Meet Pippa Lewis, Ketel One Vodka Senior Brand Manager
Meet Pippa Lewis, Ketel One Vodka Senior Brand Manager.
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Pippa tells us about her time at Diageo, her current role as Ketel One Vodka Senior Brand Manager and The Felix Project Pledge to save and deliver ingredients for 1 million meals to UK charities in a fight against food waste.
What has your Diageo experience been like since joining to your current role now?
I first joined Diageo four and a half years ago as the Brand Manager of Single Malts in Global Travel. It was an incredible role, working across a huge portfolio. This role provided the opportunity to visit some key markets, see amazing brand activations and learn first-hand customer priorities in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Miami and Canada.
I then moved to the Europe market as Brand Manager of our two tequila brands, Don Julio and Casamigos, where I was then promoted to Senior Brand Manager. Tequila is such a fantastic category – small, but growing at pace. Managing two brands was a challenging opportunity, as they play together but also apart, and they hold their own distinct characteristics. I then moved to work in the GB market in July to manage the two tequilas along with Ketel One Vodka, now spanning my reach across two different categories.
Tell us more about your current role as Ketel One Senior Brand Manager?
As Senior Brand Manager of Ketel One Vodka, it is my mission to ensure Ketel One Vodka is loved and enjoyed by consumers. Although Ketel One Vodka is a firm favourite with bartenders, consumers are not always as familiar with the brand. One of my key projects has been working with the Global Brand Team to highlight Ketel One Vodka as a brand that believes in doing things right. This has involved consumer research, strategic thinking around our current brand positioning which has provided me with a great opportunity to develop an inspiring brand and media plan.
We have just announced a partnership with The Felix Project, a British charity that rescue and deliver good quality surplus ingredients from within the food and drinks industry. This has been an incredible project to lead from ideation, customer conversations and media plans, through to creative execution. This pledge is a true demonstration of Ketel One’s purpose ‘Doing Good Tastes Better’. You will see lots to come around our pledge to save and deliver ingredients for 1 million meals to UK charities and fight food waste.
The Felix Project pledge is an inspiring new partnership, tell us more about this.
Working with The Felix Project has been a phenomenal experience. Food waste is not just a UK issue but a global issue, and I can really see how every £1 donated can help rescue and deliver food for those in need. For me, this is so rewarding and something that Diageo really pride themselves on. It is part of our company purpose, but also a people purpose, to work together and make an impact.
Ketel One Vodka is a brand that deeply believes in making things better. Our purpose is very in line with that of The Felix Project, which is ‘Good Food for Good Causes’. We are committed to this initiative as we know we can make a difference and we know consumers are passionate about making conscious choices too.
We’ve also teamed up with comedian and actor Jack Whitehall as our Ketel One Vodka partner. Jack is a huge advocate of reducing food waste, so we are going to launch a cocktail series using good quality leftover ingredients throughout May and June on YouTube and social channels.
Explain how this pledge came about and what has it been like behind the scenes.
During 2021, Ketel One Vodka pledged to save and deliver ingredients for 1 million meals with The Felix Project. Ketel One Vodka has kick started their pledge with a significant donation to The Felix Project and are donating £1 for every 70cl bottle of Ketel One Vodka sold on Amazon UK and across participating retailers. This allows consumers to help from home and join us in supporting this brilliant charity.
Behind the scenes, there has been a lot of planning to get this pledge over the finishing line, and I have had a great opportunity to learn. From leading conversations with The Felix Project, rallying support at sales briefings, helping to build contracts and legalities whilst being the guardian of our Diageo marketing code and our responsibility in society as an alcohol brand. There have been a few hurdles and surprises, however all worth it as we are getting brilliant feedback from our sales teams and customers who are excited to be on board and more importantly, making a difference where it is needed.
What does this commitment mean for our people?
This opportunity has provided me with significant exposure through working with global legal and corporate relations teams as well as with agencies and a charity partner. It has had a massive personal impact, as I’m very passionate about this campaign and helping this fantastic cause. It has helped me develop and make bold recommendations, however none of this would have been possible without the teamwork behind the scenes. The Felix Project have been super collaborative and together, we have managed to create something great that will hopefully continue to grow and evolve!
Join Us
Inspired? You''ll find career-enhancing challenges all across our business, all around the globe. People taking on memorable challenges and working with iconic brands.