Givaudan

Working in marketing at Givaudan in Naarden from 2022 to 2023, focused on the Benelux market, was one of those experiences that genuinely changed how I think about marketing.

It wasn't marketing from a distance. It was close to the market, close to customers, and close to innovation.

Market research was taken seriously. Brainstorming sessions had a purpose. Innovation days were not just presentations with nice slides — they were about bringing commercial, technical and consumer thinking together and turning it into something relevant for the customer.

I also learned how much good marketing depends on the quality of the thinking behind it.

How do you turn consumer trends into an opportunity?

How do you make a presentation that actually helps a customer make a decision?

How do you bring sales, marketing, flavour experts and application teams into the same conversation?

And how do you differentiate when your competitors are also very good?

That last part was probably the most interesting.

Givaudan operates in an extremely competitive industry. You don't win because you have a nice campaign. You win by understanding the market better, spotting opportunities earlier, bringing stronger ideas to the table and executing them well.

That environment raised my standards.

It sharpened my skills in research, presentations, workshops, ideation, innovation and customer-facing marketing. More importantly, it showed me what marketing looks like when it is treated as a serious commercial discipline rather than a communication function.

There was a lot of energy, a lot of debate and plenty of competition.

We were there to win.

And I loved that.