What a crazy 2 months it has been working here at Tasty Mates, but I wouldn’t change one moment of it!

I finished university last summer with the hope to pursue a career within the branding and marketing industry. Since being hired as a Tasty Mate intern, it has helped shed light on my drive to grow within such a fun and creative industry.

My role as a marketing intern at Tasty Mates has exceeded all my expectations. I have enjoyed working for a start-up, essentially because of the motivating group environment that Joe and Nick have both created. Joe and Nick have encouraged individualism, innovation and creativity, having confidence in us to take full responsibility for tasks. I have gained a unique experience as my duties have been widespread, forcing me to constantly adapt. For me personally, working as an intern for a start-up has improved my skills and allowed me to grow in a shorter period than I would have in a larger firm. All of us working here have directly influenced the evolution of Tasty Mates, which is really exciting!

The biggest task since working here was taking lead on the ‘Perfect Pear Valentine’s Gift Box’. These  boxes will be sold on our website this February, for a partner to buy their other half of the Perfect Pear (or a Galentine to their Galentine!), and show how ‘sweet’ they really are. My favourite flavour is definitely pear (oh, and favourite colour is green), making it an even more ‘perfect’ task for me!

I was challenged with brainstorming gift ideas, conducting market research, contacting suppliers and comparing prices and quality of potential gifts to be used in the box online. The idea behind the box was to have two of one gift item, ‘a perfect pear’ (get it?).  I was determined to find the ‘perfect’ gift for our box and was beyond ecstatic when I found the ‘perfect’ candle, one to match our pear crumble recipe. This has ultimately helped me gain confidence in my own ability and developed my communication and analytic skills, whilst chatting and negotiating with potential suppliers.

I was also involved in the PR strategy for Veganuary and I have helped plan the best way approach building a social presence and creating hype, excitement and interaction on our social media pages.

As a team we continually brainstorm cool and creative content for our Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, making sure to highlight and show off Tasty Mate’s amazing, unique selling points. For us, it is important that we showcase our delicious sweets and the whole teams cheeky, enthusiastic and witty brand personality in all our posts. As a result, I have improved my interpersonal skills, from both working with such great people and through learning how to engage with people on social media.

If I was a Tasty Mate flavour, I would be tiramisu flavoured, because I am likeable and sweet, just like chocolate, and would describe myself as a shot of espresso, small in height and full of bursts of energy!! I am dedicated and ambitious within both my personal life and work, living a fast-paced life, full of exciting new challenges, which is what I would associate coffee with. It also helps that it is my favourite dessert and that I am a bit of a coffee addict. Keep your eyes open for new flavours, as this might just be one of them…