Sponsored article: Celebrating influential women across the drinks industry
Munnawar Chishty
Chief Marketing Officer, at Carlsberg Britvic
What has been your experience as a woman working in the drinks industry?
My experience as a woman working in the drinks industry has been really positive.
One of the highlights has been securing increased marketing investment across our brands, which has allowed us to take marketing to new heights.
When I first joined the drinks industry earlier in my career, it was definitely much more traditional and male-dominated with more of a focus on commercial goals compared to some of the industries I’ve been in such as beauty and FMCG.
However, I’ve been able to help this evolve throughout my time in drinks and we’re seeing many more brand-led stories in marketing, which is very exciting.
I also love the people in this industry. Working with customers has been incredibly rewarding, especially having the chance to engage in meaningful conversations and influence their agendas.
And of course, collaborating with our agency partners has been another great aspect of the role, and I’m excited to see what we achieve together in the coming months and years.
What challenges and obstacles have you personally overcome?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced has been driving a brand-led agenda in an environment that has traditionally been more focused on commercials.
Shifting that mindset has been a hurdle, but one we’re tackling successfully!
I began this change soon after I started at Britvic, which was especially challenging as I didn’t have any pre-existing relationships or equity within the organisation. I was tasked with driving business transformation while also building trust and visibility, which is no easy feat.
In most businesses, relationships are already in place when you take on big changes, but starting fresh meant having to work doubly hard to prove myself and gain that trust.
Building strong, effective relationships has been essential, not only with internal teams but also with external partners. I’ve focused on listening carefully and learning from others, which has helped me navigate challenges and understand different perspectives.
I’ve also had to learn not to be afraid of challenging the status quo in a constructive and appropriate manner. It’s important to question the ways things have always been done and think differently, which hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been a critical part of driving change.
How is female equality enabled at your own organisation?
At Carlsberg Britvic, female equality is actively supported through several initiatives that empower women and foster an inclusive environment.
One of the key ways we do this is through the B-Empowered Network, where I serve as an executive sponsor. This network is designed to support gender equity and elevate women in the company by offering resources, opportunities and a strong community.
We also have Lean In Circles, which provide a platform for women to come together, share experiences, and offer support to one another. These circles help women feel more confident in their professional growth and enable them to influence decisions being made within the business.
Senior leaders, including myself, are also committed to supporting female talent throughout the organisation. When I first joined, I was paired with a plc member to help embed myself into the company and gain insight into navigating the business. This mentorship was incredibly helpful, and I now try to offer the same support to other women.
And that’s not all! We also offer opportunities to young people looking to join the industry. We currently have four marketing apprentices, two of whom are women, which is great to see.
We’re also supporting female careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by partnering with local schools.
In 2024, we worked with engineering students from Rugby High School for Girls to see if they could help us find more sustainable solutions on how to clean our finished cans to remove sticky residue. They discovered a way to save an amazing 34.6 million litres of water per year, saving both water and money. They even won a national school award for their efforts!
Finally, we offer leadership development programmes like Accelerate and Elevate, which are designed to support both men and women, though they place special emphasis on fostering female leadership.
These programmes provide resources and mentorship to help women advance their careers and develop the skills they need to succeed.
What opportunities does your organisation offer for gender-blind career advancement?
Having experienced prejudice based on my gender, race and religion throughout my career, this topic is incredibly important to me. I believe it is essential to emphasise the importance of talent and capabilities, no matter the person.
Luckily, Carlsberg Britvic strives to create a level playing field where leaders focus on talent, capabilities and experience regardless of gender, and I’m proud to work for a company that offers various programmes and initiatives to support career advancement without gender bias.
Can you tell us about positive experiences where inclusivity has helped you in business?
Inclusivity has played a significant role in my career. For example, female talent development programmes early in my career were instrumental in my growth. I was paired with senior female leaders in the business who were able to help me when I first started out in the industry.
Mentorship programmes like this are incredibly important and it’s something I feel very passionate about.
I’ve used both mentoring and being mentored as tools for growth throughout every stage of my career. It’s incredibly valuable to learn from others, but also to help guide someone else on their path. This exchange of knowledge and experiences has been key to both my development and the development of those I work with.
When I started out in my career, I didn’t see anyone who looked like me, but instead of letting that discourage me, I saw it as an opportunity to work hard, be myself, and prove that career opportunities are for everyone.
I adopted a growth mindset, believing that I could learn, improve, and build the skills necessary to succeed. I focused on understanding what senior leaders had that I could learn from and how I could expand my skillset.
Above all, I believed in myself and embraced continuous learning and development, knowing that anything is possible. Now, it’s incredibly important to me to pay it forward by helping other women and providing them with the opportunities and mentorship I had throughout my career.
Can you tell us about any instances where a failure to be inclusive has impacted negatively on you or on your business?
Fruit Shoot has been working hard to make their products as inclusive as possible. When we changed the Fruit Shoot bottle previously, our neurodivergent customers struggled to adapt to the change, but we used this as a learning opportunity in order to improve.
Earlier this year, Fruit Shoot introduced a more recyclable sports cap for its bottles. While this is great news for sustainability, we knew from past experience that some neurodivergent fans would struggle to adapt to the change.
To ease this transition, we partnered with The National Autistic Society to create a campaign focused on supporting parents and carers of neurodivergent children communicate the change.
Together, we developed free online resources for families to explain the change and the reason behind it. With the help of inspiring influencers like James Hunt, who has two autistic sons, we spread the word about the cap change, informed audiences of the rollout details, and directed them to support resources on the Fruit Shoot website.
We are proud of the impact this campaign has not only had for consumers, but also within our company. We used this campaign to deepen our understanding of neurodiversity in the workplace, with senior team members leading the charge in communicating the significance of this inclusive approach within businesses.
