– New Brand Managers for Haywards Pickled Vegetables and Sarson’s Vinegar
– Appointment of Head of NPD and Head of Technical
Mizkan Euro is set to hit the ground running in 2014 with five key appointments across its marketing, product development, manufacturing and operations departments, showing its continued commitment to the innovation and long-term nurturing of its iconic British brands.
Suzanne Dover will be taking charge of product development at Mizkan as Head of NPD, while Kate Charman and Kuniaki Tsukada will be managing the Haywards and Sarson’s brand portfolios respectively. Bruce Lambourne, as Head of Technical, will oversee Mizkan Europe’s manufacturing process, while Mike Parsons will take the lead as Director of Operations & Supply Chain.
New Haywards Brand Manager Kate Charman has four years experience of building and marketing products, firstly at Novartis Consumer Health focusing on veterinary products and then latterly at KP Snacks as Assistant Brand Manager for Hula Hoops. Here she was involved in BTL work, packaging design, flavour changes and NPD.
In charge of Sarson’s Vinegar, Brand Manager Kuniaki Tsukada has been with Mizkan for a decade. Nine of those ten years were spent in the marketing division in Japan, building expertise in delivering consumer campaigns and new products.
As head of NPD, Suzanne Dover will ensure Mizkan Euro’s products are consistently reaching customer expectations. She comes from a career spanning over twenty years in the food industry, enthusiastically developing, managing and launching brands at companies such as Mars, HJ Heinz and SMA Nutrition.
Bruce Lambourne is joining Mizkan Euro as Head of Technical with over a decade of experience in the food manufacturing sector. Joining Premier Foods from his native South Africa in 2002 as Technical Manager, Bruce has worked extensively across bakery, desserts, confectionary and meats in the intervening twelve years, building up a wealth of experience in the sector.
Coming into the Mizkan Team more recently from Weetabix, and with two decades of food industry experience, Mike Parsons has huge expertise in building and transforming the operational side of food manufacturing. Previously having spent 17 years at Heinz, Mike’s work has taken him across multiple senior roles, resulting in his role at Weetabix where he ran four operating sites and had responsibility for 1200 employees.
Growing the company from just one employee (himself) in September 2012, Paul Shanahan, MD, is now in charge of a 60 strong team, bringing experience from a wide range of sectors and backgrounds under one roof. These new hires, along with the speed with which the company has built up its UK operations, reflect the strong commitment Mizkan Euro has to the growth of its Branston, Haywards and Sarson’s brands. This growing melting pot of talent is putting continuous innovation at the heart of Mizkan Euro, driving the business onwards and upwards.
Paul Shanahan, MD, Mizkan Europe said:
“As a company, we’re dedicated to supporting these classic British brands and establishing them as mainstays in the British kitchen. Through these appointments, we’ll not only be able to grow our sales of Branston, Hayward’s and Sarson’s and develop them as brands in the public consciousness, but we’ll be also breathe new life into our offering as a whole through an earnest expansion of our product development and technical expertise. There is little time to sit on our laurels in 2014 as we continue to expand our business and cement our leadership position in our category sectors.”
These announcements follow the airing of Branston Pickle’s first TV advert in five years, supported by £5.9m media spend, and show a concerted effort by Mizkan Euro to develop its already renowned brands into staples of every kitchen in 2014.
ENDS
About Mizkan Euro
Mizkan is a Japanese, privately-owned business that started in 1804. It is known as the number one Sushi vinegar supplier in the world and is looking to grow its current portfolio of brands and raise its profile as category experts within the retail, wholesale, foodservice and ingredients areas in the EU. It has recently acquired Branston Pickle, Haywards and Sarson’s as part of its growth plans.
For further information contact the Mizkan team at Eulogy!
020 3077 2000, Mizkan@eulogy.co.uk