Meet Fia – Malaco Watermelons fan; “For a sweet tooth like me, it is impossible to only pick one favourite”
Brand Manager, Sweden
My name is Fia and I live with my two children, 20-minutes by train from the Malmö office, in the south of Sweden. I juggle fast paced working days with busy (but fun) family life and peaceful yoga moments.
My workdays are spent getting to know consumers and with the help of analysis and insight, get them to connect more closely to our brands and products in their everyday life. A real treat if you ask me.
Cloetta is an international workplace, where you find people with different backgrounds and diverse competencies and motivations. However, the common denominator is that they are all truly passionate and hardworking, wanting to always achieve excellent results.
You yourself set the limit to your career path and the company is brave and happy enough to support you on your way. No matter if it is taking a step up or making a side-step into a totally new field or role. Cloetta gives you a real possibility to grow both individually and professionally.
In our team, we have set a goal to support each other and celebrate our victories in everyday-work-life. Once a year, there is also an official acknowledgement of people who have achieved something extraordinary or shown extra initiative to live the Cloetta values. It is truly an honor to be the one to enter the stage at this event!
With the flexible work conditions that allow us to work from home two days a week, our team tries to take advantage of the days we are all physically at the office. We have lunch in or outside of the office, but most importantly we have lots of fun, which gives us an extra energy boost – almost like an extra family.
Meet Niels – Venco Choco D’rop fan; “It is the best of both worlds”
Jr. Product Manager, the Netherlands
Hi! My name is Niels and I am working as a junior product manager in the Dutch office. I am responsible for coordinating new product development projects for our big brands: Sportlife, Venco, Red Band and Lonka. Together with a project team, we are working on projects from a conceptual idea until it becomes a final, tangible product. The projects can differ from completely new candy concepts to packaging upgrades and everything in between. Not one day is the same within this role as a project rarely goes as planned. It energizes me to bring the project back on track together with all stakeholders to launch the product on time.
The best part of my work is when a project is finalized, and the outcome of that project is physically available at the retailers. When I see the new products laying on the shelves, I am filled with pride and want to share the new products with all my friends and family.
In my opinion, Cloetta has a can-do mindset. Everybody is highly motivated to achieve results to be proud of as a team and always willing to give a helping hand to a colleague when needed. As a Cloetta employee, you are expected to carry out all of your work within office hours to prevent working overtime as much as possible- resulting in a healthy and pleasant work-life balance.
Within Cloetta you get the opportunity and freedom to learn on the job. You’re stimulated to get out of your comfort zone and fulfill multiple different roles in the company. The management team listen to your needs and help develop yourself further both on a professional and personal level. For me, one of Cloetta’s strengths is having strong local and individual brands combined with the financial capacity and knowledge of a large multinational. Innovations and learnings from the international head office contribute to a stronger development of successful local brands.
The brand that would describe Cloetta best is Red Band. The sentence ‘pleasure pays off’ couldn’t fit more as the Red Band brand breathes pleasure and joy. Besides all the hard work, there is always time for a laugh with colleagues which makes me enjoy going to work every day.
Meet Estelle – Jelly Beans fan; “I can never get enough of it”
Group Operational Excellence Coordinator, the Netherlands
Hi, my name is Estelle. In my role as Group Operational Excellence Coordinator, I support the local Continuous Improvement departments in our seven factories in the implementation of our Lean program. Additionally, I support and lead improvement projects at Cloetta.
Besides working at Cloetta, I am doing my master’s in International Business. What helps me successfully balance these two worlds is the freedom and trust I receive from my colleagues in planning and executing my work and the flexibility and consideration they show towards my academic deadlines. For example, on a work trip to our factory in Sweden, I was able to do my remote exams from the factory. I’m also often able to plan a few free days in during exam periods or whenever I feel I need this for my studies. If it weren’t for the support from my team, this story would have been very different.
Looking back, the first thing that comes to mind when being asked how I have experienced working at Cloetta, is that I feel valued. When I say ‘being valued’ I do not just mean getting compliments for a job well done; in my opinion, it’s much broader than that. It means getting the opportunity to try out new things or work out new ideas, receiving additional training to develop your skills, exploring personal development opportunities, and receiving support from your colleagues.
What I appreciate the most about working at Cloetta is that you are valued by your skills and personality rather than simply by age or experience. I was given a chance to prove myself in a challenging role within a discipline I am passionate about, despite the fact that I didn’t have a ton of relevant work experience upon completing my bachelor’s studies.
Meet Axel – Polly Original Blue fan; “I can’t get tired of it and have no issue eating the whole TR-size bag”
Demand Manager, Sweden
My name is Axel and I’ve been an employee at Cloetta for a little more than 5 years now. I’m working as Demand Manager for Scandic (SE/DK/NO). In short, our team and my tasks are to improve forecasting and ensuring the highest possible service level to customer and consumer while limiting our cost for doing so to a minimum.
When I tell people about my job, they are surprised that we have got a whole department working with forecasting, because it is not the most common role.
My journey at Cloetta so far is an interesting and educational journey into FMCG. I started as a Business Controller and stayed at Controlling for about 3 years before I switched to Demand. The highlight for me has been and will continue to be meaningful business discussions with knowledgeable co-workers.
Cloetta really takes care of its employees and values them. It’s shown each year when we have got our annual gala and we’re presented with a multitude of employees that have been with Cloetta (Malaco/Leaf) for 10, 15 and 25 years. But it’s also visible in our flat organisation where a lot of the responsibility is allocated to the personnel closest to the matter at hand.
My best team building experience so far was a fencing activity. We were instructed by a skilled fencer and then progressed with dueling each other. Since no one had an edge (which is often the case) everyone had a decent chance at winning and we all laughed at each other when we tried to stride gracefully. All in all, a fun activity that ended up with me winning (I would have never brought it up without me coming out on top).
