Harriet Shaw

Age: 24

Three years after graduating from the University of Edinburgh in 2015, Harriet now finds herself travelling around the world for her role as Sales and Marketing Executive for Mackie’s Crisps.

“I studied linguistics and English language at university, but by the end of my degree knew that I wanted to work in marketing. My dad pointed me in the direction of the ScotGrad website where there were so many great opportunities for graduates in the food and drink industry, but I was immediately drawn to Mackies Crisps”.

Looking after the marketing at Mackie’s Crisps, Harriet’s role includes managing Mackie’s social media accounts & website and working on NPD & graphic design, amongst other things. As well as this, Harriet spends some of her time travelling to attend consumer and trade shows both in the UK and abroad.

“Just last month I was over in Canada at a consumer show. We were also sampling the likes of Irn Bru and Nairn’s Oatcakes and it’s was a great experience to get to show off our crisp range alongside some of the best and well-known Scottish brands.”

“I also often give talks to local schools and community groups. I love the opportunity to tell them all about our business and hear their feedback, especially when they don’t realise that our factory is just up the road in Errol.”

Although Harriet didn’t always know that she would end up working in food and drink, it’s an industry she’s always been passionate about and has been made to feel very welcome.

“It’s very much a community-like atmosphere when you attend food and drink events. Everyone is always on hand to help or there if you need advice. You can tell everyone is passionate about their products and about what they do and that’s so encouraging and inspiring.”

“I ended up in the food and drink industry via ScotGrad. This is a programme run by Scottish Enterprise to help small and medium-sized businesses find graduates in certain areas where they may lack the skillset. However, there are so many other ways to get into the industry and lots of training and learning opportunities to help everyone grow their career.”

“For young people, the food and drink industry has so much to offer – but equally young people have a lot to offer the industry. A lot of companies need support bringing their advertising and marketing to life and people who grow up native to digital are in the perfect position to help. We’re also full of creative and innovative ideas and may be able to offer ways to bring technology to the forefront of the business.”

For Harriet’s #ScotFoodGoals, she wants the Scottish food and drink industry to continue their exporting success and raising awareness for the exceptional produce made in Scotland.

“Having been lucky enough to attend some international trade shows I’m always extremely proud to hear the positive feedback we get about Scottish food & drink in general. The Asian market, in particular, love our products. As an industry collective we need to do everything we can to continue to get our messages across and make our products accessible to overseas markets”.

For her own personal goals, Harriet knows she will continue to work in the food and drink industry that she loves whilst also doing her best to spread the word on the fantastic food & drink we have on offer here in Scotland.