A big hello to Barbara Géczy, the newest member of the TiM team! While we prepare to welcome her, Barbara explains why Milk has been a recurring theme in her working life to date!
Barbara Géczy
Barbara Géczy
Exactly two years ago, I spent a month long internship at a dairy farm in France to improve my French and get to know farming practices related to my food engineering studies back in Hungary, where I'm from. I had to face new challenges I'd never encountered as a student such as getting up at 6am every morning to milk the cows. Now cows have extremely efficient body clocks, they know exactly what to expect and when to expect it, so I had no choice but to adhere to their routine - tough task masters for a first job!
As I'm a small girl from a big city, it was hard to get familiar with this new lifestyle: dressing like an authentic French cowgirl, cleaning my boots in the evening, looking after cows all day... Back then, I wouldn't have considered that the words 'This is Milk' could have any other meaning for me than a mug of nutritional hot liquid. But fortunately, now they do.
Right now, I count myself very lucky as I've enjoyed every opportunity and step on my career path so far. After the farm I went back to Budapest to finish my degree and started to work for a startup. Each Monday we opened the week on the couch with a cup of caffe latte, creating plans and writing new ideas on the whiteboard, with no holds barred. Quite a change from dairy farming, isn't it? We developed creative employer branding strategies and online platforms, and our work was recognised when we won the HR Innovator Award of Hungary in 2015.
After that, I had the opportunity to move abroad and work on the communication strategy for a Spanish food company that has just launched a new natural cereal on the EU market. The target group was very niche and specific, so it was essential to have an in-depth understanding of the market. As colleagues, we also had to embark upon some unusual self-learning: train ourselves to be better 'Biscuit and bread tasters' (think GBBO with less of the Mary Berry glamour) as the company was continuously working on improving the quality of their products.
My story continues in Glasgow, Scotland. As the newest member of This is Milk's team, I can use my previous experiences and immerse myself in the exciting and ever-changing digital life.
From early starts and sharing ideas, to making a mean latte and caring deeply about my audience (from cows to healthy cereal lovers), I think these experiences stand me in pretty good stead for my next chapter with this customer-centric business.
Now, This is Milk takes on a different meaning for me, one of new beginnings, fresh ideas and the chance to learn and grow - not too far removed from the benefits of drinking a cold pint of the white stuff after all!
