bambridge joins the Forward Fooding team as our Chief Marketing Officer.
As pioneers of the ‘Food Revolution’, we believe that collaboration between startups and corporates is critical to the future of the food industry.
From synthesising new ingredients to incorporating the newest types of tech into the food innovation process, we aim to address some of the world’s biggest foodtech and agritech challenges whilst elevating the current standards of food produce and production.
Crucial to this is having the right people on board to help us bring our ambitious vision to life and Lesley’s appointment marks a significant phase of growth for us at Forward Fooding.
Her experience is vast, having spent her corporate career heading up FMCG brands such as Lucozade Energy, Aquafresh and Ferrero Rocher. Whilst her most recent venture founding boutique marketing consultancy We Mean Business London has seen her advising new food, drink and wellness startups on marketing best practice and how to build sustainable brands with marketing at their hearts.
Lesley in her own words is a huge food and drink enthusiast, a keen traveller and mum to an energetic one year old.
“I started my marketing career choosing the toys that go into Kinder Surprise and designing selection packs at Christmas, and soon graduated on to heading up some of the UK’s biggest household brands. From here I crossed over to advising startups on how to incorporate marketing best practice into building their brands. The aim for me has always been about challenging myself to learn and grow.”
“The current pace and appetite for true innovation is faster and more challenging than it’s ever been. Technology has played a huge part in this, making consumers more demanding than ever. It’s time for companies particularly in the food and drink space to step up and meet their needs. The ones I see succeeding in this are startups, yet the stumbling blocks are access to funding, successful scaling and growing distribution sustainably. This is where corporate — startup collaborations have huge growth potential.”
“Forward Fooding is a trailblazer in the industry. Not only is it the first collaborative platform of its kind, but its ambitious aims of bringing together startups and FMCG corporates to create successful partnerships and collaborations, mean that it is poised to accelerate innovation, which is exactly what consumers, and the FMCG and retail industries are all crying out for.”
“As CMO, my role is to guide Forward Fooding in finding its voice in bringing corporates and startups together, whilst fostering collaborative and mutually beneficial partnerships and ultimately setting a new standard in food, drink and foodtech innovation. I’m hugely excited to be joining the Forward Fooding team and pioneer this exciting journey.”
Alessio D’Antino Forward Fooding’s CEO and Founder
“We knew Lesley was the ideal person to head up our marketing team and we’re thrilled to have her onboard. Her successful career with both corporate FMCG businesses and startups means she has first hand experience of working with our key audiences, and is perfectly placed to bring our vision for Forward Fooding to life.”
Welcome to the Forward Fooding family Lesley, we wish you every success both personally (as the first mum to join our team) and professionally!
